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From being born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago to making waves in the buzzing borough of Brooklyn, Latoya Lovell has stirred her dreams into a pot of Caribbean flavours and poured them straight into the heart of New York.
At 40, the self-taught chef and proud restaurant owner of Island Shack is cooking more than just meals—she’s serving up T&T heritage, memory, and bold, unapologetic authenticity.
Formally educated in T&T, she left Corpus Christi College in Form 3 and went on to St Augustine Community College before migrating to the US at 18. Remembering from very early on being drawn to food, she recalls, “food was always my passion and my happy place”.
She spent a great deal of time in the kitchen in her younger years, learning about food, its preparation and cooking from the strong maternal figures in her life–her grandmother, mother, and aunts.
When she arrived in the US, Lovell didn’t immediately find herself behind a stove. Like many newly minted immigrants, she had to slowly and decisively carve her own path in a brand-new world. Although she never received formal schooling in cooking or training as a restaurateur and is a self-taught chef, she amassed a wealth of experience working in the restaurant world.
“I started as a bartender,” she remembers, “and then worked my way up at different restaurants.”
Lovell took courses, managed teams, and learned the restaurant business from the ground up, performing various roles to get the full gamut of the experience.
However, no matter where she was, behind a bar or running the front of house—her heart was in the kitchen, and she was imagining, one day having her own space to create, and make her culinary dreams come true.
That dream started morphing into reality in 2021, when, after visiting various sites, she stumbled upon her dream spot to open her restaurant.
Lovell is now the proud owner of Island Shack, a full-service restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. “This location found me,” she says. “There was no other place I could see myself opening. It just felt right.”
The restaurant officially opened its doors on January 31, 2022, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic—a time when many businesses, especially restaurants, were closing their doors. Acknowledging that people may have thought she was crazy for taking such a big leap in an uncertain period, she says, “I’ve always been brave. I was ready, and I believed it would work.”
Now in its third year, Island Shack has become a beloved neighbourhood staple. It’s a full-service restaurant that brings the staples of Trinidadian cuisine to the heart of Brooklyn. Lovell has seen success throughout the years, not only in the Caribbean diaspora’s enjoyment of the food–welcoming guests such as Olatunji, Freetown Collective, and Queen Omega”–but in the many non-Caribbean people who have discovered the cuisine and keep coming back for more.
However, she values this validation from the Caribbean community, saying that “having our people come here, enjoy the food and experience the homey-ness is very comforting”.
The scent of spices, the warmth of Caribbean décor, the unmistakable hum of conversation and music create an experience that’s more than a meal—it’s a homecoming.
Lovell’s menu covers the length and breadth of the Trinidadian palette, with offerings including roti, buss up shut, plantain, corn soup, rice and peas, macaroni pie, mango chow, bake and shark sliders, accra, and callaloo to whet visitors’ appetites. What sets her apart is her insistence on having a clean and inviting atmosphere, without fancifying the food.
“When anyone steps inside, they feel like they’re in their aunty’s house,” she says. “Other Caribbean-style restaurants may make their food fancier, but I want ours to be just like we get it at home.”
One of the major challenges most restaurant founders face is maintaining the integrity and consistency of the recipes for their foods as they are passed on, and even the most highly-trained chefs may struggle to recreate the tastes of original recipes.
Lovell’s hack to combat this? “I do all the cooking,” she says. “I’m here early, and I have a chef who preps and a chef who dishes out food, but I cook everything. That’s where the food’s consistency comes from.”
Her corn soup is a fan favourite, and her personal favourite dish is a plate of curry. Although she has experienced a wide array of cuisines, Lovell will always tuck in for a plate of curry chicken or goat, with buss up shut, pumpkin, potato and channa.
Like many female entrepreneurs, Lovell has faced challenges—not just in the kitchen, but in running her own business. “In this industry, when people realise it’s a woman running things, they become apprehensive. Distribution, marketing, negotiations, it’s different. You have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously,” she says.
Another major challenge, which she also faced when opening, is the state of the economy. At present, the imposition of tariffs is an issue she has to contend with while trying to keep her prices fair and stable and still making a livelihood for herself.
Young Caribbean entrepreneurs continue to carve their own paths, against a traditional rhetoric that continues to be passed down, of developing hard skills, getting an education and following a traditional career path. However, Lovell has carved a niche for herself, without formal chef training and is learning about business as she goes.
Her advice for anyone with a dream? “Follow it. Don’t give up. Everyone will have an opinion, but you have to trust yourself. Do it your way, and don’t listen to too much outside noise, she urges.
For Latoya Lovell, food is more than a livelihood. It’s language, it’s love, it’s legacy. “Food is how I show love. It connects people. Whether I’m happy or sad, food reaches me. It’s universal.” And with every dish served at Island Shack, she’s sharing that love with the world—one comforting, nostalgic bite at a time.
English (US) ·