Thanksgiving is approaching, and the countdown to prep for the year’s biggest feast is in full swing. While families across the country prepare to enjoy their version of Turkey Day, one Los Angeles chef puts a Caribbean twist on the holiday tradition.

Rashida Holmes, owner of Bridgetown Roti, brings the flavors of the Caribbean to LA with her popular street food concept. After starting as a pop-up in 2020, Holmes opened the first brick-and-mortar location of Bridgetown Roti on July 20 this year, serving up vibrant Caribbean street food to the city’s diverse food lovers.

“It’s lovely to see Black people finding us and getting excited, Caribbean people finding us and getting excited,” Holmes told us in a recent interview.  For Holmes, the blend of flavors at Bridgetown Roti reflects the city’s cultural tapestry—and offers Angelenos a new way to savor Thanksgiving.

With the holiday approaching, the restaurant is providing family-style specialty meals for the occasion. “We do a whole mac and cheese pie. We do jerk turkey legs and then we serve our beef patties in little patty boxes of 10,” Holmes shared, noting the restaurant is closed for Thanksgiving, but orders are accepted for catering leading up to the holiday. “You can get like ten patties for you to take home and bake at your house. We do some of our curries, our Chickpea curry and our pumpkin curry, for you to take on the side.”

Luckily, she can relax a bit and not be in full chef mode when she spends her holiday. Her family gets together for a full feast, and her mother takes the lead on the cooking. 

“My must-haves for Thanksgiving, I am a stuffing girl myself. My mom always makes cornbread and sausage stuffing. I love turkey. I love some gravy, mac and cheese,” she gushed. “Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of the traditional dishes most people have for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday and both my parents are really good cooks. We were not mashed potato family. We had rice, we had stuffing, we had sweet potatoes, we had mac and cheese. I bring the jerk turkey eggs, I bring the mac and cheese.”

With Holmes loving turkey, we asked her about cooking the intimidating bird. Many people find it hard to keep turkeys moist, but she has a few tips. “I think one of the biggest tricks is to have a really good marinade that you like that you would put on chicken or on your whole turkey the day before. Whether that’s a garlic and herb marinade, any sort of wet marinade, if you like jerk, or a paprika and garlicky thing, make the marinade to put on your turkey the day before it really penetrates and make sure there's salt in it. And that will help you keep your turkey from getting dried out when you bake it,” she suggests.

Holmes’ family starts holiday preparation the day before. “It starts the day before with that turkey marinade. I think this is the most important part. I like to get the mac and cheese in the container ready to bake. It all gets prepped and put in the oven the next day. But I think the day before in terms of prep is plenty. If you're making pies, you can make pie dough a couple weeks ahead, but store-bought pie is also great. In terms of your greens, get your greens washed and cut, so all you have to do in the morning when you wake up is put them in the pot.”

Of course, after Thanksgiving Day, there may be plenty of leftovers. “I never get tired of leftovers. I get mad when they're gone. I love him so much. I could eat them for a whole week,” she says. “The way to preserve leftovers is also simple. Making turkey soup out of turkey is fire. 

There’s no holiday without traditions, and Holmes’ family has one near and dear to her heart. “Before we eat, no matter how many people are there, whether there's 10 people or 40 people, we go around, and everyone says what they're thankful for,” she reflects. “My dad always has a long prayer that we’re all hoping he hurries up and finishes. So, that's probably one of my favorite things we do.”

For those interested in trying Holmes’ famous mac and cheese pie, the recipe for the delicious treat is below:

• Pepper Jack shredded: 1/2 pound
• Gouda: 1 pound
• Shredded Parm: 1/2 pound
• Jack/Cheddar fine mix: 1 pound
• Rigatoni Pasta: 1 pound
• Dried minced onion: 1 tablespoon
• Garlic: 2 cloves minced (don’t use jar garlic)
• Thyme: 2 sprigs picked
• Curry powder: 1 teaspoon
• Peppercorn mix: 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt: 1 tablespoon
• Eggs: 2 eggs
• Butter, unsalted: 200 g
• Evaporated Milk: 2 small cans

Yield: 1 cake pan (8-9 inches)

1. Shred all your cheese and mix in a medium bowl. Once mixed, separate into two equal portions. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, and stir in the minced onion, garlic, and mixed thyme.
3. Let that come to a bubble, turn off the heat, then stir in the salt, curry powder, and pepper. Taste it for yumminess, then set aside.
4. Boil the pasta until al dente, according to the box instructions (typically 8-9 minutes). Once cooked, strain the pasta and run it under cold water to stop the cooking process. Ice water also works. Once the pasta is cool, mix it with the butter mixture in a large bowl. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together your eggs and evaporated milk. Mix half of your cheese mixture into the milk and egg mixture. Add your pasta butter mixture to the cheese, egg, and milk mixture.
6. In an 8-inch cake pan or standard casserole pan, place a layer of the pasta mixture on the bottom. Then put a layer of the cheese-only mixture on top, followed by another layer of the pasta mixture, then the rest of the cheese mixture.
7. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes to set the eggs and get a crust on top. You may need another 5-10 minutes depending on your oven.
8. Let cool to just above room temperature before serving.