Joliet Man Creates Jerk Sauces For Pizza, Cheesecake, Ice Cream, More

JOLIET — Inside his kitchen on Joliet's Nicholson Street, Cleveland Grimes Jr. keeps busy perfecting his flavorful creation. Talk about food innovation, the chief executive officer of CG Foods II Inc. makes his own jerk pizza, different flavors of jerk ice cream including vanilla and butter pecan. Grimes makes a delicious cheesecake called Island Cheesecake.

He even makes a jerk sweet potato pie.

"This is all research and development. We call this the test kitchen. All things jerk," Grimes proclaimed. "I do something with jerk 365 days a year. That's my niche. That's my gift."

And when it comes to rib tips, "the best in the city," Grimes declared.

The chief executive officer of CG Foods II Inc., Grimes calls his invention "The Rolls Royce of Jerk Sauces."

His mission statement?

"To jerk the world one bite at a time."

Grimes said he works with a co-packer in Texas to mass produce his jerk sauces. Most of his business is derived through marketing and word of mouth.

"I love to see the smile on peoples' faces when they eat my food," Grimes said. "I'm not selling food. We want people to know the versatility of the sauce."

And now that his jerk sauces are being carried at Joliet and Will County area stores, he's hoping to expand that by getting his sauces into big-box retailers such as Walmart and Costco and major supermarkets and grocery stores.

"I would like to go worldwide, coast to coast," Grimes told Joliet Patch. "I'm trying to get in Jewel, Whole Foods, all the big box stores. I think my jerk sauce is the best in the world. This is my God-given gift and moving in my purpose, and I have a strong support system from my family."

Incidentally, Grimes is not from Jamaica, where jerk food and seasonings originate.

He was born and raised in Lockport.

And when it comes to his most popular creation, the Jerk Boyz original mild sauce, "it's not salty. It's not high in sodium, but very flavorful," he explained. "Give it a try. Don't be shy, give it a try."

Right now, Grimes has created five different jerk sauce flavors and more to come.

• Jerk Boyz Cilantro
• Jerk Boyz Lemon Pepper
• Jerk Boyz Original
• Jerk Boyz Curry
• Jerk Boyz Garlic

At the moment, Grimes' Jerk Boys original mild sauce is sold in Joliet at the Cuddy Deli, 308 Western Avenue, the Ked African Market at 2709 West Jefferson Street in the Stadium Plaza and in Bolingbrook at Chika Market, 522 East Boughton Road.

By far, his favorite and most popular flavor is the Jerk Boyz mild, which is featured in the Joliet Patch photo below and sold at the three area stores.

Grimes said he's proud of some of his other creations including the jerk pizza and the sweet potato pie as well as the Island Cheese Cake.

"It's a high-end jerk sauce, not your average jerk sauce," Grimes explained. "We are going to keep them coming. We are going to be innovative and creative."

Grimes wanted prospective customers to know that with all of his jerk products, "we'll also have spicy versions as well."

He's finalizing his website to handle mass online orders and hopes to have the website launched by the beginning of July, he told Joliet Patch on Wednesday.

Grimes said if restaurants want to contact him about ordering his jerk sauces, he can be reached at clevelandgrimes@cgfoodsinc.com

"My dad barbecued all the time and my mother fueled the fire of course and I always liked jerk, but it's always too spicy," Grimes explained. "My goal was to create a jerk sauce with all flavors without all the heat, but we also have spicy versions as well."

Grimes said his jerk sauces are even great for gyros and Italian beef.

"You haven't tasted this flavor because this is the best jerk sauce you never knew you needed," he said.

Where does Grimes envision his CG Foods corporation a year from now?

"To be in big box stores and to have restaurant deals. I would like to have all the sauces formulated and on the shelves.

"They would be ideal for a food truck and any restaurant that wants a new flavor, and I'll be glad to come out and bring them some samples and show them how to use the sauce."