Come for the food

The Food Hygiene Bureau Jamaica, a non-government organisation in Kingston, held its 8th International Food Safety Conference last week at The Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew under the theme ‘Caribbean Preparedness – Regulatory control’.

“This conference seeks to bring together a team of world-known experts, government and regulatory bodies to share in plenary discussions, specialised workshops, network opportunity, as well as for industry to showcase their range of products to the international arena,” the Food Hygiene Bureau said.

Its objective, it also said, is “enhancing food safety and security through safe food practices and regulations, a recipe for tough times”. A range of topics, including regulatory controls, export controls, food importation challenges, food hazards and controls, farm-to-fork approach, new technology in farming, and consumer protection through labelling were discussed by presenters from India, the USA, UK, and of course, Jamaica.

One of the presenters from Jamaica was Nicola Madden-Grieg, group director of marketing and sales at Courtleigh Hotel and Suites. Speaking in the capacity as chairperson of the Jamaica Gastronomy Tourism Network, her presentation, titled ‘Gastronomy and Brand Jamaica’, took a twist from the rest. She spoke about food tourism, moreso, Jamaica as a destination for food.

critical for growth

“Obviously, for us, gastronomy is critical to the growth of tourism and, therefore, ensuring that our food supply is safe and one that we can promote is critical to the process,” she told the gathering. It is all about quality, consistency and authenticity, she said. Gastronomy is the art of choosing, cooking and eating good food.

The essence of her presentation was that people should be coming to Jamaica not mainly for the weather and the beaches only, but also for its food. It should be the gastronomy destination. She said Jamaica is ranked 11th on the Cambridge World Dictionary of Food Index, which classify products that are authentic to destinations.

“We do have our pedigree as far as cuisine is concerned,” she said, and we need to capitalise on that. And after a 2016 baseline study found that food was the sixth main reason why visitors come to Jamaica, a master brand, Taste Jamaica, was established to promote Jamaican gastronomy both locally and international through various platforms. Another baseline study, in 2017, reported that food is now the second reason why people choose Destination Jamaica.

Asserting that we need to go beyond “jerk”, Madden Grieg said, “We have to expand our minds in terms of what is Jamaican cuisine and Jamaican food and how we utilise our asset.”