Caribbean Flavas Fuses Food, Community, And Culture
FREDERICTON–Sitting at a table in Caribbean Flavas, head chef and co-owner Naz Ali gets up often to check on his guests.
He pulls out chairs for a group of women ordering lunch; he suggests one woman let him surprise her with a meal when she is indecisive; he brings over a Trinidadian soft drink called Peardrax for another.
Ali says the warm greetings and personal service is a part of his culture that he always wants to showcase.
“I always tell people here that we teach culture, I just happen to serve food,” Ali tells Huddle.
While studying at the University of New Brunswick, Ali had the idea to open a restaurant.
“I thought, there’s no diversity, no ethnicity,” he says. “I told my professors that I wanted to start an ethnic restaurant in a predominately white market.”
In Ali’s version of events, his professors thought it was a terrible idea. He bombed the project and eventually left school to go ahead with his plan, anyway.
At 20 years old, Ali told his parents to sell everything on the island: they were going to start a restaurant. The tables, chairs, and décor were brought to Canada from Trinidad.
Ali, his mother, father, and two sisters, Aziza and Azana, opened Caribbean Flavas in 2004.
The restaurant has been a part of the Fredericton community for 18 years, bringing warmth and connection to its patrons.
“What bonds us is that food and culture,” Ali says.
Ali learned to cook from his mother, whom he calls “Mama Flavas.”
“I decided to take foods within my community and fuse [them] with my culture,” says Ali.
Everyone eats chicken and mashed potatoes, Ali says, but he serves coconut garlic mashed potatoes and curry chicken. He’ll also serve you wings, but “tweaked” with a pineapple curry sauce.
“It’s just a tweak of the same comfort food that you are having,” he says.
Ali recommends the ribs or lamb, paired with his mother’s Caribbean mac and cheese. The meat is so soft, he claims he’s given customers a spoon to cut it.
Ali also says he’s cooked and catered for more than a few big-name stars, and his restaurant showcases photos of him alongside the likes of Leonard Cohen, Snoop Dogg, and Sean Paul.
Ali says when his family business first started, the community of Fredericton embraced them. This inspired him to give back during the pandemic. Caribbean Flavas gave out free meals to essential workers and Ali has won a national prize for “doing good.”
“No one is an island; you have to try to make sure you’re within your community,” Ali says.
He says connecting to his community and patrons is what makes his restaurant special. He urges Fredericton to continue to support local and support immigrant businesses.
Mary Allan is an intern with Huddle in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].