{"id":90007,"date":"2025-12-16T14:56:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T14:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/90007\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T14:56:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T14:56:23","slug":"the-rise-of-chef-nicola-blaque-in-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/90007\/","title":{"rendered":"The rise of chef Nicola Blaque in San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The force behind San Antonio\u2019s only Michelin-recognized Jamaican restaurant is a James Beard-nominated chef\u2014 Nicola Blaque.<\/p>\n<p>Blaque started <a href=\"https:\/\/thejerkshacksatx.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Jerk Shack <\/a>as a 600-square-foot, hole-in-the-wall with a walk-up window and picnic tables. Within a year, the easy-to-miss spot off West Commerce Street was named one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/2019\/7\/10\/18661474\/best-new-restaurants-america-2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">America\u2019s 16 Best New Restaurants<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Accolades poured in like rain. Upon learning the James Beard Foundation had named her a semifinalist for Best Chef: Texas, Blaque went online to look for an answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Who is James Beard?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She had no idea.<\/p>\n<p>The Jerk Shack has since moved to a larger space \u2014 2,700 square feet \u2014 on the city\u2019s far West Side. And the awards keep coming. The restaurant earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, the guide\u2019s recommendation for high quality and good-value cooking, in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n<p>On this week\u2019s episode of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bigcitysmalltown.com\/128-san-antonio-fc-is-reaching-for-the-world-stage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">bigcitysmalltown<\/a> podcast, host Cory Ames joins Blaque in The Jerk Shack to discuss her remarkable journey from military veteran to acclaimed chef and the challenges of bringing authentic Caribbean cuisine to San Antonio.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Ames and Blaque examine the evolution of local food culture, the city\u2019s eagerness to embrace new flavors and the collaborative spirit among San Antonio chefs.<\/p>\n<p>They also explore:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 How to bridge cultures and reclaim identity through food<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What it takes to build a local restaurant, including obstacles, opportunity, and community support<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The importance of chef collaboration in fostering a diverse food ecosystem<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Reflections on parenthood, legacy, and the next chapter for Black and Caribbean cuisine in Texas<\/p>\n<p>The episode examines the resilience needed to thrive in an uncertain economy\u00a0and and what the future might hold for San Antonio\u2019s culinary landscape. It also explores Blaque\u2019s immigrant roots: She arrived from Jamaica as a young girl in a military family and found it difficult to build connections. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom 5 to 18, I really struggled with my identity and who I wanted to be and who I wanted to be around,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I joined the Army. And the only thing \u2026 that I really felt like truly connected me to myself or my family or anything, was food.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Watch or listen to the full episode here:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765896983_27_hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"YouTube video\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The force behind San Antonio\u2019s only Michelin-recognized Jamaican restaurant is a James Beard-nominated chef\u2014 Nicola Blaque. Blaque started&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[16672,3212,31262,9107,82,84,83,42489,92,3028],"class_list":{"0":"post-90007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-bib-gourmand","9":"tag-bigcitysmalltown","10":"tag-james-beard","11":"tag-nicola-blaque","12":"tag-san-antonio","13":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","14":"tag-san-antonio-news","15":"tag-the-jerk-shack","16":"tag-top-story","17":"tag-typedaily"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}