His brother’s keeper
Chef Shea Stewart joins team to assist hurricane-affected countrymen
Published:Thursday | November 13, 2025 | 12:09 AMOmar Tomlinson/Contributor
Spontaneous tears streamed down Shea Stewart’s face after he saw Hurricane Melissa’s devastation firsthand in western and southern Jamaica. The caterer and chef had been moved to take action a week ago in the wake of the human upheaval and widespread damage caused by the Category 5 hurricane.
“If you see the images on social media, witnessing it first-hand is a thousand times worse,” a still-crestfallen Stewart shared on a phone call. “It brought tears to my eyes and showed me and my team how much work needs to be done.”
He was en route from Kingston in a late Tuesday morning convoy to St Elizabeth for a relief mission to assist those in urgent need. This week’s trip marked the fifth time he’s made philanthropic treks to the hardest hit parishes to give a helping hand to the multitudes directly impacted.
Stewart is the founder and operator of the fast-casual eatery Presto Pasta and also co-owner of the Japanese-Jamaican restaurant Oceano in Marketplace. He also owns his own catering business, Elite Kreations. “I can’t sit aside and watch my people need help and do nothing. I’m a proud Jamaican and I love my country immensely,” he told Food of his decision to get involved.
As our talk unfolded, he outlined the itinerary for the moving caravan of do-gooders. They traversed the ‘Sainty’ parish with stops at Luana, Brompton, Middle Quarters, Crane Road, Braes River, Holland, and elsewhere. “We wanted to touch the areas that are affected that seemed to not get much attention,” he rationalised, in light of the heightened focus on Black River and Santa Cruz. “The truth is, there are a lot of other areas and people in need of help.”
Previous out-of-town trips by the chef and company have covered ground in Trelawny, Savanna-la-Mar and Montego Bay. Already, some 3,000 warm meals that run the gamut from curried and fried chicken to curried fish and a vegetable stew — all with rice and peas and servings of vegetables — have been prepped and delivered on the ground.
Joining forces with Romeich Entertainment and Zimi Entertainment and their respective marketing teams, Stewart waxed favourably of the coalition. “We saw it necessary to collaborate and use our resources to help our brothers and sisters in the west. Being around Romeich and his team and seeing how he has helped in the past rubs off and shows the importance of being charitable.” Altogether, the group consists of 150 volunteers.
According to the chef and caterer, in addition to the provision of thousands of complimentary meals since the relief team’s work got underway on November 4, more than 5,000 care packages have also been distributed across three parishes.
“We gave out several types of packages, which were individualised,” Stewart explained of the collective’s work. “For the babies, we packaged infant food items, [diapers], and baby-related items, while for children, there are snacks, juices and other food items. We also had family bags with bulk food items, bulk hygiene items, which also had kids’ juices and snacks, and baby items.” Further to this, there were gender-specific packages too, with feminine products, food items and hygiene products. Each recipient of a family package was also given a half case of bottled water.
Much to his surprise, on the recent outing to St Elizabeth, Stewart told Food he discovered he had a distant relative resident in Brompton. “I went on a reconnaissance to find her and we were able to, and reconnect her with her family overseas.”
Stewart is proud of his work associates who have rallied around efforts to help their affected countrymen. “I have seen many of my chef colleagues coming together to assist, like Brian Lumley and Gariel Ferguson and many others, which is a beautiful thing. We come from a service industry, and I believe it’s in our DNA to serve, so big up to every chef that’s helped so far,” he noted.
As to the road ahead, he is thoroughly practical-minded about the realities. “I know this is not an overnight fix, and the entire team is looking at ways we can help in the long term. We are looking at formulating a plan, and once it is finalised, we will let it be publicly known. It’s a collaborative effort in every sense and a true testament to the saying teamwork makes the dream work. We are all dreaming [of] a bigger, better and brighter Jamaica after this,” said Chef Stewart.