Migration asks a lot of you. New climate. New systems. New people.
And somewhere between adjusting to all of it, new food - food that becomes a kind of anchor, a language, a way of staying connected to where you came from while figuring out where you’re going.
For Devon Wells, owner of Carib Dish in Barrie and Toronto, Ontario, that tension didn’t just shape his life. It shaped his menu.
Wells came to Canada from Grenada at 14 in the early 2000s, curious, open and ready to take in everything his new environment had to offer.
“The challenge for me is fun,” said Wells.
In fact, he looked at preconceived obstacles as developmental phases as he explored and engaged within communities.
What he couldn’t have anticipated was how quickly those two worlds - Caribbean and Canadian, would start informing each other. In 2024, he opened Carib Dish.
The name was intentional.
“I wanted a name that represents the whole Caribbean,” Wells said. “‘Carib’ speaks to the culture, and ‘Dish’ keeps it simple - it’s about authentic food.”
That authenticity runs through everything on the menu. Jerk, steamed, curried, fried all prepared to true Caribbean standards. But Wells didn’t stop there. He took those same techniques and applied them to Canadian staples: jerk chicken poutine, jerk chicken waffles, Caribbean-spiced wraps, pastas and quesadillas that carry the heat and soul of the islands. The result is a menu that doesn’t choose between two cultures. It holds both.
