Kingston, September 18 - The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport said this afternoon that she was deeply saddened by the death of renowned Jamaican Restaurateur, Minion Phillips, who was known to all as “Sister Minnie”.

Minister Grange said, “Sister Minnie was a strong Jamaica Rasta woman who was an expert at what she did and who showed great care for the people around her, not just for her immediate family.

“My sympathy goes out to Member of Parliament, Mikhail Phillips, her son and her other children and to Opposition Leader, Dr. Peter Phillips, her former husband.” 

Miss Grange also recalled that Sister Minnie, who she also described as a cultural pioneer had, “through the assistance of the Jamaican and Ghanaian governments returned to Ghana the remains of one of the former slaves, Lady Crystal, who had been brought to Jamaica, and Samuel Carson, an American whose remains were discovered by a group in New York.”

Minion Phillips, who died yesterday, was the proprietor of Kingston's first 'Ital' restaurant, a popular establishment for Rastafarians, musicians and visitors seeking a unique gastronomic experience.

The restaurant was built of lumber, bamboo and thatch, which surprised many by surviving Hurricane Gilbert completely intact, protected by its traditional 8-sided design and structure.

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