Born and raised in Jamaica, Julian Johnson, known to many as “Chef Jewelz”, began her culinary journey at just nine years old, learning the art of traditional Jamaican cooking alongside her grandmother. Nearly a decade ago, she moved to Vermont, bringing with her the rich flavors, techniques, and traditions of her island home.

Over the years, Chef Jewelz has honed her skills in renowned kitchens, including both of Okemo Mountain Ski Resort’s fine dining restaurants, Coleman Brook Tavern and epic., The Bryant House in Weston, and The Coonamessett Inn in Cape Cod, MA.

Today, you’ll find Jamaican Jewelz serving up authentic dishes in our food truck across New England, at the Big-E, and right here in our Bellows Falls restaurant.

The struggles of a single mother, so far away from the kitchen where her grandmother taught her to cook, soon took a few really, really good turns; though not without fight, persistence and constant, exhausting complication.

In the following years, Jewelz met and married her husband Duane, became a proud home owner here in Vermont, was able to move her family here to Vermont to be with her, became a grandmother, continued to work hard in the restaurant industry while also perusing an interest in mental health and working rehabilitating clients (sometimes working 75+ hours/ week between both jobs and overnighting often at work).

All the while, Jewelz had a passion. A fire built up from years of time spent in kitchens. She always wanted to start her own little restaurant in order to have people; friends, family and community folks, get a taste of her heritage. Jamaican style cooking, its flavors, her heritage, the history behind her food and the passion she shares for quality, flavor and enjoyment of eating.

Closely connected to her community, Jewelz began slowly creating a buzz with her culinary skills at local farmers markets and was an instant success.