Etmour Williams brings passion to plate with Tastematic Kitchen
Published:Thursday | February 27, 2025 | 12:06 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
At the start of 2025, Etmour Williams, owner of one of the capital’s newest pop-up restaurants, Tastematic Kitchen, was determined to bring his love for food to the forefront.
With that in mind, and with the motivation of Audrey Allwood, owner of Fit Farm Fitness Club in St Andrew, where Williams exercises and does weight training, he started hosting Pop-Up Fridays events at the gym and now has no regrets stepping into his own.
“I’ve always been doing catering on a below-the-line [level] for people who I know – friends and family. And, this year, I decided that I’m going to take a different approach. I’m going to take a new outlook. I’m going to try something new and bold. And rather than keeping all the good food which I always bring for my staff at work, where everybody usually says, ‘Your food is good! Your food is different. Your food is very well-seasoned and well tasty’, and as a result of that, I decided that I’m going to try something new,” Williams told Food.
“The owner of Fit Farm, Audrey, is a friend of mine, she has always been encouraging me to do it, because I was always taking salads to the gym and shakes, and she always said ‘You could do a shake bar here. You could do a salad bar here’,” he added.
Working in his primary role as a commercial and customer relationship manager at Hyundai, Williams said that Tastematic Kitchen has been in the works for the last two years, with him eventually taking Allwood up on her offer in 2025.
“I’ve been doing stuff [cooking] for the past 10 years... I love marketing. I love events. I love cooking food and good food, and Tastematic came about from me providing customers with meal prep; providing customers with options that were meal prep friendly, nutritious and packed with proteins for people who go to the gym,” he said.
RASTAFARIAN FATHER
Williams credits his love for cooking to his Rastafarian father. “My cooking style pretty much is big on herbs and spices. I was raised by my dad, and my dad is from a Rastafarian belief. [As] a result of that, there are certain things that were engrained in me while growing up, so we’re big on using fresh herbs and spices. I’m not very big on [powdered seasonings] as people would put it. I’m very big on marinating with herbs and spices at least 72 hours before it is served. Those are some of the things I would say have been a part of my style of cooking,” Williams, who said he is a big lover of avocado, plantain and coconut milk, told Food.
He noted that it was the COVID-19 pandemic period which pushed him to cook more and delve deeper into the culinary arts.
“COVID also allowed us to look at life differently, and I wanted to try something new. If I should die, I want it to be said that I tried something new and [didn’t] just keep it as an idea in my head, and this year is about that,” he said.
With stagings of Pop-Up Fridays under his belt, Williams is looking to incorporate health-focused options “soon”.
“Tastematic Kitchen is about authentic Jamaican flavours, comfort food, [and] good tasting food. It’s not really guided by the health consciousness of it. However, phase two of Tastematic Kitchen will include the healthy options that will be coming, and that’s where you’ll [see] our different juices and our salads, and our salads won’t be boring. The salads won’t be about lettuce only, but [also] bold flavours and beans and greens and different types of vegetables, and that should come around April,” he said.
Balancing a new business and his job, Williams said is not easy, but he presses on.
“I really find time. I plan. I strategise. I put a lot of effort into what I am doing. And, usually at nights when everyone is sleeping, my brain is in overdrive, working,” he said.