i. Biography
San Antonio gives the work a specific pressure: Caribbean memory, South Texas appetite, and formal culinary training meeting at the same pass. In Nicola Blaque’s hands, those elements are not folded into a brand story so much as kept in working balance. The throughline is control without stiffness, food that carries lineage and still needs to move fast, serve cleanly, and land with purpose.
The Climb
A Logistics Noncommissioned Officer in the U.S. Army, Nicola Blaque built early discipline in Germany, Tennessee, Hawaii, and on overseas tours in Kuwait before moving into work as a Private Chef. Private-chef work shifted the scale from logistics to the table, where food becomes direct exchange instead of infrastructure. Since 2018, Nicola Blaque has been chef-owner of The Jerk Shack, and she is also chef-owner of Freight Fried Chicken. Two ventures, two registers, one steady approach: clear seasoning, operational discipline, and the ability to build restaurants that hold their own. The difference between them is format; the common ground is a craft grounded in repetition and precision.
Today
As Executive Chef and Owner at Mi Roti, Nicola Blaque extends that same ownership across more than one local address. The role points to range, not dilution: a chef working through different expressions of the same cooking logic, with Caribbean food as the base reference. “My personal mission currently is to spread Caribbean food and help more women become entrepreneurs.” The statement is plain and functional. It places cuisine, ownership, and women’s entrepreneurship inside the same working frame, with no separation between what is cooked and what is built. “I love being able to feed people, I feel food is a universal language and it speaks to everyone.” Read in trade terms, that is a definition of hospitality: the plate as common language, service as communication, and feeding as a daily practice rather than a posture.
Signature
Nicola Blaque's signature dishes include Jerk chicken, Braised Oxtails, Rundown shrimp, and Nicola Blaque's Christmas Rum Cake. Taken together, they show the range of the kitchen: spice-led, slow-cooked, and rooted in Caribbean flavor, with a dessert that carries her name as part of the offering.
In Their Words “My personal mission currently is to spread Caribbean food and help more women become entrepreneurs.” “I love being able to feed people, I feel food is a universal language and it speaks to everyone.”
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Nicola
What is Nicola Blaque's current role?
As of 2026, Nicola Blaque is Chef and Owner.
Where did Nicola Blaque work before?
Nicola Blaque's earlier career included U.S. Army.
Where did Nicola Blaque train?
Nicola Blaque trained at The Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio.
