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I Left Palestine for Jamaica — Now I Run a Bean‑to‑Bar Factory · Babes, how did you get here

• 0:00
  Welcome to A Life Elsewhere, the podcast that shares stories of bold moves, quiet transformations, and the people who choose to live life on their own terms.
• 0:09
  Today, I'm speaking with Nadine Bury, the founder of Liqumore Chocolates, an artisan chocolate brand infused with the vibrant spirit of Jamaica, where every bar tells a story of heritage, intention, and love.
• 0:23
  But Nadine's journey spans continents.
• 0:26
  Her and her family considered a life in Ethiopia and Palestine before coming to Jamaica and making it their home.
• 0:33
  This decision took them from the Ivory Coast to the heart of the Caribbean, diving deep into the world of cacao, craftsmanship, and luxury bean-to-bar chocolate.
• 0:43
  In this episode, we talk about finding home, even with the ache of missing loved ones.
• 0:48
  The bittersweet reality of finding a beautiful life elsewhere.
• 0:52
  Nadine, tell me how you got to Jamaica from Cote d'Ivoire.
• 0:55
  So it was in 2010, my husband is a diplomat, so I moved in Jamaica with my husband and I was at home taking care of my son and I got bored.
• 1:07
  Okay.
• 1:07
  And I started to bake.
• 1:09
  Okay.
• 1:10
  And it was relaxing me and that's it.
• 1:14
  Your son was how old at the time?
• 1:17
  Less than two years old when we moved.
• 1:20
  Yes.
• 1:21
  Was that your first move as a family?
• 1:23
  Oh yes, with my husband.
• 1:24
  Okay.
• 1:25
  So this was your first placement in Jamaica?
• 1:27
  In Jamaica, with my husband.
• 1:29
  And when you found out that you were moving, what was the time difference?
• 1:32
  How long did it take before you actually moved?
• 1:35
  I would say a year.
• 1:36
  Okay, so you had time to plan and do research.
• 1:39
  A little bit of research.
• 1:41
  A little bit of research.
• 1:43
  What was your first impression when your husband said, we're moving to Jamaica?
• 1:46
  Well, we have different options.
• 1:49
  We had Ethiopia, we had Palestine and Jamaica.
• 1:52
  And I said, no way, we're going to Jamaica.
• 1:55
  Why did you say Jamaica?
• 1:57
  Because Palestine, no, it's too much trouble.
• 2:00
  I didn't want to live in this environment.
• 2:03
  And Jamaica, it's a little bit like Africa.
• 2:07
  Okay.
• 2:07
  So I felt comfortable to come to Jamaica.
• 2:10
  Had you heard a lot about Jamaica before arriving?
• 2:12
  Yes.
• 2:12
  When you're outside of Jamaica, you always hear, yes, it's dangerous, it's violent.
• 2:18
  Sure.
• 2:18
  But since I was coming from Ivory Coast, I was not very... Do you hear the same about Ivory Coast when you travel?
• 2:26
  Less.
• 2:26
  Because, well, we had 10 years of civil war and problem, but now it's very stable.
• 2:31
  So normally everything we hear, it's now fun, food.
• 2:36
  And yes.
• 2:39
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• 2:43
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• 2:44
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• 2:48
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• 2:51
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• 2:55
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• 2:57
  We started with Blue Mountain coffee, dark chocolate, plantain chips.
• 3:02
  Oh!
• 3:03
  So this was one, it's still one of our best sellers.
• 3:08
  Yeah.
• 3:08
  And we have also sea salt.
• 3:10
  So I said, you know what?
• 3:11
  And every ingredient that I use, I take the real, we don't buy any ingredient from the supermarket.
• 3:18
  We make our own spices.
• 3:19
  So this is what I wanted to do really, it's be authentic and choosing all the Jamaican and greats.
• 3:25
  And the only one that is not from here, it's the matcha.
• 3:28
  Okay.
• 3:29
  And this was inspiring because I had a customer that came to pick up a cake and she saw that I did the white chocolate matcha.
• 3:35
  Okay.
• 3:36
  And she said, you should sell it.
• 3:37
  And this is how it started.
• 3:39
  Why didn't you make a brand that was from the Ivy Coast?
• 3:43
  Because I discovered this passion when I was in Jamaica.
• 3:46
  OK. And so it made sense with the story.
• 3:48
  It was here.
• 3:49
  And when people see, like, when I saw it, I remember just the paint almost, like that, those splashes that are super, super vibrant.
• 3:57
  Whose idea was that?
• 3:58
  It's an accident.
• 3:59
  Really?
• 4:01
  I was painting some bonbons and next to it there was the bar mold.
• 4:07
  And I splashed on the bar mold and I said, okay, to remove it it's easier to mold the chocolate than just go wash.
• 4:14
  So I mold it and I turn it and I said, oh my God, it's cool.
• 4:19
  And I sent a picture to my designer and she said, oh my God, you should do it.
• 4:23
  And I said, yes, but people will think it's colorant, it's not natural.
• 4:29
  And she said, no, it's so cool.
• 4:31
  Just research some natural color.
• 4:34
  And this is how I researched.
• 4:36
  And when I found organic and natural cocoa butter coloring, this is when I decided, okay, you know what?
• 4:44
  Let me do it.
• 4:44
  And after that, before we continue, make sure that you join our community by clicking the link below.
• 4:50
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• 4:56
  I really cannot wait for you to help me shape where this podcast goes.
• 5:02
  we started to play with the splash, with the dots, and it became very...
• 5:07
  It's like your signature thing.
• 5:10
  I'm not seeing...
• 5:10
  It became our signature.
• 5:12
  And now people recognize.
• 5:13
  When I saw it, it didn't occur to me once about being art, and I'm like super funny about food, and it didn't once occur to me that it would have been artificial.
• 5:20
  I just thought, oh my gosh, this is so visually striking and really memorable.
• 5:24
  And that's the thing also because you know Jamaica is so vibrant, so colorful, so happy.
• 5:30
  This is what we said, you know what people open the bar and they are so happy and excited and it's like a piece of Jamaica that they bring back home.
• 5:39
  If someone is opening a business in Jamaica what advice are you giving them?
• 5:46
  I would say to start small and to test because you have time to adjust and rectify and after that grow slowly.
• 5:56
  But I would say, you know, start with quality.
• 6:00
  So when you opened your factory and started making chocolates, this is before you went to Haiti?
• 6:06
  Yes, it was just a year before we were starting.
• 6:11
  I was with my partners.
• 6:14
  So we start slowly.
• 6:15
  I guess I'm trying to understand, was there any sort of apprehension because of your husband's job and being moved to other destinations?
• 6:26
  Because you stayed three, four years?
• 6:28
  Five years.
• 6:29
  Five years.
• 6:29
  But then the tradition is that you then move to somewhere else.
• 6:32
  Yes, normally, but because Haiti was such difficult... Sure, that's why you came back.
• 6:38
  Yes, we were able to come back.
• 6:40
  But before you left, you wouldn't have known that you were going to come back so soon.
• 6:44
  So were you not worried that you wouldn't be able to keep your business going because you'd have to...
• 6:49
  Well, I choose Haiti to be able to come every two weeks.
• 6:52
  Okay.
• 6:52
  So you were coming back.
• 6:54
  Yes, Haiti was a choice to stay in the region.
• 6:57
  So I would have to try also to find another country.
• 7:00
  Within the region?
• 7:01
  Yes, in the region.
• 7:02
  And just keep commuting?
• 7:03
  Exactly.
• 7:04
  So you were coming back every two weeks?
• 7:07
  Every two, three weeks I was coming back.
• 7:09
  And how long are you staying?
• 7:11
  Two weeks.
• 7:12
  Okay.
• 7:12
  And going back.
• 7:13
  Wow.
• 7:14
  That's a lot.
• 7:15
  Yes.
• 7:16
  And so now you may need to leave when?
• 7:19
  In three more years.
• 7:20
  In three years.
• 7:21
  Yes.
• 7:21
  But you're always going to keep...
• 7:23
  I will always keep and coming or try to stay in the region.
• 7:26
  So that you can navigate.
• 7:27
  Yes.
• 7:28
  But also, I'm lucky.
• 7:29
  I have a very good team.
• 7:31
  Okay.
• 7:31
  So, you know, at the beginning, it was all teaching.
• 7:35
  And now they understand.
• 7:36
  I can also develop and come back.
• 7:39
  But I will be... Have a presence.
• 7:41
  Yes.
• 7:41
  I have to be here.
• 7:42
  And is most of your chocolate eaten locally or do you export some as well?
• 7:48
  We are a lot in the hotel, airport, and locally.
• 7:54
  We export also.
• 7:55
  Okay.
• 7:56
  And how did you navigate that first opportunity to get your chocolate beyond the borders of Jamaica?
• 8:02
  Well, we were part of an ITC group.
• 8:05
  What does that mean?
• 8:06
  ITC, it's International Trade Center.
• 8:09
  And they help us, a small business company, to promote and try to do business with Europe or in the US.
• 8:17
  So we were lucky.
• 8:18
  So sometimes we travel around the world.
• 8:21
  We attend shows.
• 8:22
  We present our brand.
• 8:24
  And this is how we make contact with distributors and customers.
• 8:29
  Is there anything that when you moved here actually you missed eating?
• 8:33
  When, when, from Ivory Gold?
• 8:34
  Yeah.
• 8:35
  Everything.
• 8:37
  Like?
• 8:38
  It was tough.
• 8:39
  Really?
• 8:40
  Because we're spoiling every course.
• 8:41
  We have all the products coming from Europe, from Lebanon, from...
• 8:48
  Yes, from Lebanon and France.
• 8:50
  So it's very rich.
• 8:53
  The supermarkets are like 10 times bigger than here.
• 8:56
  We have one aisle of chocolate.
• 8:58
  It's like 200 kinds of chocolate.
• 9:01
  So everything is more.
• 9:02
  More?
• 9:03
  Yes.
• 9:04
  What's the thing that you miss the most?
• 9:08
  I was just talking about foie gras to a chef from Montreal the other day.
• 9:12
  This was...
• 9:13
  I was like, don't hate me.
• 9:14
  I know I'm not supposed to love you.
• 9:15
  I know, but that I was missing the most.
• 9:19
  I'm not joking.
• 9:20
  I used to go to Miami for the weekend, and a part of my agenda...
• 9:25
  was I need to have my foie gras and I don't want, when I say foie gras, I don't mean just like pate, I mean like a loaf, right, on some brioche, just slightly toasted, so I feel you, honestly.
• 9:36
  So this I was missing, and pastry, that's why I started to, because when I came, the food in Jamaica was not as developed than now.
• 9:44
  Okay, how would you describe, for someone who hasn't visited, how has it changed?
• 9:48
  It didn't change a lot.
• 9:49
  No?
• 9:50
  But we are lucky we have more chefs.
• 9:52
  Okay.
• 9:53
  And Jamaica do a lot of events, food, culinary, so we can experience other, but at the supermarket, it's the same thing.
• 10:01
  That's the only down.
• 10:03
  Right.
• 10:04
  It's the supermarket, the food.
• 10:06
  We would, I would love to have more choice, more kind of meat, more kind of poultry, you know, this kind of thing and more,
• 10:16
  I think because it cannot grow locally, but more imported fruit and other vegetables.
• 10:21
  Okay.
• 10:22
  So you just want more variety?
• 10:23
  Yes, just a variety.
• 10:25
  Yes.
• 10:26
  Do you think that living in Jamaica has changed you in any way?
• 10:30
  Yes.
• 10:30
  In what way?
• 10:31
  It makes me more cool.
• 10:33
  Okay.
• 10:35
  Yes, yes, I think more relaxed.
• 10:37
  Okay.
• 10:37
  Because I had a very...
• 10:42
  More traditional education, more...
• 10:45
  I don't know, I'm searching the name... Conservative?
• 10:50
  And in Jamaica it's more liberal, more... And I remember the first time I sent a picture to my mom, she said, are you lying, you bought it.
• 10:57
  And I said, no, I did it.
• 10:59
  No.
• 11:00
  She said, I don't believe you, you left here, you barely know how to cook anything.
• 11:04
  And now you're making pastry?
• 11:05
  Exactly.
• 11:06
  So when you told your mom that you were moving to Jamaica, what were her thoughts?
• 11:10
  She was devastated because I have an amazing relation with my mom.
• 11:14
  We're very close and my son, she was very attached to my son.
• 11:17
  So it was really hard for her.
• 11:19
  Okay.
• 11:20
  But in the same time, she, she knows I have my life now with my husband.
• 11:25
  So she let me go.
• 11:28
  She came two times.
• 11:29
  She stayed three months each time.
• 11:31
  She loved Jamaica, but she doesn't speak English, but she loves it.
• 11:35
  She loves it.
• 11:35
  Yes.
• 11:36
  Oh, wow.
• 11:37
  So when you think about traveling and you think about your mom, do you ever think that perhaps you need to move back to Ivory Coast?
• 11:45
  At some point, I think we will have maybe to take a decision because all my family is there.
• 11:50
  And no matter how much I love Jamaica, it's hard to be far from the family.
• 11:55
  Someone was trying to tell me that Haitian food is better than Jamaican food.
• 11:58
  It's different.
• 11:59
  No, no.
• 12:00
  You have good...
• 12:00
  I would say... Do you think it's better?
• 12:02
  Be very careful, babes.
• 12:05
  No, I think Jamaica has a lot of varied, like with the Indian influence, with the Chinese influence, with Jamaican.
• 12:11
  So I think you have more...
• 12:15
  It's different.
• 12:16
  I will not say who is better.
• 12:18
  I think, you know, Haitian food is great.
• 12:21
  It's good.
• 12:23
  Jamaican is good.
• 12:24
  It's different.
• 12:25
  And it's good that it's different.
• 12:26
  You're taking the diplomatic route.
• 12:28
  No, no, it's true.
• 12:29
  But you see, Jamaican cuisine is even better than Ivory Coast.
• 12:32
  Oh, really?
• 12:33
  Yes.
• 12:34
  So we have good dishes.
• 12:36
  But I prefer Jamaican.
• 12:38
  If I have to choose, I will choose Jamaican cuisine.
• 12:40
  Oh, really?
• 12:41
  Yes.
• 12:41
  Because also in Africa, they over...
• 12:44
  pepper everything, and a lot of pine mull.
• 12:48
  Yes, yes.
• 12:49
  So I don't eat a lot of the dish in Ivory Coast, like the local.
• 12:53
  I will eat more Jamaican.
• 12:55
  Okay, cool.
• 12:57
  That's a good way for me to ask you a few quickfire questions.
• 13:04
  Do you prefer a tasty patty or juicy?
• 13:08
  Tasty.
• 13:09
  Why?
• 13:10
  I don't know.
• 13:10
  It's a good answer because I prefer a tasty dough.
• 13:13
  It's a good question, but I don't know.
• 13:15
  I think I prefer tasty.
• 13:16
  Tasty patty.
• 13:17
  Yes.
• 13:18
  I think the texture inside, the texture and the flakiness of the dough.
• 13:23
  Yes, tasty.
• 13:24
  Do you prefer a curry goat or an oxtail?
• 13:29
  Neither.
• 13:30
  You don't like curry goat or oxtail?
• 13:31
  No, but... Do you eat meat?
• 13:32
  Yes, I eat meat.
• 13:33
  And you don't like it?
• 13:34
  But you know what?
• 13:35
  Oxtail is a texture.
• 13:37
  Yeah, it's gelatinous.
• 13:38
  Yes, I will eat goat.
• 13:39
  The gravy.
• 13:40
  I will eat the curry goat, but I don't like goat.
• 13:43
  Okay.
• 13:44
  Yes.
• 13:45
  I don't like when the meat is a little bit gamey.
• 13:48
  Right.
• 13:48
  It's too strong for me.
• 13:49
  Oh, really?
• 13:49
  Yes.
• 13:50
  But you like for a girl?
• 13:51
  Yes, and I like lamb, but I don't like it.
• 13:55
  Really?
• 13:55
  Yes, I don't like it.
• 13:56
  But if I have to choose, I will eat it.
• 13:59
  I'm not going to say, okay, no, I'm not eating it.
• 14:01
  But it's not your first choice.
• 14:02
  It's not my favorite.
• 14:03
  Okay, cool.
• 14:04
  Do you drink as in alcohol?
• 14:05
  Do you prefer rum or red stripe?
• 14:08
  I don't drink rum.
• 14:09
  You don't drink rum?
• 14:10
  No.
• 14:11
  What?
• 14:13
  Why?
• 14:14
  I'm not...
• 14:17
  I will drink gin, tequila, champagne... You like tequila and you don't like rum?
• 14:22
  Yes, I don't like rum.
• 14:23
  Really?
• 14:24
  Have we tried a range of rums?
• 14:27
  Have we explored?
• 14:28
  Yes.
• 14:29
  You like tequila and you don't...
• 14:31
  Yes, but it doesn't go with me.
• 14:33
  Really?
• 14:35
  Sorry.
• 14:36
  I'm not sure you can still be friends.
• 14:39
  So do you like beer?
• 14:41
  I don't like beer.
• 14:41
  No, I don't drink beer.
• 14:42
  Yeah, I don't like beer.
• 14:43
  I don't drink beer.
• 14:44
  But when you said Belgium, so I went to Belgium, and I was like, oh, because they have so many beers.
• 14:48
  They have like 1,000.
• 14:49
  Like every city has a different beer.
• 14:51
  I was like, oh, I must be able to find a beer that I like.
• 14:53
  I still don't like it.
• 14:53
  Maybe one.
• 14:54
  Which one?
• 14:55
  They call it the Crick, and it's red.
• 14:57
  I don't know if you try it.
• 14:58
  It's like a cherry beer.
• 15:00
  This one is the one that maybe could.
• 15:02
  Yeah?
• 15:03
  Yes, I would say.
• 15:03
  I tried so many, and like all kinds of fruity.
• 15:06
  I think the Crick.
• 15:07
  It could be OK?
• 15:08
  Yes.
• 15:09
  OK, peut-être.
• 15:11
  Do you like sorrel?
• 15:14
  Yes, I love sorrel.
• 15:16
  Love, love, love, love, love.
• 15:17
  That's good.
• 15:18
  That's a good choice.
• 15:19
  I love sorrel.
• 15:19
  But we have it in Ivory Coast and it's called bisap.
• 15:22
  Exactly.
• 15:23
  Because they call it bisap in Cameroon.
• 15:24
  Exactly.
• 15:26
  Yeah.
• 15:26
  I love sorrel.
• 15:27
  Do you prefer yam or cassava?
• 15:29
  Cassava.
• 15:30
  Good choice.
• 15:31
  Coconut water or cane juice?
• 15:33
  Coconut water.
• 15:34
  Oh, really?
• 15:34
  Yes.
• 15:35
  Very cool.
• 15:36
  That's all from you.
• 15:37
  That's all I wanted to say.
• 15:38
  So you did it all.
• 15:39
  Yeah, thank you so much.
• 15:40
  Thank you very much.