James "Jim" Nicholas

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-183256

Notes:

LIFETIMES: Kitchener chef inspired many with his generosity
James (Jim) Nicholas of Kitchener, born: Dec. 16, 1946 in St. Thomas, Jamaica, died: Sept. 10, 2017 of a heart attack

Jim Nicholas had his first glimpse into the mysterious world of cooking while still a teenager living in Jamaica. There were the rich aromas emanating from the pots in the kitchen, the alchemy of mixing spices to create the perfect jerk, the satisfaction of creating something delicious from nothing more than a few vegetable, spices and meat.

Though he didn't know it at the time, this would be the world he would spend 40 years inhabiting, a world that brought him many friends and much love as the owner and chef at Rainbow Caribbean Cuisine in downtown Kitchener. But it had been a long and windy road to get to this level of success.

Jim grew up one of eight kids on a farm, leaving home at 18 for the town of Morant Bay, Jamaica, where he met an older couple who owned a hotel. They took Jim in, treated him as a son and gave him his first experience working in a kitchen.

Jim had also worked as a security guard in Jamaica but he would soon look elsewhere, much further afield for a chance for a more prosperous future.

His wife Lucinda Nicholas said Jim came to Canada in 1967 '97 finding work first as a farm labourer, then in a hotel in Wallaceburg where he made a friend from Kitchener. When the hotel was sold, his friend decided to return home and did Jim want to come too?....

Hill, V. (2017). LIFETIMES: Kitchener chef inspired many with his generosity | TheRecord.com. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/whatson-story/7573932-lifetimes-kitchener-chef-inspired-many-with-his-generosity/