Plant-based perfection: Cedella Marley delights in A Stush Affair
Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 9:22 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
When Cedella Marley heard that Stush in the Bush’s proprietors Christopher Binns and Lisa Binns were taking their menu to the Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen (JFDK) for A Stush Affair on Tuesday, she was beyond excited.
The daughter of legendary Jamaican musicians Bob Marley and Rita Marley is known for her philanthropic work on the island. The vegetarian told Food that since she was not able to travel to the St Ann epicurean destination – which has been well-known for its unique farm-to-table experience – she was happy they came to the capital city for the 2025 Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run’s pre-event fundraiser and food experience.
The buffet-style menu included a fyah grilled pizza station with sweet and salty options; roast corn with STUSH chimichurri and almond feta; NoLA beignets with STUSH passion fruit curd; STUSH plant-based cheese board with seasonal fruit, crudites, jam, lemon plant butter, fresh bread and tuile; mezze spread and chocolate gateau and soursop sorbetto.
Beverages included a selection of wines and farm-fresh homemade lemongrass ginger iced tea and cucumber and mint-infused water.
Marley told Food that her favourite was the extra thin grilled crust pizzas and callaloo dip.
“It’s amazing. I loved the callaloo dip because I’m a callaloo girl,” Marley said excitedly.
She shared that she has been a vegetarian since she was a teenager.
“I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 18 [years of age], and now I’m in my late 50s, so it’s just a lifestyle. My grandma, Cedella, actually introduced me to being a vegetarian and it’s just been my thing. Anything plant-based is right up my alley. To have Stush in the Bush here [in the city] is amazing. I’ve been trying to get up there for a long, long time, and so now I’m finally able to taste without having to go so far,” she said.
Lisa Binns, co-proprietor of Stush in the Bush, said preparing the menu for A Stush Affair with Cedella was one that she put all of her passion into, starting with a post on Instagram.
“I did a really dedicated post to this because I feel that this year, we have so much to be thankful for, and we have to be mindful of [who] we spend our time with, and put money behind, and I think [it’s] important that we do that in our own backyard, and not always abroad,” Binns said.
“No animals were killed in the process of any of this food, so whether it looks to you that it should be milk or beef or any of those [meat-like] things, this is plant-based food. This is plant-forward food. This is not vegan! So please lay the word vegan to rest. Let it stay in the 1940s with the folks who didn’t develop it, because we here in Jamaica started with ital, and that began way before the 1940s, and that’s how we’re going to localise this,” she explained.