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This podcast is an avenue to dialogue about the totality of the food experience. Everything from gardening, to preparing, to eating, to hospitality, to the Lord’s Table, with an eye toward how this act that we all have to engage in helps us experience the transformative power of God’s love and what it means to be human.
Episode 18 (11Hauz)
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Andrew Camp: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to another episode of the biggest table. I am your host, Andrew camp. And in this podcast, we explore the table, food, eating, and hospitality as an arena for experiencing God's love and our love for one another. And today I'm thrilled to be joined by my old friends and good friends from park city, Utah, Naisha, Tanisha, and Sharon who own and operate 11 hauz restaurant in park city, Utah.
Um, and so thanks for joining me. You three, I'm excited about this conversation and to, you know, explore Jamaican food and hospitality. Um, so thanks for joining me.
Sheron Grant: Yes, Andrew. Thank you for having us. Thanks for having us. Yes. Happy to be here.
Andrew Camp: Um, so first, you know, you're a Jamaican family that lives in Park City, which is not, you know, I don't associate Jamaicans with snow and Park City.
So what, what led you all to Park City, Utah?
Sheron Grant: So the journey begins with me, Sharon, mama. You know, [00:01:00] working, working, living in Brooklyn for, um, over 20 something years and working and coming to Park City just to, for a job, I end up loving Park City and decided to bring my family out here.
Andrew Camp: Nice. Yeah. And we all met, um, at Mountain Life Church in Park City.
Uh,
Sheron Grant: yes, yes. We met in Mountain Life Church and we have been in Mountain Life Church, I think, since 2015.
Andrew Camp: Okay.
Sheron Grant: For all that, and we still go to Mountain Life Church, even though you're not there. 2015?
Yes.
Andrew Camp: Oh, okay. I felt earlier than that, but who knows? I can't keep all the dates track.
Tanisha: 2007. Well, I got here in 2006, but I didn't start coming to Mountain Life until 2000.
Yeah. So, we used to, we, we went to Mountain Life, um, before my mom decided that she wanted to go to Mountain. So, yeah. Gotcha.
Andrew Camp: Gotcha. No, I understand. Um, [00:02:00] and so then, you know, you, you were doing some catering and then you guys took the deep dive into owning a restaurant. And so what, what led to this restaurant idea and the craziness besides the craziness of, of mama Sharon?
Sheron Grant: So the restaurant, um, begins at age six. I was six years old when I started cooking, cooking for my sis, cooking for my siblings. Okay. Mom, my mom worked, my grandmother worked and I was home as the big sister cooking for my sibling at six, at six years old. And so I'm always cooking. You know, I came to America, I'm always cooking.
People love my cooking, you know, that I didn't really say I wanted to open a restaurant, but. Then I realized, you know, having a restaurant in Brooklyn would be great. But then that didn't happen because we decided to come to Utah. And then while I was working and [00:03:00] traveling, I would cook for the family that I work for.
And my daughters, they were here cooking and entertaining guests while I was away working.
Tanisha: Well, that's the thing. I think it all stems from New York. In New York, we always cooked, whether it was New Year, or Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. We were always cooking and inviting family and friends over and we would have these big parties and we're like, we're always cooking all the time.
Mom's always cooking. Why don't we just make some money from it?
Andrew Camp: Right.
Tanisha: That's where it started. Um, Andrew, for her, when she was six, because of course she's the elder sibling taking care of everybody. And it just blossomed here in park city because now we actually had the time to dedicate to it.
Andrew Camp: Wow. Yeah. And so then, Jamaican food, we don't, you know, it's not a cuisine we, we probably think a lot about.
And so what, what are the roots of Jamaican [00:04:00] food or what, what encapsulates some of what Jamaicans love to eat and cook?
Tanisha: So I think the root of, um, Jamaican food is going to be Asian infused. African as well. Spanish and Indian. So you have to remember too when, so a lot of people don't know that the native language of Jamaica, when Jamaica first came about was Spanish.
Okay. So colonized by the, we were colonized by the Spanish. So we had, we right there, a lot of Spanish vice in Jamaica. Okay. And then of course the Europeans came in, they took over and then, you know, so you also had African slaves. that were sent to Jamaica. Irish. We had a lot of indentured servants that came to Jamaica.
So we just had a medley of different cultures. That's why our motto is out of many one people. So out of all that many, yeah, I said Indian too. And so out of all that many one people, this is [00:05:00] where all the different spices, flavors, and all the different fruits came about. Right. And then you have the Chinese.
There's so much culture in Jamaica. And when Christopher Columbus came over, you know, because they say he discovered Jamaica, when the Taino Indians were there, before the Spanish took over, uh, they brought over a lot of, um, different plants from China and all different places in Africa, because they said Jamaica had like the best soil.
So they planted up all these amazing trees and fruits, which came from other countries like China, Africa. Um, Spain, right? And we flourish. So this is where we get all those, you know, different flavors, spices and stuff like that.
Andrew Camp: Interesting. I didn't have, you know, I didn't know about all the confluence of cultures.
Tanisha: Oh, yeah. It's a lot. It's a lot. Yes.
Andrew Camp: So then, then what. You know, with this confluence, like, is there something that gets to the heart [00:06:00] of Jamaican food? You have this huge confluence, but there's also, it seems like Jamaicans have this great soul and being about them. And one thing that's always attracted to me and your art, attracted me to your family is just this liveliness and this generosity.
And so we're, and maybe it's just you guys and the joy you bring, but it feels like there's something about Jamaica that just wants to, To enliven and bring people up.
Tanisha: Oh, it's a very spiritual. Yeah, it's a beautiful spiritual place. And I mean, we grew up very poor when I say very, very poor. I mean, when it would rain, we would have to get different pans and.
You know, our buckets and put it down so that the roof leaking the water would get caught. We use chimneys. We had picked toilets. We slept sometimes four or five to a bed, you know, it's so I think we have the spirit of humbleness. And we're introduced to, um, God in our life at a [00:07:00] very, very young age. We're introduced to discipline, um, principles and morals, values, family values, very early on.
I mean, we had to do house chores. Three started. Yeah, you got to make sure we clean that bathroom, right? And the pot's got to be clean because if that pot is not shiny, you're going to have to go back and do it again. Or you get a whooping. You get a whooping.
And and and you know, and when my daughter talk about the zinc, it was it's galvanized roof. That's what we brought on. And in the restaurant, have you noticed that we have this galvanized in the restaurant with the wood, wood window and and the wood tables. So that's what our house was made of was wood.
Sidings and the galvanized zinc, which we call it zinc .
Sheron Grant: Yeah. You
Tanisha: know, and in America they say [00:08:00] galvanize and that's it. And if there's a hole in the roof, then you just gotta put a bucket there when it rains to catch the water. But yeah, we didn't, yeah, we didn't really worry about, and we didn't worry about that.
We didn't, we didn't worry about the fact that we. We, we didn't have, um, anything like we didn't grow up with toys. We had to make our own toys. Yeah. So you had like, yeah, you had like this box box juice that we would drain like a milk carton and then we would take the soda tops and we would add wheels to it and then we'd take up.
Uh, a hanger and we like put it in the box and then we'd make our little cars, you know? And so we just come from a society where we were just born with being humble because we didn't have a lot. So we had to use what we had, you know, to kind of get what we want. And we had no TV and we have no TV, no social media.
All we had was the Bible,
Andrew Camp: the Bible,
Tanisha: grandma on the Bible. And grandma [00:09:00] would say, If we have one banana, it's gonna serve for everyone in the house,
Sheron Grant: for
Tanisha: everyone that's in the house. And my grandmother, she was a provider. We have no men in our lives. Women is who provide for us in our family. And the girls, the girls toys, what are a mango?
We have mango in Jamaica, you know, mango time you get like a mango seed and you suck it, suck it till it's really dry. And then you take the hair from the mango pla it and that. And you pla it, and that's your dog. I made your two eyes and the mouth and everything, and that is your doll, you know? So, you know, that was beautiful.
It was just beautiful. And we weren't exposed to other stuff, so we didn't really. Want for anything. We were happy with we were just happy music, [00:10:00] lots of music, lots of food, lots of priors. Okay, grandma always praying. And that's what that's what make us have such good faith because grandma always. And we were at Seventh Day Adventist too.
We weren't even, we weren't even, we weren't going to a Christian church. It was a It is a Christian. It's religion. It's religion. I feel like it was a little bit, it's a little bit more strict than being
Sheron Grant: a Christian.
Tanisha: Yes. So we had to, literally Fridays at 6 o'clock, we had to stop everything. All playing, all chatting, all the way till 6 o'clock.
All chores. Chores. All chores. It's very like, go to church all day. So when you say, why are we the way we are? I just think it's because we had to count on each other and we had to be happy with what we had, we had, and we had to make use of it. So, yeah.
Andrew Camp: Yeah. You know, and that use of everything and that, [00:11:00] you know, out of many things comes to this beauty, you know, um, and, and then that I think translates to who you guys are as chefs and restaurant owners and.
What, what then, you know, as you think about Jamaican food, like a lot of people only know jerk chicken. Um, you know, and so like, what, but, you know, and as I say that, you're not, you're, you're sort of shaking your head. Like, this is a shame that we only know about jerk chicken, because
Tanisha: it's what we're not chicken and Bob Marley.
Andrew Camp: Yeah,
Tanisha: it's what we're known for. What was your question?
Andrew Camp: So, but there's more, right? Like, I've had beautiful curries. I've had beautiful oxtails, whole fish. So like, what. You know, you, you've talked about the confluence of cultures and all this, um, you know, spices. And so what,
Tanisha: what
Andrew Camp: is Jamaican food today?
Tanisha: So we have Aki and, and, and salted cod, which we said salt fish, and that is the national [00:12:00] dish of Jamaica.
Right.
Andrew Camp: Okay.
Sheron Grant: And then we, we do steaks also, but I think for us in our family, steaks was special. It was rich. It was rich food. So we could afford it only at Christmas. Yeah. Only at Christmas. Oh, when grandma gets paid. Cause my grandmother was a, she was a chef also. And so when she get paid and decided to buy something special, she probably might get us some gold, some meat and.
We'll have that for dinner on Sunday, but during the week it will most likely have a lot of cabbage, lots of vegetable. We ate a lot of, it was more vegetarian during the week and on Sundays we might have chicken or sometimes oxtail or some goat. But, you know, it's.
Nyesha: Yeah, we were, like she said, we ate very vegan during the week and on the weekends we ate the [00:13:00] more elaborate, expensive food because we, like Tanisha said before, we grew up very poor so we couldn't afford to eat the elaborate food every week.
And we always had leftovers. So we would cook the good food on a Sunday and then during the week it would be like cabbage with rice or dumpling in butter.
Sheron Grant: No, not rice, but the thing is rice. Rice, rice, we would always cook on Sundays. Okay, rice. And so what we'll have is ground food, the food that comes from the soil.
Potatoes. The ground food like yams. Potatoes. Like a white yam, yellow yam, the green banana, you know. All that was and vegetables, but, and pumpkin, all that's the good food right there, but people look at it in Jamaica and those days, they were like poor people food, but it's not, it's, it actually, as I grew up and I saw me now living in America and all I'm eating is pure rice, [00:14:00] rice.
Cause I cannot get that ground food that I need, especially living in Utah. Yeah. And that food was very nutritious for us.
Tanisha: It's also food that gives you energy. It gives you, it's, it's, you know, they call it stamina food.
So you think about it, you get this big pot, you get your potato, your pumpkin, you know, your flour, where you're needing your dumplings, you get, um, You get, there's also Irish potato.
You get your yams, whether white or yellow, and then you put a big pot of water on and you boil and you strip whatever you need to strip and then you throw them all in the pot, even green banana. You add just a little bit of salt and you cook it all down. There's no oil in it. There's no butter. It's just, it's rich with nutrients and things that just come straight from the earth to a boiling pot, which is a little salt.
Sheron Grant: And grandma would drink that water. She wouldn't throw it away. It would not be wasted. She would drink it. So, [00:15:00] you know, it's, you know, living and growing in Jamaica is. It's so beautiful. It makes me humble even to even till today living here in parts
Tanisha: and it makes you appreciate food. That is not processed.
I think that's what it is. That's your question too. So, you know, Aki and saltfish is our national dish. Normally that's served with what we're talking about, which is the ground provision. That's what we call it. You know, also we love Jamaicans love corn beef, which I think you guys call it spam. Some sort of spam, corn beef,
Andrew Camp: but yeah, there's spam too in the market.
Tanisha: So corn beef was like our thing that we would do with, um, with corn or cabbage. We also love, um, we also love cucumbers with like the salted cod with tomatoes, you know, which all of majority of our dishes that we make in Jamaica, we eat a lot of fish. Very fresh, non [00:16:00] processed. It's straight from, you know, the trees to the pot, the market to the pot, just from the sea to the pot, like, you know, our fish, my uncle was a fisherman.
So grandma would go get fish and it would be red snapper, yellow snapper, you know, stuff like that, mackerel. We also love. The mackerel in Jamaica, you know, our chips were chips that we took green bananas, fresh green bananas, sliced them and you slice them really thin and then you fry them and you put the salt on them and you get like a planted chip, you know, it used to be the cornmeal, the cornmeal, the palm and the sweet potato palm.
And we have all the cornmeal put in our cornmeal phone, you know, it's And the sweet potato, that was our sugar. Yeah, and we had a majority of this stuff in the restaurant, apart from the ground provision in the boiled pot, which I'm speaking of, which I was speaking about. And then also the banana chips.
So there's just so much more [00:17:00] to do and the coconut and food and fresh coconut, not the one in the can or powder fresh coconut powder. Yeah. So obviously we don't like processed foods
in the restaurant. Our motto is authentic. Our motto is we would not serve you anything that we would not eat. Like we will eat, feed you what we can't. We will feed you what we can't eat ourselves. Yeah.
Andrew Camp: No, that's, yeah, that's such a beautiful thing. And your food is, yeah, just reminiscing about, you know, your food.
I'm like, Oh, we don't have Jamaican food and flag. And so I'm like, man, I mean, I can,
Tanisha: I know,
Andrew Camp: I need some of that jerk chicken or oxtail soup or goat curry. Like,
Tanisha: you
Andrew Camp: know, cause you guys even do like that whole fried or a whole snapper escabeche, right?
Tanisha: Yeah, Escovitch, yes. It's just like a vinegary, uh, sauce.
With the onions and the peppers, and that's a patient man's food. Like, on the menu it [00:18:00] says, if you can't handle it, don't order it. Because we're not taking the boat out for nobody.
Andrew Camp: No.
Sheron Grant: So, with the Escovitch fish in Jamaica, we didn't have a refrigerator. And so we need to cook up that sauce and pour it on the fish.
So if it doesn't finish that day, we can eat the leftovers the next day. Because the vinegar preserves the fish. Preserve the fish.
Andrew Camp: Okay. We
Sheron Grant: didn't have a refrigerator. We didn't have a refrigerator. I didn't grow up with a refrigerator. I just, my first refrigerator was when I came to America. Or iron. Wow.
Yeah, we didn't have an iron either.
Andrew Camp: Okay,
Tanisha: once you put on the hot, so the cold room, and then you can often close. That's how we think.
Andrew Camp: Okay.
Nyesha: Electricity just and what no functioning toilets and also no. Yeah, she's like, you said, no electricity. We had those, um. Kerosene lamps. Kerosene lamps. That's what we use.
Okay. Yeah. From like, what, the [00:19:00] 1900s?
Andrew Camp: No, but, but for, you know, like the beauty of what you, where you have come from, you know, the humble orientations and just, that hasn't defined you as a family, but rather this, this joy and this love. Yeah, you know,
Tanisha: everything you have
Andrew Camp: right and it spills over
Tanisha: mother,
Andrew Camp: your grandmother,
Sheron Grant: my grandmother. She taught us to love each other and she's the one that she will take in family.
If a family is homeless, my grandmother will take in family. So I live with so many different people, so many different cousins. would pass through because their parents, they decided their parents say, go to your grandmother and my grandmother would take in every one of her grandkids, you know, and, and help them.
And then they will move along and then [00:20:00] someone else will come along again. And that's what, that's what teach us to have, to be very helpful and to be kind. To people because of my grandmother
Andrew Camp: and would you say that that, you know, hospitality idea is prevalent through Jamaica, like, you know, and obviously it's unique to your story, but what, you know, what is is Jamaican culture in general, a hospitable culture where it's
Tanisha: yes.
Yes, it is. Yes, it is. I think so. But I also think times are changing. So the way we grew up in the way that our kids are raised the way we are raised, it's not the same. So I think just like when you meet anyone, you know, you just have to judge their character according to your values and your morals. But I would definitely say we are a kind culture.
But times are changing, so you never know sometimes what you're going to get and judge your character by the spirit, too, because, you know, the Holy Spirit lives in you so you can tell. Yes, the frequency [00:21:00] here is the energies. No,
Andrew Camp: for sure. But yeah, just, you know what to understand Jamaican culture and what you know, how has that influenced you guys and how you do your restaurant, you know, and.
Um, because I think there is, you know, to learn about food is to learn about who a people are, you know, to learn about culture, you know? And so I, you know, it's just a fascinating look into, you know, who, who are Jamaicans, you know, and obviously you're unique and the food tells a unique story to you, your family.
Nyesha: Jamaicans are good people. Like Tanisha was saying, before anyone came and colonized Jamaica, the Taino Indians were there. Um, which also the Arawak, I believe they were called Arawak and, um, the Spaniards came over and then after that, they started to bring black slaves over from different parts. Irish slaves.
These are like prisoners. Yeah. They [00:22:00] needed somewhere to send them. So they sent them all to Jamaica. All to Jamaica. And then after that, uh, You know, actually, so then the Mongols are basically the black slaves that rose up to fight for their right as, you know, to be free for freedom, a mixture of, of many culture Jamaican people.
We have a lot in us. And one thing about Jamaica, you have more churches in school. Hmm. So many more churches than schools. So you have to know that every Jamaican household, someone in there goes to church. Okay.
Sheron Grant: I think
Tanisha: every goes church. Yeah. We're forced. We're forced. We have is We have to. We have to.
Okay. Growing up, yes. It's a, yeah. Yeah. The spirit spiritual, you know, God Jesus is a huge part of growing up in a Jamaican culture, and I really think maybe that is definitely what keeps us. So passionate grounded and loving because we have to try our best to live through [00:23:00] the spirit of God, taking everything to God, not allowing the human flesh to take us over, which I mean, sometimes it does because you're human, you know, at least with the spirit, you know, that good spirit.
We know that. Okay, wait, we have to try again. Let's stop. Let's. Try to be better. Yeah. You know, so I think that's what it is.
Nyesha: And I feel like living in America too has influenced us as a family because, uh, living just in Jamaica could make you very one track minded, you know, but when you live in other places, you think differently, have different perspectives, more empathy, stuff like that.
Cause Jamaicans are, we go through so much that we could be very hard and cold at
times. Yeah.
So we're very, we're good people, but your life trials can create someone else. Right. That's why it's vital to protect your heart, right?
Andrew Camp: So, no, like that idea of rising up above the circumstances, rising above, you know, [00:24:00] the oppressions of slavery.
Right. You know,
Nyesha: you just said it. Bob Marley said it, emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.
Tanisha: Because it starts in the mind. You know, if
you think back, yes, we had physical slavery, and I'm sure we still have it in certain aspects across the world. But right now. It starts in the mind of every individual.
If you can really free yourself from your thoughts. Yeah. Dangerous place.
Sheron Grant: But the only way you can free yourself from your thought is by asking Jesus to help you. Yeah. Just take it in prayer. Take it to him in prayer. You know, you know, you have the comforter who helps you go through all these things. Yes.
So I feel like both cultures influenced us. Jamaica was our foundation.
Andrew Camp: Right. And, and so as you've lived in Park City, you know, you've been influenced, but what do you hope you can bring, uh, you know, to Park [00:25:00] City, I guess, where you guys are now? Like, what do you hope you as Jamaicans? Can bring, um, to others
Nyesha: more Jesus diversity and also more food
Tanisha: and also more, more, more boldness within people, within the culture of saying what you mean and saying how you feel and being authentic in a graceful way and not feeling as though maybe you have to walk on eggshells or tiptoe, like what, who are you truly, you know, what is your authentic self, you know, let's, let's all sit here and, you know, Love each other and be authentic and not get too caught up in the words of others or the way they made us feel.
Let's look at the both sides of the coin just so that I could be myself and you could be yourself and we can just love and teach one another. I think Park City is missing that a little bit because we have like that Hollywood kind of like facade kind of, you know what I mean? Keeping up with the [00:26:00] Joneses.
It's like, I have to have this look about me. And it's not about the look about you. It's about your heart and how you really actually treat people because then that's the way you'll get to know. So basically we, we want you to not be passive aggressive. Yeah. Like I would rather you tell me how you feel and you know, be angry because anger, I think is healthy as long, as long as no one is in danger and it's not, you know, violent.
Yeah. But I, I think people need to be. Able to just express themselves. Yeah. And that can happen over a good conversation over a good plate of food.
Nyesha: We talk about God a lot when we're serving people. We let everybody know this is Jesus's restaurant.
Tanisha: Cause 11th house is angel house. Cause 11 is an angel number, you know, and house, you know, that just represents house family. So [00:27:00] when you really think about it, 11 house equals angel house, you're safe here.
Come in, you know, eat spark of a conversation. We don't have any TVs in there. Talk to the person sitting next to you. Once again, in, in reality, in life, let's all start socializing and talking to each other without getting distracted from the screens. Yeah, just turn it off and submerge yourself into social living, getting to know people and accepting people for who they are.
Nyesha: Yeah. And I think that's the problem with the world. We tend to want to judge other people according to them, but we don't want to do the inside work. Yeah. Because the hardest thing is to look within you to say, Hey, something's wrong with me. I did something wrong, you
Sheron Grant: know?
Tanisha: So I hope to bring people to Jesus.
Serve them good food and hopefully bring out that authenticity and make them laugh.
Andrew Camp: I love what you just said. Cause it sort of ties back to that Bob [00:28:00] Marley quote, which, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, man. Yeah. Emancipate yourself from the mental slavery. Just cause we're so quick to, to look at others and judge them in today's society.
Tanisha: Oh gosh. Yeah. You know,
Andrew Camp: we don't need to, we don't need to go into that. I think everybody knows all of our listeners will know that, but You know, to, to have that conversation, to, to be open and to be open to surprise, um, you know, cause I, I love to your food because, you know, if you order the jerk chicken, it's not going to be neatly cut, like how most white Americans want it, you know, none of your food is, uh, You know, like, there's the bones, there's the whole whole animal
Tanisha: if you don't like bones is a problem.
You need that arrow in your system. Okay. A lot of people say, oh, bones. I'm like, what
Sheron Grant: is
Tanisha: it being authentic? Yeah, right. Because we will not because [00:29:00] we ain't taking both out for free. No,
Andrew Camp: no, yeah, but it's just that whole whole bird, you know, and it's just being open to the surprise.
Tanisha: Yeah, and it helps with your jawline.
People are wondering what's going on with their jaws in this world. You're not working your teeth. You need to nibble on a little bone here and there.
Give a strong jawline.
Andrew Camp: Get that strong jawline. I, you know,
Tanisha: It's yeah, if the world ends, you know what to do with the body. Exactly.
Sheron Grant: You know, if let's happen that something start happening in this world, you can't have your meat perfectly cut, you know, you should be able to Pen for yourself and know that, oh my gosh.
I'm not going to have this pretty little piece of meat here on my plate. People are spoiled. You know? People are spoiled. Park City is spoiled. [00:30:00] Take my bones out. I want that gratification instantly. Right.
Well, I'm happy you enjoy the bones too. Like, I'm happy you like to get messy with our food. Oh, well,
Andrew Camp: you, you can't help, you know, when you see the oxtail soup and there's, you know, oxtail, you know, if anybody's ever tried oxtail, like there's no neat way to eat that, you know,
Tanisha: just pick it up with your fingers.
It's okay.
Andrew Camp: Yeah. You know, that gravy
Tanisha: African culture too. They eat with their hands. Yeah, they have a formal hand and an informal hand. What did people do when they didn't have utensils back in the days? They were licking fingers.
You know, you know, puts. Throw it on your guard when you come into our restaurant and just enjoy the music and enjoy the food You know, we don't care if you want to eat with your fingers. [00:31:00] It's okay. You could eat it your fingers A lot of people I love that. I just love when I see people just eat it and just don't care but Please just wipe your fingers on the napkin, not on the table, not on the table.
Then you give me more work to do to go take those gum off and all those. Yeah,
Andrew Camp: well, your restaurant's not big. And so, you know, tables are close. And so you're really are hope, you know, wanting. To bring people together, you know, like you said, it's
Sheron Grant: right. You
Andrew Camp: want people around your table at home? It's sort of hopeful.
You know, your restaurant. Seems to be an embodiment of who you guys want to be as a family.
Tanisha: So get close to you. Talk to the neighbor right next to you. You never know. You might have so many things in common. Exactly, you know, just. Let's speak. People need to start talking to each other again. [00:32:00]
Andrew Camp: Yeah. Um,
a mouthful, but it's great, you know, cause I think it is, um, there is something beautiful about the culture. Yeah,
Tanisha: you don't get us talking, but you can't shut up.
Andrew Camp: No, and that's, Hey, that's the best guest, right? I want the story. What's the story. What's the story that needs to be told, you know, for people to hear today as we gather around the table, that's the whole point of this podcast, you know, is what happens when we gather around the table, whether that's in our own personal homes or whether it's in a restaurant open by people who love culture and love food.
Um, you know, and so I think so much can happen if we're open to it. Um, you know, and that's what I love about your guys story is you're, you're inviting people to, to experience maybe something new. Um, and to be surprised and to hopefully maybe bump elbows, rub shoulders with new people, um, and get to [00:33:00] know, get to know your neighbor a little bit better.
Sheron Grant: Yes. And sometimes a lot of people may come into the restaurant and they have all these problems on them. And, you know, you talk to someone next to you, or you may talk to one of us, you might be able to give you a word of encouragement and pray for you. You know, that's who we are, you know, we pray, we give you encouragement.
Yeah, we lift people up. We try to at least. Yeah,
Andrew Camp: I can honestly speak that whenever I was, I ate your food, I was lifted up, you know, maybe,
Sheron Grant: I didn't know.
Andrew Camp: Right. Um, and obviously, you know, we got to know each other, you know, and, um, seeing kids grow up or, you know, things happen.
Tanisha: Life changes, relocating.
Andrew Camp: Congratulate people. Yeah. Visiting people in the hospital. You know, I've had the privilege of visiting Sharon in the hospital.
Tanisha: Yeah, that's right. I do. You did. That was like, that's [00:34:00] when we first opened that even two months. The devil is a liar.
Andrew Camp: He's going to seek to destroy.
Sheron Grant: There was no reason to be in the hospital.
He was just like, he's just a freak. Yeah. Miss that happen and we don't know what really happened until this day, but you know, God is always in control. Yes. And here you are. Here I am. Yeah. And
Andrew Camp: you're going strong and you're still spreading the love of, of Jesus and Jamaican food and culture.
Tanisha: We need to come down to you and cook a whole pot.
Oh
Andrew Camp: man. Come on, come on down. We have a guest room. We have one guest room, but we can find places for you to stay.
Tanisha: Are you ever going to come back to Park City?
Andrew Camp: Um, maybe to visit, you know, I want to get back to visit at some point, not to live, we love Flagstaff, you know, it's
Tanisha: nice and cool down there in Flagstaff.
Right.
Andrew Camp: It is. Yeah. Yeah. Much like park [00:35:00] city. It's a, you know, Our summers are very similar. We get a little more rain during the summer, but, um, it's a, it's a good place to be.
Tanisha: I heard that's, that's the place that I need to visit. Cause I was like, I don't like it down there. It's so hot. And then someone was like, no, have you ever been to Flagstaff?
The weather is amazing. And I was like,
Andrew Camp: yeah,
Tanisha: like, okay.
Andrew Camp: Huge Ponderosa pine forest. So you, you know, we are, we're hiking in our backyard, you know, all the
Tanisha: time.
Andrew Camp: There you go. Come on. Come on. Yeah. Yeah. No, we got to find some investors first, right?
Sheron Grant: Yeah.
Andrew Camp: You know, so what, what do you hope Americans can learn from you guys and from Jamaican culture in general?
Tanisha: I just hope we all can learn love. Love without [00:36:00] judgment, without, yeah, love without judgment, just really keeping our minds open to getting to know someone
Sheron Grant: before
Tanisha: judging, just like food. You know, you could sometimes see the ugliest plate of food hit your table and you're like, I don't want to eat this.
This just looks terrible. Then when you taste it, you're very surprised. That's like a person, you know, that's like food. That's what, at least I want people to learn for me, Tanisha, is let us first go through it and accept all, love all, go through it first before judging. Then, I mean, try not to judge after, but we're human, we probably will anyway.
Andrew Camp: We do. We all have judgments, you know,
Tanisha: I agree with Sunny too. What Americans could learn. I feel like Jamaicans need to learn from Americans too. Yeah, we all could learn from each other. Flip, flip, right? Um, yeah. Well, uh, like Sonny said to, to just love [00:37:00] and to accept and to, cause you know, when you think of babies.
They don't know anything about racism, or, you know, they just love that's why it says come to me like little children. Yes, everybody. Oh, you just crazy. Right? You just because of all that trauma. So, and just try to. Release the trauma, give it to God, and experience life beautifully through food and friendships and family.
I know that this is just a learning experience. No, and and to know that, and as what Jesus says, you know, you gotta love your neighbor as yourselves, yourself. Yeah. You know, so we just can't look at people and judge and judge them because we don't know their circumstances. We don't know their story. Yeah.
We don't know their stories. We don't know what they're going through. You know, we should just always just show love and be kind to each other. And even if for some reason we mess up and we weren't kind and we weren't showing love, then be kind to yourself. [00:38:00] Because only through being kind to yourself, then you can be kind to others.
That's something I'm learning for myself. Just be kind to yourself, Tanisha. Everything takes time. Patience. Just America needs back the Bible and pray in school. That's what they need. That's where you and I, when it comes to like Jamaican culture, we have like, we have a national anthem. Yes. It's amazing.
Right. And I It's the same thing with in American culture. What is it? Is it eternal father bless our land? It goes eternal father bless our land. Guide us with your mighty hand. Keep us free from evil powers. Be our light through countless hours. To our leaders, great defenders. Granted wisdom from above, uh, justice, justice, always for Jamaica land, Jamaica land we love.
So American needs to put back their prayers in school because I don't know what's happening. Yeah. Put the Bible back in school, the Bible back in school. I mean, [00:39:00] well, you know, when you start taking God away, you know, that disaster is going to come in. Yeah. And I think everybody has to know that, you know, God, God giving your own mind for you to do whatever free will you want.
Free. He gives you free will, but you need to know that within that free will, are you free? Are you happy? I don't think so. You may think you're free and happy, but you need to have Jesus. You need to have the Holy Spirit. Know that God, he came in what is hurt. He died for all of us to save the whole world.
He shed his blood and we all need to come to him as humble children. You know, I wish the whole world would do that. And then everyone, that's another thing that we're teaching. So that's another thing that I guess we hope to teach, um, the Americans, maybe that we, we come across, yeah. Encounter is Jesus.
Man, we just want to spread the word of Jesus and serve them good food. Yes. Jesus. Is it true? That's just, that's just what it [00:40:00] is. And it's up to you to believe or to say, I'm not a believer either way. We're not going to judge you. We're just going to say how we feel and let you know what he's done for us in our life.
And at the end of the day, we gave you that word. We gave you that taste, right? To fill your palate for the moment. So it's up to you then to fill your appetite. Yeah. Because people are going to, like my mom says, have their own free will. Yeah.
Andrew Camp: But what we can do is we can, you can welcome people, you can love people, you can give them a good bite, you know, and, and, and hopefully in feeding their physical stomachs, you're doing more.
Tanisha: And people are always like, Oh my God, how is the food so delicious? How do you guys just work so hard and don't care? Jesus, Jesus,
Andrew Camp: Jesus, right.
Tanisha: Give us the strength to do it. Yeah. If I don't have the Lord, I will not be in that restaurant.
Andrew Camp: Because yeah, restaurant life's not easy. You know, it is,
Sheron Grant: you have to love what you do and you, and [00:41:00] if you do not love.
What you are doing. You can love it. Love what you do but there comes a time when when you feel really tired and burnt out and all you need to do is just ask god to just give you the strength but it's few more moments that I'm in this restaurant then I'll be able to finish what I'm doing. Go home, rest and the next day, you'll come back.
Do it again. Amazing. You feel so good. You just keep going. You know? Yeah.
Andrew Camp: I love that word. Um, so another question, it's a question I'd love to ask all of my guests, um, and, you know, I need to put together an episode of all the answers, which, um, I think will be fun. But the question is this, is what's the story you want the church to tell?
Tanisha: The church. Oh,
Andrew Camp: yeah.
Nyesha: So many churches. I just go. Oh, no. What was story? Well, church itself. The chart needs to be authentic as well. Yeah. The church. Also, what I have for not telling the human story [00:42:00] legit creates an issue for like, okay, I would say. I'm Christian. So that would say people would be like, okay, she's religious.
Right. Cause she's Christian, but we're making it too human. It's not a human thing. It's a God thing. It's a Jesus thing. You know, he died for us. So I think the story is we have to keep reiterating. He came, he died. Your sins are forgiven. Everything's washed away. Right. Therefore, you need to also ever believe also ever believe, yeah, should come to the Lord and just give lay everything at his feet.
I think the issue is we. We still have this competition with churches and, and, and it's,
Tanisha: why is God a competition? God should not be, if anything is a priority in our life and he's the person that we look up to and he's the person that we place on a pedestal, not our church, not the people within the church, [00:43:00] because they are human and also still walking in the flesh.
And so for me, I think churches need to go back to. Fool is really in charge, which is God. I think they're missing that. And stop thinking that they're the ones that like, and that's why I was always afraid to become a member of a church because it's like, Oh, sister, what are you doing over there? Hey, it's between me and Jesus.
Lord, I just like people just. Sometimes churches can be a little bit too nosy.
Sheron Grant: So you know what too, Andrew, within the church you have the culture also. So it's kind of church and culture usually clash. Because you grew up in a certain way, the way of your culture. Like us. In Jamaica, when you are praising God, you don't just stand, you put your hand in [00:44:00] the hair, you, you, God say you need to come boldly to his throne.
Okay. So for me, I don't know how to be quiet. When I'm talking, when I'm praising my God who has taken care of me from the day I was born. Listen, when it comes to God, I'm very passionate and excited because I know where I'm coming from. I know how far I came and I know how much he has done for me and still doing for me.
I have to praise my God. So. The question the answer is what we need to tell what what was the church what we need to tell the church is to remember that God is in control. God is a holy God. He doesn't like mess. He's very holy. And the problem is with churches, we as humans destroy God. Because of [00:45:00] all of our, you know, our rules and our regulations.
It's just ridiculous. It's ridiculous to me.
Andrew Camp: Yeah, but to have that freedom to praise.
Tanisha: Yeah. No,
Andrew Camp: just to have that freedom to praise and, you know, I remember, you know, whenever you guys were front and center, you know, um, you, you brought a different, different energy to mountain life just because, you know, us white folk.
Yeah, we don't know how to, yeah, you know, we're clapping is hard enough for us, you know,
Tanisha: but the way how I see it is though, Andrew, if you go to like a party and you're dancing, yeah, you know, then when you're in church. Yeah. Why can't you do the same to celebrate your creator?
It's the same thing as you listening to a live band and like, you know, so Holy Spirit is your tequila.
Andrew Camp: All right. There, there's, there's a line worth quote, you know, the Holy Spirit is your tequila.[00:46:00]
That's a first on the, on the biggest table podcast. Thank you.
Sheron Grant: Yeah.
Nyesha: It's true because that's the thing. Like when we were in church, we were just so filled with the spirit, just felt the light. And I just was just wanted to burst out and scream. Yeah, you know, yeah.
Tanisha: Stop caring what others think. And if you feel it, just let your movement come through.
Yes. Yes. What people think about how you're moving, that doesn't matter. They don't have to take that up while they're in church watching you making fun of you.
Nyesha: And that's the problem. The, the church is so worried about other people watching them. Oh my God, he's looking at me. Oh, they're watching me sing and praising.
It's like, you're just so scared of judgment. We are not scared. We're not scared of judgment. No. No.
Andrew Camp: No, and that's, I think, I think what I've gathered from this podcast, and I hope our listeners, the listeners gather this too, is, you know, [00:47:00] your, your desire just to be authentically who Jesus has made you to be and to share that with others.
You know? And so I think, you know, for, for listeners to take away of like, okay, how, who has Jesus made you to be and how are you stepping more authentically into that, just like Sharon, Nyesha and Tanisha are doing.
Tanisha: That's what we're trying to teach our kids. And the crazy thing is the devil is the one that creates that fear and stops herself being yourself.
Yes. You know, God, God, God wants you to be free. He wants you to. Live a good life. He wants to live lavishly. Not to be free in the devil's world. When you read the Bible, he wants you to be adorned in pearls. Okay. Live beautifully. As long as you're not worshiping it. But that's the thing too, mom, that you have to think about.
We are [00:48:00] sinful by nature. That's the way that we, that's the way that we're made. So even though God does not want us to do that, he knows They'll eventually do something like that. He knows our hearts. Yes, they'll go back to it. But you know what? Yes, I know their heart. And I just, I just feel like as long as you're just trying every day to be a good person, because sometimes we go backwards, man.
Oh man. Yep. Sometimes we go backwards. You know why? Because there's some people that bring out the demon in you. That's
Sheron Grant: true. You don't want that demon. You
Tanisha: know, you got to live above your demon, but sometimes that demon be like, Oh, that demon just cringed you.
Andrew Camp: No, it's true. Yep. Yeah.
Tanisha: That's true.
Andrew Camp: Yes.
Tanisha: But if you keep making that demon keep coming back all the time, you're, you're going to see where the Holy Spirit is going to talk to you about it because you're going to feel bad about that demon crawling and then you're going to try, you have to have self [00:49:00] control.
Andrew Camp: For sure. No, and that's I love it, you know, and again, just that authentic desire to love Jesus, you know, and to spread that love is. Is so, or it just emanates from, from the three of you and just who you want to be and what you want.
Tanisha: Oh, look at all good. Um,
Andrew Camp: and so just some, you know, as we wrap up some fun questions, I'd love again to ask all of my guests.
Um, and so if. You know, they're just fun, rapid fire questions. Um, you know, so maybe if we start with sharing, go to and go to, you know, what. I'd love to hear what each of you say to this, is what's one food you refuse to eat?
Tanisha: Let's see what I am, what I, I refuse to eat, an alligator.
Andrew Camp: Alligator.
Tanisha: Yeah, what about you, Minx? What do you refuse to eat? I am not eating [00:50:00] insects. I don't care how much protein they got and how John ate the locusts. I'm not doing it. You're not doing the
Andrew Camp: locusts. Okay. Fair enough.
Tanisha: And I'm not going to eat a Guinea pig ever again in my life, because when I went to Peru and we went on a Guinea pig farm, the Guinea pig tasted the exact same way they smelled on the farm.
I heard it was cooked and so I bet if I cook that guinea pig, you know, I'm so traumatized. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a big,
Andrew Camp: it's a big road. Yeah.
Tanisha: The smell of that guinea pig, same smell when they were in there. And when it came to me on a plate and I was like, this still smells the same. Did you eat it?
Out of respect for the culture. At least 25%.
Andrew Camp: Okay. So Tanisha, man, that's the most unique answer I've heard so far. A guinea pig, any, any other, any other guests out there? Have you, have you eaten the [00:51:00] guinea pig? You know, let us know.
Tanisha: If we offend you, sorry, but
Andrew Camp: yeah. Okay. So then let's go to the other end of the spectrum.
What's one of the best things you've ever eaten?
Tanisha: I love food so much. I feel like everything. I'm Kayowudat Itagiripi. What's one of the best foods? Okay, I will have to say, within Jamaican culture for me, it's, I love kidney. A lot of people do not like the cow's kidney. I, it's to me, it's one of the best foods if cooked properly by a good chef. It is one of the best, it's like liver that they puree.
What do they call that? It's like pate. But crunchy pate. But crunchy pate with a little bit more like, you know, chew. But I love me some, some kidneys, so I'm gonna go for them Jamaican kidneys. Beef
Andrew Camp: kidneys?
Tanisha: Yeah. Beef [00:52:00] kidneys. Beef kidneys. Okay. We'll cook it for you.
Andrew Camp: I'm down. Again, Tanisha, you, you went for the most unique answers.
The worst thing being guinea pig and the best thing being beef kidneys again.
Tanisha: I love to eat cow skin and the cow, and the cow food, we call it cow food. I love that. It's sticky. It's just gummy. It's delicious.
Andrew Camp: Come on, let's go.
Tanisha: And we cook that a lot in Jamaica. It'll be shrimp forever. Shrimp. Okay. Anything.
Sure. Anything.
Andrew Camp: Yeah.
Tanisha: She's eating.
Andrew Camp: Awesome. And then finally, you know, maybe as you think about this as a family, um, there's a conversation among chefs about last meals and it's a little morbid, but it's sort of like if you knew you only had one last meal. Um, to share with people, what would you have on your table?
Tanisha: Me, Khao Phut. Khao Phut. Yep. As a [00:53:00] last meal, I would have to throw in more of our traditional dishes for me in Jamaica. First of all, I have to have some pho. So I'm going to name three things. We'll have to be on the table. I'm going to take from the Mexican side to some nachos and then I'm also going to take from my Jamaican side.
I need some Kahlulu and some kidney with some breadfruit. So it's going to be a big table.
Andrew Camp: Sounds delightful.
Tanisha: If I'm
Andrew Camp: going to go meet the spirit, I'm going to have, I'm going out on spirits. I love food. I
Tanisha: love
all types of food. I would play like her too with some margarita.
Andrew Camp: Okay. All right. That's fair. That's fair. It's always fun to hear again. I'm always surprised. Um, at what people share, [00:54:00] um, it's just been a fun question to ask, and, and so Sharon, Naisha, Tanisha, this has been, um, a delight, um, if people want to learn more about Eleven House and your food and, you know, besides from visiting Park City, obviously, if you're in Park City, please go visit Eleven House, but, um, where could people find Eleven House?
Tanisha: So they can always, if they're in Park City and they Google Jamaican food, we will definitely come up. So, and we're also, you can go to the website, which is 1 1 H A U Z dot com. We're also, they can also get us through Uber, DoorDash, Instagram, Facebook. I mean, Yelp, Google, we've got it all.
Andrew Camp: Gotcha.
Tanisha: Well, if you're ever in PC and eat some Jamaican food, I mean, you've got your little magical phones here that tell you everything.
So just mini computers walking around with. Yeah. So once you're
Andrew Camp: in the restaurant, put the, put the phone away and immerse yourself.
Tanisha: Couples coming in down there for like, [00:55:00] what do we do? Why do we even come? Yes. I think, yes. And,
Andrew Camp: and order more than just the jerk chicken. If you're, if you visit 11 house
Tanisha: and now we have some Jamaican rum punch.
Andrew Camp: You know,
Tanisha: there are people that likes their little alcohol. Yeah, we, we got, we have a full liquor license and then we can, we can, we can, you know, make you some nice Jamaican drink.
Andrew Camp: Awesome. Cause I think one of the dishes I've had there once is like a seafood surprise, as it called, or it was a stew of,
Tanisha: the seafood treasure and shrimp and it was in a curry sauce.
Yeah.
Andrew Camp: Awesome. Awesome. That one's delightful.
Sheron Grant: Well, now we don't have conch at this time, but we're trying to get it back in the restaurant.
So
hopefully I, I get it back. And so we can continue. Cause that's, that's, um, a seafood that's always in Jamaica.
Andrew Camp: Awesome. Well, thank you again. Um, and again, if you are in Park City, please [00:56:00] do visit 11 house.
Um, there's a lot of great restaurants in Park City, but 11 house is definitely one of those hidden gems and it's off of main street. So you don't have to put up with main street traffic and parking right
Tanisha: off the Kimball junction area,
Andrew Camp: right off I 80, um, in Kimball junction. And so if you've enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, leaving a review or sharing it with others.
Thanks again for joining us on this episode of The Biggest Table, where we explore what it means to be transformed by God's love around the table and through food. Until the next time around the table, take care, bye.
Bye!