Ja Food and Drink Festival gives food lovers taste of year 11 at launch

Sweet aromas wafting in the garden air, beckoning taste buds to dance in a revelry of island flavour, could only mean one thing: Jamaica Food and Drink Festival (JFDF) is back, and it’s already promising to be better than before. For the 11th staging, the organisers delivered a launch which spoke to the true essence of the festival.

Nicole Pandohie, director of JFDF, who was amazed by the great turnout, despite the weather, explained that the team wanted to feature a different element of the festival for this launch, and in doing so, stepped away from the usual formalities at it in Barbican to create an even greater fanfare to match the energy of the three-day event.

“Typically, we focus more on the formalities and the talking points. But this year, we really wanted to share more of the experience. People were able to get a good representation of what to expect in the food and drink department and the vibe to anticipate. We actually moved the launch from a weekday to a Friday night because we wanted people to enjoy the vibe, the music, the dishes and the cocktails and to really get that whole sense of Jamaica Food and Drink Festival,” she told Food.

Guests gathered in the garden of The Jamaica Pegasus hotel for the gourmet epicurean escape. And the top-notch local chefs were truly delighted to provide this one-of-a-kind culinary oasis.

Chef Christian Sweeney, who embodied Kuyah for the grand occasion, wowed palates with his exquisite take on the marinated striploin and the jerked lamb rack. “I really wanted to showcase Glastonbury’s proteins and Walkerswood ready-to-use seasonings. The flavour combinations worked very well for the jonkonoo marinated striploin to the jerked lamb rack,” he shared. He also provided delicious turn cornmeal, combined with crushed yellow yams and roasted peppers to enhance the reimagined experience.

“The response was excellent,” Chef Sweeney revealed, adding that seeing the same faces three and four times around was all the proof he needed to know that he was serving a winning combination.

Chef Theo Smith pulled out all the stops in whipping up savoury servings of rum barbecued pulled pork sliders and jerk sausage-stuffed pork loin bites. “The idea this time was to merge Copperwood Pork and Caribbean Passion products. For the sliders, as a pork lover, it was a no-brainer to highlight bacon in a way that would complement the rum BBQ pulled pork, with a bacon relish, then add spicy pickled red onions for balance,” he said.

For the pork loin, Chef Smith incorporated jerked sausage with a sweet potato mash. “The reception was really good. We had a great turnout and kept serving right up to the end of the night,” said Smith.

Chef Trevanne Donegal, who normally does Crisp and showcased Asian fusion at Chopstix last year, explored different flavours at the recent launch for Picante. “We leaned into Picante, but chose to go with a Latin-forward menu.” Collaborating with CPJ Foods, she enchanted food lovers with a seafood fiesta of pez espada tacos, featuring swordfish, Mexican street corn slaw and pimento crema, guava tequila glazed shrimp with chipotle black beans and coconut cilantro rice and chilli lime grilled tuna nachos, receiving good feedback for her valiant efforts.

Chef André Sewell curated memorable munching moments, Crisp style with his scrumptious seafood boil, three-bean stew and spicy jerk chicken, all served on a bed of pressed plantain cups.

Then there was the sweet side of brunch served by Chef Glenroy Walker. He presented an array of decadent desserts, including eclairs with salted caramel, coffee-infused chocolate tiramisu, French macaroons with a tamarind crème filling, white chocolate raspberry cheesecake with vanilla sable, opera cake, rum and raisin bread pudding with a brandy crème and São Paulo mousse.

On the drinks side, there was a bevvy of beverages to choose from. Master mixologists created enticing mixes from Worthy Park, Rémy Martin, Grey Goose and wines from Select Brands, entertaining the crowd and leaving them satisfied after each sip.

Salivating as yet? If you missed the launch, be sure to join in on the celebration of culture meets flavour, which is set to ignite your palates from November 13 to 16.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com