Biography
Jacqueline Greaves Monda was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to New York at the age of ten. Home cooking was the traditional Jamaican fare, its rich culinary influences spanning Africa, Asia and Europe. Her marriage to a Southern Italian and subsequent move to Rome called for the addition of another ancient tradition, influenced by Italy’s own vast regional culinary customs.
“Life in Italy required adaptability but also invention, because a Jamaican woman always needs her own spices, aromas and peppers.”
With the wit and spirit of a Caribbean cook, Jacqueline was able through the years to combine new ingredients and flavors and seek out common grounds between two remarkably disparate culinary traditions.
Surviving the pasta experience while living in Italy was the beginning of her field-research into cooking. It was enriched by frequent conversations with family and friends on both sides of the culinary fence. This adventure not only helped her learn Italian but also survive the in-law experience. Food was the beating heart of Italian lifestyle and now she made it her own. When she returned to the United States in 1994, she sought to create her own Caribbean-Italian cuisine, conjuring meals for parties of four to one hundred and forty.
Jacqueline lives in New York City where she has created, together with her husband Antonio, a literary salon in which conversation and food nourish body and soul in festive harmony. Frequent visits to Italy and less frequent trips to Jamaica keep the culinary battle raging but always full of brand-new dishes.