Jane has loved cooking since the first time she opened a cupboard

There is a story behind J. Caroline’s chef/owner Jane McGoldrick’s lifelong involvement with food and the restaurant industry which can definitely bring a tear to your eye.

When Jane was young, her grandmother Caroline lost her ability to speak due to a stroke, but she was able to communicate with Jane through the universal language of food.

Her grandmother’s hand-written notes and cookbooks did all the talking as she taught Jane how to prepare delicious food.

“She was a cool lady,” Jane said as she accepted a pair of complimentary SooToday coffee mugs, J. Caroline's the subject of this week’s SooToday Midweek Mugging.

“She passed away when I was 14, but I was interested in cooking from the minute I could open a cupboard…I was always intrigued by the food she cooked, all the recipes she had.”

Jane named her downtown, Queen Street East eatery after her grandmother, the restaurant opening in November, 2017.

“My menu is your classic comfort food but I say it has a ‘progressive twist’ which means it’s kicked up a notch with more ingredients, it’s fresh, it’s local,” Jane explained.

“We try to use as many local food suppliers as we can. The longer we’ve been open, the more networking we’ve been able to do. We have Agawa Fishery for all of our fresh fish needs, we have Penokean Hills Farms down the line for some of our meats, we have Jardin Farms who supplies our salad greens, we have St. Joseph Island Coffee Roasters, so we’re definitely growing.”

Jane is a Goulais River native who began her chef training at Sault College, gaining experience in kitchens at fine hotels in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Lake Louise, Alberta, Vancouver and Sydney, Australia.

In Melbourne, Australia, she studied business management at Victoria University and worked at several restaurants in the Land Down Under before coming back to Canada.

What lured Jane back to northern Ontario?  

“Family, mostly,” she smiled.

“A 17-hour plane ride is a long way away from your family and the cost of living and quality of life is good here. You’re able to do a lot more for a lot less. There are good opportunities here.”

“This (being a chef and a restaurant owner) is important to me because food is important to everybody, all the time,” Jane said.

“It doesn’t matter what culture you’re from, what city, what country, what stage of your life you’re at, what struggles you’re going through, food is a necessity for life, and I just want to help people enjoy that.”