Olando was born in Saint Elizabeth Parish to a single mother who had her first child at the age of 17 yo. A young woman born and raised in Jamaica by her grandmother who was fi lled with wisdom and love, however, was frowned upon getting pregnant so early, but his mother was head strong and wasn’t giving up her baby. She moved to Kingston, Jamaica in search of a better life. Although she could no longer graduate, she instead worked in a factory for 20 years. Watching his mother have a steady work ethic, cooking meals, and making sacrifices for him and his siblings, inspired Olando to start working at the tender age of 15. His adoring love for his mother, Olando was determined to make a difference in his and his mother’s life and made a promise she would never work again. He took any job he could obtain, which led him to meet a man named ‘Michael Scott’. Michael, his boss gave him a job working at his factory, but little did he know that he would become one of the most important figures in Olando’s life. Michael whose presence became like a father to him, he was the guy from whom he got his first fatherly hug. Although Olando did have a stepfather, it wasn’t the same. Olando’s stepfather could not provide him with the fatherly love he needed not because he was bad but because he never experienced that love himself and in Olando’s words,” you cannot give what you don’t have”. Michael was his hope, inspiration, a positive role model that gave Olando his footprints in the sand.

Olando was a ‘dream chaser’, he worked under the auspices of Michael for 13 years. But after learning about the United States of America because his younger sisters relocated, it motivated him to make the move to create an even better life for himself and his family. Setting on a higher vision, it was time for him to make the move, it wasn’t easy as Olando saw Michael as a role model, father figure, and a ray of hope.

This was the guy who helped him not only fi nd his footing but helped him become a ‘Man’. He was the blueprint Olando needed to fi nd his own direction. Before leaving for the states, Michael gave him $500 and a note telling how special he was, a note Olando still has to this day. Michael was the kind of man that the feelings of love and respect was mutual. Headed towards America, land of the free and opportunity. He could not wait to dig his feet into the soil and show this world who his mother made him to be and show up in this world. Olando found his first gig working for another brother from Jamaica, fi nding similarities and proving that he can cook, he soon realized the man stole his ideas and didn’t give Olando any credit. That wasn’t okay, but instead of causing drama, Olando decided to start cooking and making money on his own.

Having to now provide for his own family, in June 2019 Olando quits his job to chase his dreams ended up getting a job in September at NYU Hospital. While working there he started cooking and delivering lunch on his days off . He never quit. He kept fi lling every loophole that came his direction. In September 2021 he resigned from his hospital job and started full-time cooking and informing everyone he knew about his cooking business. It went very well and people loved the authentic Jamaican food. With the help of his good friend, Lenox he took his cooking business from his kitchen to the streets. Olando took any odd job to put money in his pocket from driving friends to the airport, picking up miscellaneous items; he wasn’t too proud to put in the work needed to reach his goals. When he was doing amazing on the streets, his friend who had given him the idea and space for the street cooking started to ask for a partnership and he ended up leaving that space but also meeting another friend with whom he later went into the proper restaurant business. They are currently opening up their restaurant.

Not forgetting all the people who helped him reach his goals, the good, the bad, they were all experiences that shaped who Olando has become today. Olando was so grateful to be able to go back to Jamaica and keep his word to his mother, now 61 yo and she never worked again in her life. Although his biological father left and raised other children, Olando never held it against him, because he understood ‘the struggle’ of life and made amends. Olando believes “Your history doesn’t have to be your present”. Despite the hardship he faced, he never gave up and ended up fulfi lling his dream. Now Olando a husband and father of 5 children of his own is opening his very own restaurant in the heart of Southeastern, Queens, New York.

You can connect with Olando on @roots.connection.catering