First staging of Lobster Fest delivers bold, inviting flavours

Scores of patrons made their way to Hope Gardens on Sunday for the first-ever Lobster Fest.

The inaugural staging of the event promised a variety of lobster dishes created to captivate palates with bold yet inviting flavours. This special delivery came in the form of several booths. The main tent, which I dubbed the ‘Sunday dinner’, had all the tasty fixings.

On display waiting to be served and savoured were the lobster bruschetta, lobster tortellini in white wine sauce, garlic lobster in a beurre blanc sauce (a classic French sauce) and curried lobster in coconut cream sauce.

There were also more delightful options available to choose from, outside of the event’s main star. The Mexican seafood pasta, Jamaican-style steamed fish and Hellshire-style escovitch fish joined the seafood line-up. While on the protein side, the jerked chicken with a honey barbecue rum sauce and the jerked pork with a Scotch bonnet chutney sauce excited the taste buds.

Those seeking a vegetarian option could find delightful solace in the three-bean vegetable stew. The sides included rice and peas, yellow rice, bammy, festival, rolls, pasta salad, stamp and go, along with fresh green salad with beetroot and stringed carrots.

But the ‘feastivities’ didn’t stop there! With Sunday dinner served, food lovers made their way to the live cooking station, which featured celebrity chefs Theo Smith, Lobster Belly, Dennis Osbourne and Sabrina Prendergast.

For its first year, Chef Smith was happy for the great turn out. Live cooking in front of a crowd came naturally to the experienced chef who entertained the crowd in a fun and engaging way.

“We got great reviews from patrons about our lobster penne pasta in saffron coconut cream sauce. This was specially created for the Lobster Fest event, but we’ll be featuring it again on future event menus. Of course, there were some ups and downs with the event, such as the long line, but it’s a learning experience for us all and it will only help us to have an even smoother event next year,” he said.

Chef Belly had his hands and lines full, giving his delicious take on Hellshire-style lobster with fried festival to eager guests. In droves, many joined and rejoined the line in hopes of satisfying their insatiable appetite.

Chef Prendergast served up several heart-warming cups of mannish water, janga soup and pumpkin soup, much to the delight of the patrons who went on a sipping frenzy. Her boiling pots were done in no time.

Chef Osbourne had an impressive spread of twice-baked potatoes with poached lobster, topped with garlic infused coconut oil and micro greens, corn tacos with poached lobster, garlic infused coconut oil, fresh vegetables and cheese, as well as lobster rolls with fresh parsley and sesame seed.

“People said the food was amazing. They were delighted to see live cooking and it was exciting, because they were asking for the recipes. My dishes are definitely ones you can try at home. It was a wonderful experience,” Osbourne shared.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com