Nzuko offers a healthy fusion of Caribbean and Mediterranean flavors

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As a solution for her husband who has many allergies, Laurette Ndukwe made the decision to begin to cook healthy meals at home for her family, changing their diet. 

When she saw the positive health effects for her husband and children, she committed to continuing her cooking journey at her local church, which gave her more practice.

“I will talk to people about food and how it helps, even insomnia, for example, being able to sleep. There are vegetables that you can eat, and you know as adding your tea or your legume and helps you relax and sleep. So, all these things are really fascinating to me,” she said.

Laurette Ndukwe is the owner of Nzuko
in Watertown. PHOTO: COURTESY OF NZUKO RESTAURANT

This led her to opening her first restaurant, Nzuko, in Framingham 11 years ago. She was truly impressed by how people received her and her menu, which included a lot of the Mediterranean diet concepts. While Ndukwe has since closed the Framingham location she still runs Nzuko’s Watertown location.

Some of Nzuko’s signature dishes include the number-one seller: spiced lamb shank (smashed potato, fattoush, grana padano and tomato butter), plus the roasted jerk chicken (turmeric pilaf, escabeche pickles, crispy garlic and jerk bordelaise) and grilled chicken kebabs (pumpkin farro, green peas and puffed millet).

Ndukwe said that while you can find their food at other restaurants, it is really the island and fusion cuisine that makes them stand out. Growing up in Haiti, she talked more about how her culture has influenced the food and drinks of her restaurant.

“We really bring the flavor of the island [to] the Mediterranean diet. That’s why we offer koftas or kebabs, but we season them like we season food in the island. So, that’s where it comes from,” she said.

Her culture also influenced the interior design of the restaurant, as she wanted to bring an island feel to patrons.

“I wanted to bring the island here,” she said. “Whether in Italy, Greece or in the Caribbean … it’s really well detailed.”

She also wanted plants and herbs throughout the restaurant, which is why she made sure that the entrance of the restaurant has an upside-down artificial garden. 

“We want people to believe that what we’re cooking in the back is green,” she said. “I wanted the outside to speak [to] what is happening in the kitchen.”

Ndukwe said she named the restaurant “Nzuko,” which means “a place to gather” in Igbo, as she hopes that it will be a place where the community gathers as one.

“I dream of having a place in Boston where people see Nzuko, and see a place to gather, a place where community gathers [as] one,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you came from.”