Love in a time of quarantine led to Irie Jerk opening

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Jamaica. It’s a place with some of the most delicious food creations that side of the Caribbean.

Fortunately for Honolulu, we have our very own, authentic Jamaican Jerk restaurant right here in our town.

Irie Jerk is located on Bishop Street in Chinatown and is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., making it a great lunch place for anyone working or visiting Downtown or Chinatown.

The story of Irie Jerk begins with a pandemic love story. The owner, Jasleen Goldcamp, met her husband, Dan, during the COVID pandemic.

She was born in rural Jamaica; he grew up right here on Oʻahu, fulfilling his destiny to soak up as much of Hawaii water culture as possible.

While growing up in Jamaica, Goldcamp lived with her grandmother who taught her all the family secrets to the best homemade Jamaican food you can find.

After the couple met, they quickly discovered that they both love a good meal.

“During the pandemic, we were always on quarantine; so, I started to cook a lot for us,” reveals Goldcamp on her Irie Jerk website. “When we both were out of work at the end of the pandemic, we decided to start cooking Jamaican food.”

They began their adventure in a food truck, like many chefs do. Then they moved to their current brick and mortar location.

“We hope it can one day it can become a worldwide shared experience where people from all over the world can share in good home style cooking infused with flavors of the Caribbean and the Irie vybez so much that they come for the food but stay for the Vybez!” said Goldcamp.