Local restaurant owner Rashe Malcolm serves customers from her food truck at the Jittery Joes Roaster at 425 Barber St. on Oct. 10. The restaurant’s signature Jamaican soul food is an Athens staple, but Rashe believes that the restaurant provides more than just food to its customers. “(Rashe’s Cuisine) really (gives) a cultural experience. You get a little bit of community, you get a little bit of cultured food, you get a real experience when you deal with us. Youreally do feel like you’ve known me forever,” Rashe said. Photo by Lucas Donnelly
In addition to preparing delicious Jamaican food, local restaurant Rashe’s Cuisine is active in both educating and supporting the Athens community.
Athens restaurant Rashe’s Cuisine is renowned in town for its delicious Jamaican soul food, but that isn’t the only thing that sets it apart in town.
Owner Rashe Malcolm’s relationship with her customers and her contributions to her community make Rashe’s Cuisine a special place to many Athenians. Located less than three miles from Clarke Central High School, Rashe’s Cuisine officially opened in 2013. Previously on Tallassee Road as a dine-in establishment, Rashe’s Cuisine is now nestled in Triangle Plaza on Vine Street and offers carry-out meals. Hungry community members may also find her cuisine at the Jittery Joes Roaster on Barber Street, where Rashe often serves customers from her food truck.
The restaurant is Rashe’s latest endeavor in her journey with food and community — a journey that started when Rashe was a young girl.
“I loved being around my mom’s friends. When they were in the kitchen cooking, that’s where I wanted to be. I wanted to see what was going on. I didn’t want to just taste it, I wanted to see how it was made,” Rashe said. “A lot of times, I could just look at something and be able to mimic it. So I knew early on I had a gift.”
“She loved my mother, so everything that my mother did, Rashe would end up doing. She watched a lot of what my mother was cooking. My mother did a lot of Jamaican foods and African foods, and she fell in love with it.”
— Denise Brightwell,
Rashe’s mother
Rashe’s passion for food and cooking was fueled by her grandmother, a role model in her life.
“She loved my mother, so everything that my mother did, Rashe would end up doing,” Rashe’s mother Denise Brightwell said. “She watched a lot of what my mother was cooking. My mother did a lot of Jamaican foods and African foods, and she fell in love with it. It’s not my forte per se, but the way that (Rashe) prepares it, I love it.”
Local restaurant owner Rashe Malcolm stands in front of her restaurant, Rashe’s Cuisine, on Sept. 3. The restaurant’s signature Jamaican soul food is an Athen’s staple, but Rashe believes that the restaurant provides more than just food to its customers. “I really am a cultural experience. Because you get a little bit of community, you get a little bit of cultured food, you get a real experience when you deal with us. You really do feel like you’ve known me forever,” Rashe said. Photo by Lucas Donnelly
With a mother in the military, Rashe grew up moving all around the U.S. Her exposure to different areas of the country, along with her Jamaican and Southern cultural backgrounds, heavily influence her cooking.
“I’ve lived in Jamaica, I have a Jamaican husband and my kids were born in the U.S., (but) we raised them for a time in Jamaica,” Rashe said. “I come from very humble beginnings — I raised (my kids) with very humble beginnings. Taking all of that in, it really (influences) how I cook and how I create, because (Rashe’s Cuisine) started as a culture, period. As Black Americans, as Jamaicans, as a culture, period. We really had to, at a lot of times, take nothing and turn it into something.”
As a teenager inspired by her community, Rashe began teaching others to cook and donated food she made to those who needed it.
“You get a little bit of community, you get a little bit of cultured food, you get a real experience when you deal with us. You really do feel like you’ve known me forever.”
— Rashe Malcolm,
Rashe’s Cuisine owner
“It was the nature of how our community worked,” Rashe said. “Everyone had a talent, and everyone lended that talent to help all of us be able to continue our lives.”
Rashe transitioned from preparing food for the community into owning and operating her own catering business at 18.
“I was already (cooking) in a community setting, and when my mom asked me what I was going to do once I got out of school, the spirit just told me I was going to have this business,” Rashe said. “I didn’t really know what that was going to look like, so I essentially just kept doing what I had already been doing, and eventually it came together.”
Although Rashe continued her catering business through the following years, it was not yet a main source of income. In 2013, however, she hurt her leg and could no longer continue her previous job as an Environmental Protection Agency contractor.
“I was just like, ‘Okay, that’s not how this is going to work, I still have young kids at home.’ And so I took my little life savings and we started the restaurant on Tallassee Road,” Rashe said.
Various products such as coffee and chocolate from Rashe’s Cuisine are featured at her carry-out restaurant in Triangle Plaza on Vine Street. Owner Rashe Malcom focuses on her connections with customers above all else. “I would say the customers (are my favorite part), and really we call them family members or cousins. And that’s because there’s a variety of people who come through here, good, bad and indifferent,” Rashe said. Photo by Lucas Donnelly
“You get a little bit of community, you get a little bit of cultured food, you get a real experience when you deal with us,” Rashe said. “You really do feel like you’ve known me forever.”
Rashe’s dishes have contributed to the visibility of Jamaican food and culture in the Athens community. For example, community member Csherri Sims believes that her relationship with the restaurant has widened her perspective on cultural cuisine.
“Everyone thinks Jamaican food is hot, it’s too spicy. And that’s the impression I had, too, because we only had one other Jamaican restaurant here in Athens, and so that’s the only one I could relate to,” Sims said. “(But) when I was introduced to Rashe and her restaurant, I was like, ‘Okay, this is Jamaican, but it’s not too spicy. I can eat this without fanning my mouth and everything.'”
“When we first started, people were like, ‘What’s that? What’s that?’ I spent more time educating people on Jamaican cultural food than I probably did selling it. And now, if I don’t have certain things, they’re like, ‘Where’s my plantains, where’s my dumplings, where’s my this, where’s my that?'”
— Rashe Malcolm
Rashe’s Cuisine owner
Rashe educates the community by providing them with a Jamaican experience, although it takes additional effort.
“A lot of Americans know what an empanada is, the Spanish have done a very great job of introducing their foods and ensuring people know what they are, but as a Jamaican, I’m still explaining to people what a beef patty is,” Rashe said. “When we first started, people were like, ‘What’s that? What’s that?’ I spent more time educating people on Jamaican cultural food than I probably did selling it. And now, if I don’t have certain things, they’re like, ‘Where’s my plantains, where’s my dumplings, where’s my this, where’s my that?’ So it’s very exciting.”
A dish from Rashe’s Cuisine is displayed. The restaurant has become popular because of its food’s authentic and unique flavors. “A lot of times people want to do something different. They want their birthday party to be different, or their wedding to be different, and so they really do depend on us and trust us to be able to give them a very authentic flavour. But we do still do everything with a Caribbean flair.” Photo courtesy of Rashe Malcolm
“Rashe’s Cuisine is an opportunity for African Americans to have a voice as far as the culinary
side of Athens. People are used to seeing The Varsity and all these big-time restaurants, but they’re not used to having a restaurant that they can relate to, that’s part of their background, that’s a part of their culture,” Sims said. “So when you have someone like Rashe who comes in, and she has collard greens and mac n’ cheese, these are things you’re used to eating at home.”
The contributions that Rashe’s Cuisine makes to the Athens community extend beyond education and representation. Rashe also donates directly to community members in need.
A plate of jerk chicken from Rashe’s Cuisine is displayed. Jerk chicken has become one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. “(Customers) will see me and go, ‘Wait wait, aren’t you that Jamaican lady or jerk chicken lady?’ They love calling me jerk chicken lady. ‘Aren’t you that jerk chicken lady? I had your food at this event or that event, and we appreciate your service, the food was wonderful.’ That’s the best part about being a restaurant owner,” Rashe said. Photo courtesy of Rashe Malcolm
“People call me up, and (say), ‘Hey, we have this kid’s team, and they need support.’ Sometimes it’s with a check, sometimes it’s with food,” Rashe said. “(Then) the pandemic happened. Before I got my first grant money, I was feeding people out of my own pocket. It’s just who we are. It’s not anything forced.”
Her mother notices Rashe providing guidance to her customers, extending her relationships beyond her foods.
“We can’t make you do the things that we want you to do, but we can make sure that we cover you so that when we see you going to the right and you’re supposed to be going straight, we can sort of guide you back that way,” Brightwell said. “That’s the way (Rashe) governs that restaurant, and that’s the way she looks at the community. Rashe’s mindset is, ‘What can I do for you, to help you get to where you need to be?'”
“Rashe’s Cuisine is an opportunity for African Americans to have a voice as far as the culinary side of Athens.”
— Csherri Sims,
community member
Rashe’s son, Rashe’s Cuisine employee and CCHS Class of 2019 alumnus Wayne Malcolm, believes that these efforts are effective due to the mindset of the restaurant and its employees.
“Most people are going to look at us (like), ‘Oh, they’re a family business.’ But we look at it as, ‘What can we do to feed the community? What can we do to give back?’ Because people think we have so much, which we really don’t, vut we try our best with what we do have,” Wayne said.
Rashe’s contributions to the Athens community make her a role model for many.
“For a lot of students nowadays, they need representation, especially (from) someone like Rashe, who is active in her community, who’s active with bettering her community. Youth need to see people like Rashe doing great, because they can look at her and say, ‘Hey, I can do that, too,'” Sims said.
Most people are going to look at us (like), ‘Oh, they’re a family business.’ But we look at it as, ‘What can we do to feed the community? What can we do to give back?'”
— Wayne Malcolm,
Rashe’s son, Rashe’s Cuisine employee and CCHS Class of 2019 alumnus
Rashe’s community-centered approach to running her restaurant and her relationship with customers create a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere at Rashe’s Cuisine.
“(Rashe) is one of those people where her personality is just lively. When you go over there you can’t help but be happy and joyus, even though you may not feel like being happy, maybe you’re upset about something, but when you’re around her her personality pretty much rubs off on you,” Sims said.
According to Rashe, there is more on the horizon for the Rashe’s Cuisine community that will bring more people into the world of Jamaican cooking.
“We actually filmed our first episode for my new cooking show. We have a cookbook coming out as part of our merchandise line, we’re really trying to push that right now,” Rashe said. “We get so many people saying, ‘Oh my God, I wish I could cook,’ and we always try to tell people, ‘It’s really not as hard as you think.'”
