Left: Creamy sweet potato and mango soup, one of chef Troy Lopez's many creations. Right: Chef Troy Lopez, a son of St Ann's Bay, serves favourites such as jerk chicken, sweetened red cabbage and rice and peas at the recently opened Jamaican restaurant, Rosa Caleta, in Berlin, Germany. - Photos by André Wright

BERLIN, Germany:

Long-time pals Troy Lopez and Kirk Henry are learning the ropes of caring for their four-month-old baby, Rosa Caleta, a new Jamaican restaurant established in a thriving and diverse Berlin café corridor. The eatery was born out of a hunger for entrepreneurship and a passion for titillating taste buds with authentic Jamaican food, said Lopez, head cook and bottle washer.

What makes Rosa Caleta stand out is its philosophical foundation. There, food is not just food; it is art, with perhaps a generous dash of idealism. The chef's own life seems to have been the ingredients for his wide-ranging menu of cooking styles. Lopez, who emigrated from Jamaica in 1979, has lived in the United States and France - including studying literature at the Sorbonne. Nostalgia also plays an important role in shaping his culinary identity.

It's about research

"My approach to cooking is similar to literature, it's about research," said Lopez, who has been wearing an apron for roughly 20 years. "The Jamaica I knew doesn't exist anymore. (My style is) how my grandmother used to cook, how my grandfather would roast breadfruit, how we used to use coconut oil."

Though he has taken formal courses and undergone apprenticeships to hone his technical skills, Lopez said home-grown practices have been the core embellishment to his kitchen credentials. Simply put, he takes his cue from ordinary folk who cook for their families, not from culinary elitists. He said his style is characterised by experimentation and multiculturalism, a so-called 'fusion' philosophy which uses island cuisine as a base on which he expands to reach other ethnic groups.

"Food is a natural part of life, it's part of nature to turn eating into an event. ... It's more than a survivalist thing, it's about feasting with the eyes."

His 'tun yuh han' mek fashion' outlook has inspired such gastronomic delights such as run down crêpe, ackee soufflé, and sweet potato and mango soup with an underlying coriander aroma.

"I take a more conceptual approach to life and food," said the son of St Ann's Bay, who speaks three languages - English, French and German - four if you count Patois.

Dreamy reminiscences have helped define the Jamaican restaurant. Sentimentality is not lost on the gutsy duo, whose restaurant is actually named after their grandmothers: Rosa was the given name of Troy's gran, and Caleta, Kirk's.

The diversity on the plate matches the plurality of their local Kreuzberg, a Berlin district which has a large Turkish population. Though a Jamaican flag hangs outside, the interior is decorated with artwork from a visiting German painter who is not hamstrung by Caribbean themes. Lopez is also miffed at attempts to set boundaries to define Jamaicans and Jamaican food.

"This is the evolution of the Jamaican, not about exclusion, but inclusion," he told The Gleaner on Tuesday.

The modest setting - which can seat 97 patrons - is still in its infancy but has hosted a number of guests such as Joy Wheeler, Jamaica's ambassador to Germany, and United States hip hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan.

The operations have remained low-tech and low-labour; the restaurant has just a handful of assistants, such as Marine Legrand, who has a rich French accent. Despite this, the diner has been able to attract Jamaicans, native Germans and other ethnicities to their tables. It also hosts a Jamaica Night once per month where unadulterated island fare is served. However, the food doesn't come cheap.

The grass-roots flavour of foodie Lopez is highlighted by Rosa Caleta's family feel, including asking Jamaicans visiting Germany to bring items such as thyme, rum and yellow yam.

Henry, a pal of Lopez's for more than a decade, who generally runs the business side and seals reservations, said, "I'm into Jamaica and Jamaican things but if you only go curry goat, ackee and salt fish, and oxtail, you're going to limit yourself."

During Tuesday's interview, Henry's excitement about the venture was irrepressible, but he had to take a break to answer his cellphone. "Deux personnes? C'est possible!"

Two more signed and sealed for the Jamaica College old boy.

With the World Athletic Championships being staged in Berlin in August, Rosa Caleta will be in a rat race to chase down Usain Bolt and other Jamaican track and field stars whose appearance could bring the restaurant welcome exposure and market share.

Already, there is talk of empire. But for now, Rosa Caleta is the little restaurant with a big heart.

andre.wright@gleanerjm.com

Left: Troy Lopez reminisces about his childhood days, from which he draws his culinary philosophy. Right: Kirk Henry, the business brains behind the Rosa Caleta operations.