Winding road to success

Eva Madray, owner and executive chef of Eva’s Caribbean Kitchen, dazzles you with her brilliant smile as she reminisces about her childhood in British Guyana.

The oldest of eight children, she grew up in a well-to-do Indian family who had lived in this small South American country on the Atlantic coast for five generations.

Her mother was a fabulous cook, and the local fishermen would stop by the house every day with a selection of her favorite fish. Eva’s grandfather’s farm provided them with freshly butchered cows, sheep and chickens as well as fresh vegetables such as callaloo (spinach), bora (long beans) and bitter melon.

Thus, an appreciation of the freshest food, well prepared and highly seasoned, came shortly after mother’s milk.

The family was very traditional, and her father thought that a woman needed a good education in order to marry well. Since he had business connections in Canada, he sent her there to live with an Indian family so she could receive a higher quality of education.

She was separated from her large and close family at the tender age of 13 and lived in a strict environment where her position changed from privileged eldest child to second-class citizen, which included helping with meal preparation. It was a lonely and difficult time, but she did well in high school and began college.

At this time, when she was only 17, her father decided she was ready for marriage and arranged a match with a young man who was the son of a business associate in New York. They were married without ceremony, and a large dowry was provided; however, she was allowed to continue college in Canada. Her new husband visited her there, but his father and brother started to tease him incessantly about having a long-distance wife.

Humiliated by his family, he called Eva’s father to complain, and she was forced to move to Queens. After three-and-a-half extremely unhappy years, she reached the end of her rope and wrote to her father to say that she was going to kill herself if she couldn’t end the marriage and return home.

Fortunately, her father realized how serious she was and allowed her to come home. As it happened, her father had been planning to move the family to the United States, so Eva spent only one month in Guyana before the entire family moved to Queens, where her father opened a garment factory.

She was living with her family and working at ITT Technical Institute, where she had gone to school, while her father was trying to arrange yet another marriage for her.

Recognizing Eva’s abilities, ITT offered her a promotion if she moved to their Boston office. The soul-searching decision to become independent by taking advantage of this opportunity put her at odds with her family, but she knew it was a necessary step toward becoming her own person. In fact, her parents refused to speak to her for six months.

She moved to New Hampshire with a boyfriend and commuted to Boston for three years. Then a business opportunity brought them to California. They lived in Costa Mesa but came to the beach every weekend.

Sunsets on Aliso Beach reminded her of the tropical paradise that was once her home and eventually, they moved to Laguna, where they opened a vocational training and consulting business. Eva was always purchasing food from places around town, like Zinc and Scandia, for clients’ breakfasts.

She also did some cooking herself at home that she brought in for business lunches. People always wanted to know where the food came from. This led her to thoughts of a catering business or perhaps a bed and breakfast, since she loved to cook.

One day, a friend mentioned to her that a chef from Guyana had opened a small restaurant in South Laguna called Drew’s. She found herself spending a lot of time there after work since it reminded her of home.

With her boyfriend frequently away on business trips, she had free time in the evenings, and Drew sometimes asked her to help out when someone didn’t show up. Her charming personality made her the ideal hostess and certainly helped bring in repeat customers. She found herself becoming more involved in the restaurant and eventually bought a one-third share.

Soon after, Drew became ill and she offered to buy the business. Another brave move, but as Eva says, “When you turn 40, you get stronger.” Drew agreed and promised to train her, but then “he just up and left.” Unfortunately, the assistant cook had had a fight with Drew and he was gone also. Finally, she called the cook and tearfully begged him to return, and finally she managed to persuade him to come back. Also, Michael Kang of 5’ graciously helped her with restaurant business advice and she began a long telephone collaboration with her mother, in which they gradually changed the recipes to reflect the delicious cuisine Eva remembered.

Because of her background, her standards for fish were so high that she was willing to drive to LAX twice a week to pick up fresh fish. She tells the story of one of her first experiences in which she bought an entire 60-pound Chilean sea bass because it was cheaper whole than by the pound. However, when she got it back to the kitchen, she had no idea what to do with it.

The gallant chef from Ti Amo came to her rescue and taught her how to filet it. That was the last time she did that, although she still gets up at 5:30 in the morning and travels to L.A. for her fish, specialty items from a Jamaican market and the produce mart.

The restaurant is now called Eva’s, and she creates all the recipes as well as amazing specialty drinks. She also features more than 100 different rums because in Guyana there is a connoisseurship about rum drinking comparable to the passion for wine in California.

The spicy mouth-watering food, like the conch fritters (“Caribbean Viagra”), and the killer cocktails, such as the Pink Punani, are only surpassed in appeal by Eva herself.

After successfully re-creating the restaurant that bears her name, Eva, who is no stranger to hardship, says, “This you have to do because you love it with passion.”

Eva’s is located at 31732 South Coast Highway.