“Growing up in Jane and Finch was easy,” is something I would love to say… however it was the opposite. I grew up with a single parent, my Mom, older Brother and Sister, poverty-stricken just trying to make it in life. My Mom was from Jamaica and a strict Christian as well, it was hard to relate with her ideals from back home and me being Canadian born, some things were easy to digest. My brother lived the fast life and had money, it helped our family out.
He did things I’ll take to the grave and never speak of; he’s an 80’s child and was one of the young Katz from back in the day, which brought notoriety to the area. My sister being the youngest, was more the shy and quiet type, she did her best to stay out of trouble. I’m proud of her. I grew up angry and feeling out of place, I didn’t take school serious nor religion from the things I’ve seen. I always challenged grown-ups and had a thing for books that had images of me on it. I remember from a young age I read the autobiography of Malcolm X and learned similarities between experiences with his family and mine. When I was around 12-13 years of age I started to sneak out from home when everybody was asleep, at this time my brother was married with kids and in and out of prison. I’ve done things that I could have gotten in a lot of trouble for, unlike my older brother, I knew the game was like the lottery, there’s a time to win and there’s a time to lose. In high school I got into fights, I also got my education from the hallways with my gang toting weapons, being ready for whatever. Living in Jane and Finch I’ve seen shootouts, people I went to school with who did not survive, I always wondered, what’s life. At around 17 I met a bunch of positive people that gave me a 360 turn on life, they taught me more about my history and what self-love is. That’s when I pulled up my pants and became active in my culture, informed in material that was not taught in schools. I moved out of my Moms house, couldn’t take anymore abuse. I eventually went school, graduated from a private college and became a Chef. In the culinary world, I now have new battles, new friends and a different attitude towards life. My relationship with my mother has gotten better over the years, my sister is a mother of 3 boys and my brother lives in Jamaica for reasons around criminal activities. As for me… I’m still travelling down my timeline in life.
Chef Anthony Hugh