Alecia was raised in the hills of Jamaica by her grandparents. They were farmers, and she learned early that good food begins in the ground. From running in those hills she grew into a teenage track star, once winning her country’s 100-meter finals in Kingston — barefoot.
Zimbali
In 2005 she met her husband, and over the next twenty years they built the self-sufficient life that became Zimbali Retreats: a fourteen-acre fruit and vegetable farm, and the award-winning farm-to-table cooking show it made possible. Five courses, almost entirely from what they grew. Guests drove thirty minutes out of Negril for it. They came for the food and stayed for Alecia.
Her cooking — modern Jamaican, rooted in tradition, shaped by whatever the land offered that morning — drew cameras from around the world. She used the attention the way she uses everything: to lift up her community and protect the culture she came from. To the people who know her, she is reverently called Empress.
The book
In 2025, while raising her own children, she realized how fast the old traditions were disappearing. Young mothers around her knew nothing of the ways in which she’d been raised. So she started writing them down. Forgotten Wisdoms: Ancient African Traditions for Modern Moms collects sixty-two of them — traditions that had only ever been spoken, passed from one person to the next, at the pot and at the bedside. It became a top new release in Caribbean history on Amazon. There is more at forgottenwisdoms.com.
The children
Ask Alecia what she’s proudest of and she won’t mention any of it. She’ll tell you about her four children, and about raising them so deeply in their Jamaican identity that they’ll carry it wherever they go. Her life is a quiet argument for resilience, for talent, and for what family and tradition can hold together.
Sarasota
On October 28th, 2025, Hurricane Melissa changed the island — and changed the path of Alecia’s family with it. They came to Sarasota not knowing what was next, and found a beautiful place and lovely people waiting.
Now she wants to do what she has always done: cook for people, teach what she knows, and set a table. If you’ve found your way to this page, she hopes you’ll come hungry and leave a friend.
Food Handlers Certificate on file. ServSafe certified. Fully insured.