Haitian food is having its day on Youtube, thanks to Lamise Oyugi, a Haitian-American food vlogger on Youtube. Based in North Dakota, the zealous foodie breaks down the intricate steps of Haitian cooking down to well-constructed videos on the platform. She also features the cuisines of other Caribbean countries, as well as some parts of Africa.

Kreyolicious: Tell us about how cooking came to be such a big part of your world?
I started cooking at the age of ten. My mother would have me sit next to her while she’s cooking dinner and I would imitate her cooking but using a can. That’s how my passion for cooking started. I learned to cook watching my mom and aunt. They loved to cook, and for the most part, we prepared meals at home instead of going out to eat.

Above: A griyo dish prepared by the Haitian-American foodie for her Youtube channel. [Photo Credit: Lamise Oyugi]

Kreyolicious: You moved from Haiti to the USA when you were little. And moved to Fargo, North Dakota as opposed to a U.S city like Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Newark, Miami where there is a much bigger Haitian population. Do you think you had a different acculturation experience then peers who moved there?
My parents made that decision to move to North Dakota when I was a young girl, so I didn’t have much input into it. But that decision turned out to be a good one, since I have enjoyed my life here while keeping my culture in tact.

Kreyolicious: What was it really like growing up in Fargo?
Fargo is a pretty lively place to grow up in and it is one of those cities that you have to visit to see first hand. There is a mix of cultures and among them is a nice size Haitian community.

A Lamise Oyugi creation! Photo Credit: Lamise Oyugi

Kreyolicious: What made you start your Youtube channel?
I wanted to teach people about Haitian cuisine because I felt that Haitian cuisine is not well represented.

Kreyolicious: When did you realize you were getting somewhere with all the hours and effort, time and money that you were putting in your channel?
I started realizing this is getting somewhere when the subscriber list started getting bigger and bigger and people began leaving positive comments. This fueled my passion to continue.

Above: Okra stew prepared by Haitian-American food vlogger Lamise Oyugi! Photo Credit: Lamise Oyugi.

Kreyolicious: What are the challenges that come with being a food vlogger?
Making sure you deliver what your audience want can sometimes be challenging. This is because some ingredients can be hard to find in my area.

Photography Credit: Lamise Oyugi

CLICK HERE to watch Lamise Oyugi cook her Haitian, Caribbean and African dishes! CHECK OUT this fabulous foodie on her Instagram channel as well by CLICKING HERE!

Haitian food vlogger Lamise Oyugi is putting Haiti’s cuisine right where it belongs on Youtube—right alongside the other international cuisines that cooking enthusiasts salivate over. What started as a hobby of sorts has turned into a full-pledged business, as the Haitian-American foodie is being approached by brands, winning fans and subscribers for her channel, and not to mention expanding her brand off-line.

Since Haitian cuisine has much in common with other cuisines from parts of Africa, and the Caribbean, as well as the USA, the food entrepreneur now offers a variety of recipes and tutorials on her channel.

If you missed part one of our interview, CLICK HERE!

Kreyolicious: The African dishes you prepare are mostly from Uganda. How did you learn to prepare those dishes?
My husband is from Uganda, a country I visited a couple of times recently. While I was there, I learned to cook local dishes such as pilau food because I enjoyed it. I cooked that over and over for my family when I returned to North Dakota, and I have made that part of my YouTube videos.

Kreyolicious: What’s the best compliment you’ve gotten from a viewer?
A subscriber, who is not Haitian, told me that she made a fathers dinner day for her Haitian husband, after watching my video and she said that her husband said that was one of the best meals he has had thus far. That made feel good.

Another scrumptious dish from Haitian-American foodie Lamise Oyugi. Diri kole!

Kreyolicious: That’s awesome…If there was a food ration, and you were given the choice of choosing only one of these spices for a year and no other…which would you choose…Garlic…bell pepper and black pepper.
I would choose garlic, because you can crush it to infuse more flavor or you can chop for less.

Spaghetti cooked Haitian style by foodie extraordinaire Lamise Oyugi. Photo Credit: Lamise Oyugi

Kreyolicious: Have you ever thought of creating a cookbook to go with your channel?
I have thought about. I am working on it and will unveil it in the future.

Kreyolicious: What else is next for you?
Currently doing cooking classes. I also want to continue to produce more videos for my YouTube channel.

Photography Credit: Lamise Oyugi

CLICK HERE to watch Haitian food vlogger Lamise Oyugi cook her Haitian, Caribbean and African dishes! CHECK this fabulous foodie on her Instagram channel as well by CLICKING HERE!

Love For Haitian Food is easily one of the most popular Haitian-American food blogs. Created by Manie Chery, a Haitian-American foodie, the vlog has thousands of views on Youtube, a highly-trafficked website, and an Instagram account that gets reposted by lovers of Haitian food. For the video recipe tutorials the vlogger presents traditional and non-traditional Haitian cooking recipes with a Haitian-American touch. Follow your fave chick Kreyolicious as I interview the mind behind this foodie venture.

Kreyolicious: Tell us about yourself and your childhood memories you have of food and cooking.
I was a skinny kid…still pretty slim. They used to have to force me to eat a lot unless it was something I liked, like chicken and banann peze… P.S. My older brother and I called every meat chicken [Laughter]. I was not interested in cooking as a kid. My mom would be in the kitchen and I’d be watching cartoons. But at about age twelve, I learned how to make spaghetti—Italian style).

Kreyolicious: Who was instrumental in making you the cook you are today?
Definitely my mom, as I grew older when she was in the kitchen she would say, Vin aprann fè manje [come learn how to whip together a meal]. I honestly didn’t care at the time. But I did notice that my family always asked her to cook for family functions and then they would rave about the food. I was impressed by that, and figured if I wanted people to rave about my food, I’d better learn from her.

Kreyolicious: What made you start your vlog?
Well, in my mid-twenties—I’m thirty something now—I realized that I couldn’t cook anything else well enough besides pasta. I figured there were other young Haitian-Americans who also didn’t know how to cook their favorite Haitian dishes. While searching for recipe videos, I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. So, I decided to create it. Recipes for Haitian food with visuals that the cooking-challenged could easily follow.

This concludes PART I of the interview with Love for Haitian Food vlogger Manie Chery. Be sure to watch out for Part II. Meanwhile…

CLICK HERE to visit Manie Chery’s I Love Haitian Food vlog| CLICK HERE to visit the I Love Haitian food website | I Love Haitian Food on Instagram |

CLICK HERE to read more articles related to Haitian cuisine.

CLICK HERE to read interviews with other Haitian-American food vloggers!

Haitian American food vlogger Manie Chery is the woman behind the Love for Haitian Food website and vlog. Haitian cooking is pretty laborious, but to also have a vlog about Haitian cooking! Well, that’s a pretty huge load. But Manie Chery is up for the challenge and more. Here she is discussing the challenges that she ran across as she tried to launch the blog, and her plans for its future.

Kreyolicious: It’s one thing to start a vlog, but keeping it going is another matter. What are some challenges you’ve had, and how did you bypass and solve them?
Challenges that I’ve faced with keeping my vlogs going is basically being a one-woman team. I write the recipes, cook, film, edit, create the blog posts, photograph the pictures etc, etc. It gets hard doing it all by myself, but I wouldn’t quit, even if I take long breaks in between posting I would never quit cause I realize that it helps a lot of people. To solve those issues it takes a lot planning and giving myself the needed time to get things done. I struggle with that but I am definitely a work in progress.

Kreyolicious: What are some of the best things that have happened to you since you started your food vlog?
Some of the best things that have happened to me since starting my vlog is first learning how to cook Haitian food, that is a skill/gift that I’m proud to say I finally have, and I’m still learning. I’ve been contacted by a publisher who inquired about me writing a cookbook. Also, the love that I receive from all over the world is great and seriously makes me so happy and gives me the necessary push to move forward. Another thing that has happened is getting interviewed by awesome people like you which helps me to be more visible on the internet, I appreciate that a lot!

Kreyolicious: You’re so gracious…Where do you see yourself and your blog three years from the date of this interview?
Three years from now, my cookbook is still doing very well. I’m working on it. I see my blog having very heavy traffic from visitors all over the world. I am one of the first people that comes to mind when someone is looking for a recipe. Life is great and will continue to be so! I like to speak things into existence.

CLICK HERE to visit Haitian American food blogger Manie Chery’s I Love Haitian Food vlog| CLICK HERE to visit the I Love Haitian food website | I Love Haitian Food on Instagram |

CLICK HERE to read more articles related to Haitian cuisine.

CLICK HERE to read interviews with other Haitian-American food vloggers!

Looking for a Haitian food bloggers or for Haitian American food vlogs? It won’t be like looking for a needle in a stack of hay. They’re everywhere, these days! Haitian Americans are wanting to keep Haitian cooking traditions alive. Some were taught Haitian cooking while growing up, and others weren’t, and the ones in the latter group have made it a personal mission to teach themselves and to teach others wanting to develop and apply their Haitian cooking skills! Consider this as a…well, Kreyolicious Haitian American food blogging investigation.

Haitian food vlogs like Cooking the Haitian Way from Joanna Benoit was among the first known Haitian cooking tutorial channels on the web from the mid-2010s era.

But new folks are popping up.

Meet Haitian-American entrepreneur and foodie Chef Jude Pierre, for instance. He is the host of “The Sauce”, a Haitian food vlog on Youtube. He makes use of heavy Haitian-American presence on Facebook, and regularly has livestreaming of his cooking.

Pierre has also Krem de la Krem, a Haitian spirits business for the Haitian delight kremas (er, it’s kinda like pina colada, only better!). He also founded Jude’s Surprise Box, a subscription food company, in which Haitian food lovers can get an assortment Haitian food treats delivered at their door…kinda like a Curlbox…but for Haitian food!
Above: A Haitian food seafood dish done by Chef Jude.

Manie Chery of Love for Haitian Food hit the 10,000 subscribers mark. In an interview, she discussed being approached by a publisher about releasing a Haitian cookbook.

She started her Love for Haitian Food vlog after searching unsuccessfully for Haitian food recipes. In addition to her Haitian fod channel on Youtube, she also maintains a Haitian cooking website of the same name.

Based in North Dakota, Haitian-American food vlogger Chef Lamise Oyugi dishes out her recipes for Haitian and Caribbean food. She is high in demand for food demonstrations and culinary workshops.

Other brand-expanding ventures are on the horizon for the blogger.

Island Vibe Cooking is another Haitian American food blog. It has not yet turned a year old, and already has more than 100,000 views and its subscriber list is growing. There are recipes from everything from fried pork and plantain sandwiches to papaya smoothies.

The blogger behind Tchaka Haiti is based in Haiti, and features Haitian food recipes and food history alongside her recipes. Chef Land Land adds Haitian American spin to her recipes on Chef Land Land’s World.

Taicha of Taicha’s cuisine offers viewers Haitian recipes with her fun, laid-back style and encourages the use of organic products in meal preparation.

Did you know there were that many Haitian-American/Haitian food bloggers out there? Could you be the next one? Get started with honing your craft as a Haitian food blogger today!

Go ahead and watch some of the videos below, and CLICK HERE to read interviews with Haitian food bloggers and find out about their creative process!

CLICK HERE to read about Haitian food and Haitian cooking!

Haitian-American food vlogger Chef Land Land (yes, that’s right two Lands) is one of the most-followed chefs on Instagram, and she has one of ther fastest growing urban food channels on Youtube. Perhaps you’ve watched one of her Haitian cooking or soul food tutorials? Or perhaps you’ve seen one of her worth-salivating-over photos of her cooking on social media platforms. But how did she get her start? If you love cooking, you should read this interview. If you just love to eat, you should still read this interview! And if you’re an aspiring foodie, you can learn from her…

Kreyolicious: Tell us about some of the earliest memories of you have of food and cooking?
I remember this like yesterday. My grandmother made a meal that I was not used to and could not bring myself to eat. She unfortunately became offended, said that I was rude and the reason I did not eat was because it was from an elderly woman. She said she was throwing in the towel and we would need to prep our own meals. So she showed me the basic…chicken wings.

Kreyolicious: So…Who taught you how to cook?
My mother who started from the very beginning and my oldest sister who stayed by my side for the remainder of my journey.

Kreyolicious: What motivated you to start your cooking channel?
My mother, she was a woman who could light up your heart with her cooking and she passed it down to me. While I am devastated from losing her recently, I want her legacy to go on forever. It’s no secret in the recipes, it’s just about how things are done. I want to share what I know with the world and do the things she didn’t have the chance to fulfill.

Kreyolicious: What are some of the challenges you ran into in the early stages of your venture?
A challenge that I came across was baking. There is science behind baking. The measurements must be precise, and not to mention you must have all of the proper ingredients, especially if you are starting from scratch.

Okra goat stew made by Chef Land Land. [All photos courtesy of Chef Land Land]

Kreyolicious: What’s the most heartwarming compliment you’ve received from a fan?
Whenever I see the Chef Land Land name populate in my notifications, I just know it’s something good”.

Kreyolicious: What would you like to say to aspiring vloggers?
I would tell them, “follow Your heart”. Everyone goes through trial and error. You are not expected to be perfect the first time around. Don’t give up. You just have to practice and stay focused. Always remember, it is tough in the beginning.

Kreyolicious: What’s next for you?
I want my channel to expand, get more followers and one day become a top chef. I have plenty of recipes that I am willing to share and a world full of people who are willing to learn.

Watch one of Chef Land Land’s cooking videos below!

Be sure to visit Chef Land Land’s channel for more video tutorials! CLICK HERE!

Chef Vanessa Cantave, is is participating at this year’s edition of Gout et Saveurs Lakay, Haiti’s food and spirit festival.

Kreyolicious: So, you’re going to be at Gout et Saveurs, Haiti’s Food and Spirit Festival. What was your reaction when you received an invite?
Vanessa Cantave: I was really excited to be able to attend this year, especially since it’s the 5th anniversary! I was invited last year, but not able to attend because I had a baby only a few weeks before the festival.

Kreyolicious: Will this be your first time going to Haiti?
Vanessa Cantave: No. I’ve been to Haiti before, but haven’t been in almost fifteen years.

Kreyolicious: Participating in a food festival of that caliber is going to be exciting. What else are you planning on doing while there?
Vanessa Cantave: I am participating in two of the events and will only be there through the weekend. I hope to visit my family and if possible would love to take a day trip to Jacmel!

Kreyolicious: What do you think an event like that does for Haitian cuisine?
Vanessa Cantave: My hope is that the event helps to draw more attention to Haitian cuisine. We’ve all been enjoying classic Haitian comfort food forever, but this festival is about creating a fine dining experience with local and seasonal ingredients. I’ve seen the menus and I am equally excited to cook as I am to eat!

VISIT CHEF VANESSA CANTAVE’S WEBSITE HERE.

Folks on Instagram know him as Chef Greg. Based in South Florida, he’s a member of the legion of young chefs of Haitian descent who are experimenting with Haitian cuisine, giving it mainstream presentation, while keeping its flavor intact. Keep scrolling down to read all about Chef Greg and his journey as a foodie and culinarian!

Kreyolicious: Tell us about yourself.
Chef Greg: About myself? Well, let’s say that [I’m] still a mystery I have yet to discover…But I grew up with my mother and my grandmother. Watching them cooking was beautiful and they had always let me be in the kitchen with them which was probably the happiest moments of my childhood.

Kreyolicious: When you were little, what sort of messages did you get from your surroundings about a man in the kitchen?
I didn’t know my dad until I was four years old but my grandma and mother always told me to be true to myself, do what’s makes me happy but most of the kids in the neighborhood would tease me. They thought I was gay since I didn’t care much about other things other than cooking [Laughter], but I did not care. I knew who I was.

Kreyolicious: Who taught you to cook?
I learned how to cook from my grandma who I miss dearly.

Kreyolicious: Scientists are always discovering new planets. What if you were chosen for a mission and had to stay goodbye to your friends and fam. You decided to cook them a dinner. What would you make?

Kreyolicious: What if you could create a committee of advisors…made up of chefs and food influencers? Who would you choose and why?
I would choose Paul Bocuse. I hope someday to be just like him. I haven’t met him, but I study his work a lot which is why I believe so much on fresh ingredients when cooking. Gordon Ramsay ’cause of his high demand [for] perfection.

Kreyolicious: You been to Haiti?
Yes. I grew up in Haiti, but the last time I was there it was on my 18th birthday.

Kreyolicious: Have you ever had a bad cooking day? If so what led to it and how did you resolve it?
Yes I have. My cooking is based on my emotions, so if I’m not happy with my mother or my girlfriend, then I’ll have a hard time to keep going…If I hear from my mom or my girlfriend, then I can recover from anything.

Kreyolicious: What do you consider your biggest triumph?
I don’t care much for triumphs, but I gotta say it brings me joy seeing the plates going empty in the dishwasher each time I send them out. I love when I see my customers with a big smile after eating…but if I have to choose I’d say closing Halloween night dinners without any complaints ’cause it’s my busiest day of the year.

Kreyolicious: Do you think Haitian cuisine can get as mainstream as Chinese and Mexican food?
Absolutely! I believe Haitian cuisine has the potential to be bigger than any of the names cited, but it’s all up to us Haitian chefs not to change the ingredients. Simply present it in best possible way as most people eat with the eyes.

Kreyolicious: Did you receive any formal chef training?
Yes. And still learning.

All images are courtesy of Chef Greg, and are his intellectual property.

CLICK HERE to follow Chef Greg on Instagram and see gorgeous photos of his scrumptious dishes.

CLICK HERE to read interview and profiles of other chefs of Haitian descent.

Jaco Transfer and its three co-founders including CEO Loic Jasmin are changing the Haiti food transfer and remittance industry. In addition to offering the traditional staples offered by its competitors, the fledgling startup has staked out other markets ignored or underestimated by older competitors. Jaco Transfer sells motor scooters for example? Motor scooters? Yes! But what does this have to do with helping folks in Haiti? Um, plenty, and rather clever thinking. Family members wanting for male relatives to have economic autonomy can order a scooter and have it home-delivered to said relative to start a motor scooter taxi company. The company also offers home goods. So if a client would like to help a relative in Haiti set up a home goods business in Haiti, the he or she can order everything in bulk to send to said relatives. And Jaco Transfer doesn’t stop there. It offers electronics…so if you have a relative who’d to be spoiled with an HDTV…well…there you go! Other electronic products offered by the company include refrigerators, stoves, mobile phones, pedestal fans for those heat waves, and even blenders.

One of the reasons why the company is thriving is because Jasmin and his three twenty-something co-owners are bringing not just new products, but new tactics. They no doubt realize that the Haitian immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1970s and through the 1990s are reaching retirement age. Their USA-born and Canada-born and raised children are taking over or assisting them with some of their responsibilities which of course includes remittances. Members of this younger generation may not live where there is a transfer money office, but they do have access to the internet. This is where Jaco Transfer comes in. The company’s website makes it easy for users to log on and order. And then there are all these Web 3.0 and Web 4.0 strategies that the other older companies have not taken advantage of in the way the Jaco Transfer team has. Jaco Transfer sends out newsletters to existing customers and makes a point to send coupons regularly, an incentive traditional Haiti food transfer companies do not generally offer. The company is hyper-active on social media, a platform neglected and under-used by most of the other Haiti transfer and remittance companies.

Follow along as Jasmin answers more of my questions about Jaco Transfer.

Kreyolicious: What milestones accomplished by Jaco Transfer thus far that makes you especially proud?
Jaco Transfer: I think our biggest accomplishment at Jaco so far is to have created a community of Haitian online shoppers that love our service. Getting people who had been sending transfers to Haiti in retail locations to switch to online transfers is no small feat! On top of that, many of the people who try Jaco out are shopping online for the first time. We try to surpass our customers’ expectations to create a community of happy users. I think we’ve been successful in doing that. Those same customers who were shopping online for the first time are now effortlessly placing orders every few weeks! I think that’s our biggest accomplishment.

Kreyolicious: Where do you see Jaco Transfer five years from now?
Jaco Transfer: Five years from now Jaco Transfer will without a doubt be a top player in the Haitian remittance industry. We plan on using Jaco to have a positive impact on Haiti. The Diaspora is one of our biggest assets as a nation and should be given the opportunity to participate directly in strengthening our economy and bettering our country as a whole. That’s Jaco’s mission, and I’m confident we’ll make it happen.

This concludes PART II of the interview with Mr. Jasmin of Jaco Transfer. Be sure to watch out for PART I and PART II of the interview with him. Meanwhile, don’t keep your those relatives in Haiti waiting for that diri, pwa and somon!

CLICK HERE to visit the Jaco Transfer website! Use kreyolicious as your promocode and you will get 10% off your order. Hurry!

Loic Jasmin partnered up with three other like-minded twenty-something entrepreneurs to launch Jaco Transfer. Less than five years old, Jaco Transfer is creating lots and lots of buzz on the Haiti remittance market, and getting plenty of business.

The company’s take is to reach a younger demographic, apply nontraditional and grassroots marketing methods. One key strategy has been to offer food and non-food items, including hygiene products and electronics such as mobile phones as options. Jaco Transfer also dabbles with the fruits and vegetables market as a way to support Haiti’s farms and farmers, while also encouraging members of the population receiving these food remittances to be nutritionally-minded. Mindful of the reconstruction that has been taking place in Haiti since the earthquake hit the island in the early 2010s, and aware of the trend of Haiti born and non-Haiti-born members of the Dyaspora to return to and resettle in Haiti, Jaco Tranfer also offers construction materials among its product offerings.

For Jaco Tranfer CEO, the company has been one long life education course. Here he is sharing the lessons that the company’s CEO has learned across his entrepreneurship journey.

Kreyolicious: Entrepreneurship is a learning experience…full of lessons. If you were to round down these lessons to just five…tough lessons or otherwise…what would you say your journey so far as a businessman taught you?

Jaco Transfer: More often than not, your team is what makes or breaks your company. Having both founded companies with and without Co-Founders, I can say that you’re much more likely to succeed when you have a great team that works with you. I’m lucky to have what I think are some of the best and brightest to work with at Jaco. We fight against the largest, strongest corporations in the country every single day and are able to hold our ground thanks to our amazing team. My co-founders Stefan and Tariq are amazing guys both in and out of the office and work hard every day to make us reach our goals. You have to choose your team wisely! That’s my number one lesson learned.

Kreyolicious: Two…
Jaco Transfer: Don’t be afraid to share. As a first-time founder, it’s often excruciating to share equity. You want to keep 100% of the pie to yourself. I learned that business doesn’t work that way. You shouldn’t be afraid to give equity to investors, partners and employees who you think are valuable to your company! It’s better to own 10% of something amazing than 100% of nothing at all.

Kreyolicious: Three…
Jaco Transfer: Expect anything worthwhile to take a long time. One of my favorite quotes is: “It takes three years to blow up overnight”. I don’t know who originally said it, but I think it’s a fundamental truth in business and in life. You often hear success stories about overnight millionaires and things of that sort. Recently, there was even an article on one of my friends in Montreal who reached half a million in sales within 5 weeks of starting a business. What they didn’t say was that it was his seventh or eight business venture! So yeah, big things take time.

Above: Jasmin overseeing the training of a Jaco Transfer representative at the startup’s offices in Port-au-Prince.

Kreyolicious: Four…
Jaco Transfer: Don’t listen to people who say you can’t do it. Most of them haven’t tried. Few of them tried and failed, but you very well might succeed!

Kreyolicious: Five….
Jaco Transfer: Making money shouldn’t be your only goal, [but] don’t tell your investors. I think lots of people start off in business with only one goal: to make as much money as possible as fast as possible. I learned that money is just one of the things a business makes. Businesses can make a difference in the lives of the people they serve, of the community in which they operate and of their employees. They can give you a platform to push your ideas and express your creativity. Make sure you’re passionate about what you’re doing, not just the profits it could bring!

This concludes PART III of the interview with Mr. Jasmin of Jaco Transfer. Be sure to CHECK OUT PART I and PART II of the Kreyolicious interview with him. Meanwhile, don’t keep your those relatives in Haiti waiting for that diri, pwa and somon!

CLICK HERE to visit the Jaco Transfer website! Use kreyolicious as your promocode and you will get 10% off your order. Hurry!