Caribbean food—once pigeonholed, often misunderstood, but always loved—is experiencing a renaissance. Across the world’s most competitive food cities, the flavours of the region are stepping into long-overdue recognition, buoyed by chefs, creators, and cultural keepers who are redefining what Caribbean gastronomy means today. At the heart of this movement is Nneka Nurse: culinary strategist, cultural curator, and the founder of Best Dressed Plate (BDP)—the platform now considered the global authority on Caribbean cuisine.
From her base in New York, Nurse has spent the past several years quietly but decisively building the infrastructure the Caribbean food world never had: a place where excellence is documented, talent is honoured, and the narrative belongs to the people who created the cuisine in the first place.
On December 15, Best Dressed Plate will announce the 2025 Caribbean Culinary Impact Awards, a moment Nurse describes as “critical” to the region’s cultural future.
“Caribbean cuisine is finally receiving the global acknowledgment it has long deserved,” Nurse says. “These awards are not just about giving out trophies; they are about reclaiming our narrative and defining our own standards of excellence.”
The awards—which celebrate chefs, entrepreneurs, food creators, restaurants, and pop-ups—are now in their second year. But 2025 marks a turning point. For the first time, honourees will be named across four major regions: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean. The expansion mirrors the reality Nurse knows intimately: Caribbean food lives not just in the islands, but in diaspora kitchens, in immigrant-owned restaurants, and in digital spaces where cultural memory is preserved and shared.
Nneka Nurse’s story winds through islands and industries. Her father is Trinidadian, her mother Jamaican, and her family tree stretches through Barbados and St Kitts and Nevis. She was born in the United States, but raised in a way that made the Caribbean feel like her first language.
“As a first-generation Caribbean-roots American, my childhood—split between Trinidad and the US, with visits to family in Jamaica and Barbados—instilled in me a strong connection to my Caribbean identity, especially with the food,” she says.
Yet Nurse’s path to becoming one of the Caribbean’s most influential culinary voices was anything but linear. Before founding Best Dressed Plate, she built a career in construction project management—a world far removed from kitchens and content creation. But the performer in her was always restless. She hosted fashion shows, managed major concerts including Machel Montano’s US events, and even worked as a media personality on Muzik Media, a Caribbean music and news programme.
“Construction built my professional foundation, but entertainment has always been my true calling,” she reflects. “Now, I’ve combined blueprints for stories, launching Best Dressed Plate and Caribbean Tradishons. These platforms are my love letters to Caribbean cuisine.”
What began as a simple Instagram page showcasing dishes from the islands soon evolved into something much bigger. The turning point, she says, was hosting her first culinary event at the United Nations.
“Seeing guests light up at the food and culture validated the mission,” she recalls. That event laid the groundwork for Caribbean Tradishon, a dinner series pairing chefs of Caribbean descent with modernised interpretations of traditional dishes.
This year, the Caribbean Culinary Impact Awards introduce two significant new prizes. The Sylvia Hunt Lifetime Achievement Award pays homage to the iconic Trinidadian culinary figure whose television show shaped generations of home cooks. The Best Caribbean Culinary Destination award recognises the countries elevating how the region’s food is experienced and remembered.
Nurse sees these additions as essential. “We have to honour the shoulders we stand on. We have to honour the countries shaping the future of our food identity.”
Her timing aligns perfectly with the current moment. Caribbean-led restaurants—among them Buzo Barbados and Stush In The Bush—have just secured places on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, a historic milestone for the region.
“The momentum has never been stronger,” Nurse says. “These honourees are the blueprint for the future of our food: rooted, resilient, innovative, and connected across borders.”
And she wants the world to understand that Caribbean food is not monolithic, nor is it secondary to any other cuisine.
“It’s world-class. It always has been.”
Once the 2025 award winners are announced, Best Dressed Plate will release a series of video profiles on each honouree, deep-dive features that explore the kitchens, communities, and personal histories behind their work. It is part of Nurse’s broader mission: to ensure Caribbean culinary excellence is not only celebrated, but archived, studied, and broadcast globally.
BDP is now regarded as the definitive global voice for Caribbean gastronomy, hosting high-level events, publishing editorial content, and advocating for the rightful place of Caribbean cuisine in the global culinary canon. A BDP recognition is widely seen as a marker of authentic excellence.
That is the influence Nurse has built—quietly, intentionally, uncompromisingly.
Nneka Nurse is a construction manager. A storyteller. A cultural archivist. A strategist. A show-runner. A curator. A bridge.
She is the rare kind of leader who understands both the creative fire of the Caribbean kitchen and the technical blueprint required to elevate it on the world stage.
Her passion, she says, comes from something simple: the universal language of food.
“Sharing a meal can bridge cultures and build communities,” she says. “Caribbean cuisine deserves its seat at the global table—and these awards help cement that legacy.”
With the Caribbean Culinary Impact Awards now entering a bold new chapter, and with Caribbean food continuing its rise internationally, one thing is clear: Nneka Nurse is not just documenting the movement—she is shaping it.
