Known for its vast sunflowers, impressive landscapes, and historical landmarks, those visiting and living in North Dakota have something new to look forward to with Island Cuisine, a newly opened Caribbean-centered restaurant in North Dakota!
Lamise Oyugi is the founder of Island Cuisine and is well known for her Youtube channel that showcases tutorials for homemade Haitian food. Lamise brought in the new year with her first restaurant, Island Cuisine, the only Caribbean restaurant in Dickinson, North Dakota.
"I've been doing Youtube for a long time, but a lot of people wanted to taste the food. It's one thing to watch, but it's another to recreate the food. My husband and I found a space and decided to start a small takeout restaurant."
Posting her first recipe video on Youtube 6 years ago, Lamise is glad her channel has served as a resource for many people looking to replicate Haitian dishes in their own kitchens. "I started YouTube because of my friends here in North Dakota. They would be like, "Lamise, can you make us some Haitian rice? Can you make this? So I was like, I'm going to make a YouTube so they can have the recipe to do it themselves even though they still ask me and don't use it!
Lamise recognizes that many Haitian Americans have trouble cooking Haitian dishes because of a lack of teaching. "Our families have jobs, bills, etc. It's not like they are home and can teach us how to make certain things. In the U.S., everyone is so busy working that by the time parents are done working, they don't have the time to teach. They want to cook the food, serve it, and be done.
That is one of the reasons I'm glad I started the channel because I receive a lot of emails and messages on stuff like that. People thank me for teaching them how to make certain things because their parents never had the chance to teach them. Even people from different nationalities married to Haitians who don't know how to make Haitian food are now making Haitian food because of the channel. Those things are worth more than money to me." she shares.
Although Lamise is known for Haitian food, interestingly, her restaurant hosts a lot of Jamaican dishes on the menu. "In North Dakota we do not have that many Haitians. We have more Jamaicans here. A lot of staff members are Jamaican because it was easier for me to find them than Haitians. Plus, I know how to make Jamaican food anyways, so we combined Haitian dishes with Jamaican.
Lamise says the two cultures make the best combinations out of all the Caribbean nations. "We'll have like jerk chicken with Haitian rice and pikliz and combine dishes like that. Or the curry chicken with Haitian rice because our Haitian rice and Jamaican rice are two different things. I argue with my staff all the time about the two different rices!"
When it comes to staying motivated, her kids are what keep her going everyday. "I want to leave something behind for them so they don't struggle like the generation before them did." she shares.
Lamise says the future of Island Cuisine is not only limited to North Dakota as she plans to expand. "I like to think big and I've always been a big thinker. I am hoping to make this a franchise. If you don't think big you'll be stuck in one place. Since I live in North Dakota, I'd love to touch the major cities like Bismark, Vargo. Minnesota is the next state to us, so eventually there, but I am hoping to be all over the U.S." she expresses.
Lamise has a lot to look forward to with her cookbook that will feature 50 recipes coming soon. Follow Lamise's Youtube channel, Instagram, and Facebook page to stay connected with her journey.
