JFDK offers flavourful trip with ‘Cook Like A Yardie’ class

The sweet aromas of fresh herbs and spices happily wafting in the open air is one of the most inviting scents for any foodie. It is our flavour that makes us distinctly Jamaican. But how many of us can capture the essence of this rich taste in our own kitchens? Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen (JFDK) challenged a few locals to test their skills at its ‘Cook like a Yardie’ class. With culinary school in session, the burning question is, did we pass? The proof was in the taste.

Attendees gathered at the food hub in Barbican promptly at 10 a.m. last week Wednesday for the lesson in Jamaican flavour. We were off to a spirited beginning with the option of an ice cold Red Stripe, the JFDK rum punch, or the Red Stripe lemongrass shandy. For those who only needed a refresher, fresh coconut water was on standby.

Managing director of JFDK, Nicole Maraj-Pandohie, gave us the background on the kitchen and explained her vision to make Kingston Jamaica’s number one culinary destination. “As a company, we’ve been doing a lot of culinary creative activities to diversify by introducing more food trails, cooking classes, and food festivals - anything that will draw visitors into Kingston,” she said.

The aim is to educate tourists about local flavours in a pragmatic fashion by having them whip up a Jamaican meal to savour. So why not start closer to home?

With experienced and non-chefs present, including persons from the restaurant and tourism industry, the group was asked to enter the kitchen, wash up, and split up into teams of four. Our mission, which we chose to accept, was to freshly prepare jerk chicken, curried shrimp, traditional rice and peas, callaloo, and plantains, using classic local ingredients that we knew and loved. At the end of the session, we would go into the dining area to enjoy the meal we had created. Sounded like a sweet deal to me!

Resident chef Celeste Gordon took her new students through the creative process step by step. And there were instructions on the screen to follow just in case we missed anything.

We started out by prepping chicken for the oven. “Typically, you want to marinate the chicken overnight. It’s ideal. But for this session, we’ll be marinating for about half an hour and get the chicken ready to eat,” Chef Gordon told the class.

SEASONINGS INCLUDED

Our seasonings included this great new green rub on the market from Walkerswood, jerk seasoning from the same brand, pimento, scallion, thyme, Scotch bonnet pepper, ginger, nutmeg, onion, garlic, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. These were carefully massaged into the chicken so that the flavour could seep in.

With five teams established and chicken marinating, we were tasked with having a name for the occasion. With a possible prize as the incentive for the most creative name, we came up with Hanns on, Bring di Heat, 1 Beryllium, Flava Squad, and Spyce Gurlz. Can you guess which team I was on?

With the chicken in the oven, the class went on to cook the rice, while being told that there would be no peeking until the end of the session. “We’re going to put all of the ingredients we need to create this great and strong flavour. Once it comes up to a boil, we’ll taste the rice water. We’re going to add the red peas, let it boil once again. Taste once more. Add more water, season once more. When the coconut water is very flavourful, we’ll pour our rice, cover our rice, and trust our rice,” Chef Gordon added.

As a class, we learned techniques like twisting scallion - to unleash the flavour - which was added to the rice water.

For the plantains, we scoured them, rubbed them with butter, salt, and cinnamon before popping them into the oven for baking. Then we made a rum glaze for the plantain using butter, honey, brown sugar, and rum. Once it came to a boil, we added cinnamon and turned the fire down for it to simmer.

Then it was time for the callaloo. With a generous amount of oil, we sautéed onions so that they would become translucent. Once that occurred, we added the callaloo, stirring it in with the onions. A school bell rang to get our attention. It was Chef Gordon encouraging us to add the garlic, pimento powder, and Scotch bonnet pepper. From there, we added salt, pepper, and coconut milk and stirred. It came to a simmer before we added heavy cream later on.

Our discussions surrounding burning curry led to Walkerswood new curried chicken rub. This is one of the ingredients we used to create our curried shrimp. “Go ahead and sauté the onion,” Chef Gordon advised after we added some oil to our frying pan. Once we added the curry paste, we incorporated the shrimp into the pot. Pepper, salt, thyme and scallion were employed soon after to elevate the favour.

Close to the end, we took the plantains out of the oven and drizzled the rum glaze over them. It was there that we learned that my team, Spyce Gurlz, had won the prize for the most creative team name. Trudy Dixon, who was from the same team, walked away with the Walkerswood box prize.

But the real prize was in the cooking. The spread was magnificent and the feast was delicious! JFDK passport to Jamaica cooking and dining experiences’ ‘Cook like a Yardie’ is definitely approved for the international taste visa.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com