Trench Town cook remembered

A Rastafarian memorial was held in Chico on June 2 for a man who once served as Bob Marley’s personal chef.

Vivian “Kyso” Hendricks (pictured), 66, had lived in Chico for the past three years before passing away May 18 in a Jamaican hospital after experiencing recurring breathing problems. During a memorial service in Chico at Sipho’s Restaurant and Café, three of Hendricks’ sons, as well as a number of other musicians, performed on stage.

Hendricks lived here with son Newton “Sipho” Merritt, who owns the Jamaican-style restaurant on Dayton Road. Merritt said his father grew up with Marley in Jamaica’s Trench Town, the famed neighborhood in the parish of St. Andrew, and worked for the reggae legend, cooking his special vegetarian meals and fish. Marley died in 1981.