“When you have a hard week, I vow to always feed you seafood boils.” That was Noah Lyles’ heartfelt promise to Junelle Bromfield during a light-hearted moment between the track and field power couple. Not just for them, but for anyone, food isn’t just nourishment—it’s comfort, care, and an expression of love. So when Junelle recently tried to chase a taste of home and ended up with a far-from-authentic version of Jamaica’s national dish, she made sure she voiced her concern. How?

Remember over a week ago, when the Racers Grand Prix 2025 was being broadcast and Bromfield wasn’t able to watch the stream of her home meet from the USA? She’d visibly lost her calm. The frustrated athlete had taken to her Instagram and spilled her thoughts over a story, “Last time I’m paying for 1 spot media because mine never work yet when I want to watch a meet.” She bluntly called out the poor streaming quality! This time, a similar incident has nudged her to speak up. Only, this one wasn’t about track and field.

On June 19, Noah Lyles‘ fiancee, Junelle Bromfield, ordered a dish called Ackee and Saltfish, a ‘Jamaican breakfast of champions’ as they say, probably with the same intent. But when she got the polar opposite of what she expected, she lashed out! Immediately, Bromfield took to her Instagram and added a video of the meal, voicing how the poor quality left her shaken.

“So, I ordered a Ackee and saltfish breakfast. Tell me why only onion and tomato in this order here, and no Ackee? Like if you can’t cook in Jamaica, please don’t come over here and open a restaurant. Because what? Me upset.” She complained that the main ingredient, Ackee, was absolutely absent. What’s worse, the disaster didn’t end here. Noah Lyles’ fiancee, Bromfield, also talked about the questionable consistency of the meal, while zooming in on the liquid in her dish, “And to make it worse, look like they just tossed the food out of the pot. Watch water…..” After a pause, the disappointed athlete said, “Aye, me done. Mash up my whole mood for the day.”

Clearly, the one who prepared this dish just rained on Bromfield’s parade. Well, for those who are thinking, what’s the big deal, it’s just another dish; here’s some context. The dish Ackee and saltfish is synonymous with a Jamaican classic. The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, reputedly used to have this dish for breakfast. So yeah, you can get it that Bromfield, being a Jamaican, probably ordered this to feel that same taste she has been accustomed to having for years. After all, food can often be linked to a memory. And, she’s also had a real moving incident with food before.

Junelle and her relationship with food…

Noah Lyles’ fiancée, Bromfield, hails from a very humble background in Jamaica. She had a difficult childhood, where she grew up in George’s Valley, a poor community where a teacher’s profession was seen as the highest one could achieve. And she has a very touching incident from those days, revolving around oatmeal. Yes, Bromfield had once confessed that on nights her mother wouldn’t have money, she would make them oatmeal that tasted so good, because she would put in things like nutmeg. But their oatmeal was always very runny. That’s when a young Bromfield thought, this was how it was. But…

When she grew up, Junelle Bromfield ate a proper bowl of thick oatmeal at a track meet. That’s when the innocent 8-year-old said, “This is not how you make oatmeal.” But that’s when she got to know that this was the real dish. Back then, this experience had made her aware and changed her outlook. “The people and kids were like you are country but that is just what I knew, and I started to see the world differently,” Bromfield had said. So yes, a bowl of food can have that massive an impact on one’s life. It’s powerful, more than we usually think.