Healthy Caribbean Cuisine
Chef Services and Catering
BASED IN SAN DIEGO
Meet Chef Kana
About Chef and Owner of Island Taste Budz
My name is Kana Ellison and I am the founder and Chef of ITB. My culinary experience started in Jamaica, in the kitchen of my grandmother, Miss Mavis. I grew up in Kingston 13 where having enough ingredients for a full meal was hard to come by. The neighborhood kids and I would come together with what ingredients we collectively had- flour from one home, an onion from another- and from there I would make a meal for all of us to share. Learning to cook like this from a very young age has shaped me into the chef I am today. A chef who can bring simple and fresh ingredients together and make something amazing.
I have since moved from my island home and for the past ten years I have been cooking and learning in kitchens across the United States. From Chicago to San Francisco, I have worked in both casual and high end dining, cooking with ingredients from all around the globe and learning techniques from different cultures.
Today I blend my traditional Jamaican cooking with what I have learned in my decade of culinary experience. I now create elevated, healthy and fresh Island inspired dishes for my clients. My cooking lets your Taste Budz explore, while giving you proper nourishment and leaving you feeling satisfied and healthy. For more info on the dishes I create, take a look at my Sample Menu- you won’t be disappointed.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"Let me just start out and say thank you Chef Kana. You exceeded all expectations thank you very much. I am very grateful for your service and attention to detail the quality of food was amazing. Now to the review. I was blessed to come across Chef Kana’s page. The reason why is because he was able to accommodate all my needs to vegan eaters(only my wife) and to regular folks. I must say the veggie chunks was a hit at the event all my guest were very impressed with the fact it was vegan and not beef. It reminded me of a beef curry stew. Highly recommend. We also had the rice and peas and sweet potato rice. I enjoyed the rice and peas but I must say the Sweet Potato Rice was truly amazing the flavor and texture profile was just perfect. I also ordered the ital stew which is another vegan dish and was my wife’s favorite dish. She truly enjoyed it. My favorite dish was the curry shrimp. The flavor profile was just perfect it was all gone within 40 minutes of the food arriving. The jerk chicken was gone within 20 minutes. Especially with the jerk sauce. That sauce just amplified all the flavors super good. Sorry for no photos but if you order from Chef Kana you will see why. When we opened all the platters we did not care for photos we were ready to devour this delicious food in front of us. I highly recommend reaching out to Chef Kana to cater any event. And again, thank you Chef Kana for everything."
- EDDIE
— Name, Title
Contact Me
Chefkana@IslandTasteBudz.com / TEL:773-997-0626
Send me a message for more information on my services