Cooking with the No-Maddz

When we first heard that wordsmiths/ musicians the No-Maddz' mantra included a food staple, we knew we had to get them into the Vibes kitchen.

Their intriguing style of mixing dub poetry and foundation reggae grooves with theatrical flair, finds its roots in the richness of Jamaican culture.

Their "Breadfruit is the new bread, baby" metaphor, is not only a reminder that eating the local starch is healthier than white, over-processed imported flour. The phrase also represents the group and their ability to serve up their talents in a variety of ways, just as Jamaicans enjoy the beloved breadfruit in numerous dishes.

Much credit is respectfully given to Captain Bligh, whom the group acknowledges for not allowing a mutiny to stop his delivery of the delicious bounty to our shores.

The quartet of Sheldon Shepherd, Everaldo Creary, Chris Gordon and O'Neil Peart, and their manager Yakub Grant, are constantly forging new territory for Jamaican music with their original sound, branded personalities with caricatures, retro fashion and innovative marketing initiatives. They are on a mission to launching themselves into the global entertainment stratsosphere - living and breathing No-Maddz. They even live together and, of course, share cooking duties.

Shepherd who first used the breadfruit analogy as part of his acceptance speech for his Best Actor Award at the American Black Film Festival last year, and Chris aka 'Birdie' took on cooking duties in our kitchen. Their menu? A healthy vegetarian plate including curried ackee, their trademarked split season stew, brown rice, salad, with a healthy side of, you guessed it, roast breadfruit.

Their lean physiques are not only the result of their long trod on tours overseas and regular rehearsals, but a dedication to healthy living, eschewing fried or processed foods.

Shepherd reveals that they always spice their food with garlic and ginger not just for taste but the nutraceutical benefits as well.

These gentlemen are confident in their knife skills, culinary handiwork as they should be. Like any trained chef, they uniformly prepped and chopped ingredients for the meal.

The kitchen is their stage as they run an high-energy commentary of jokes, food knowledge and occasional choruses of "Poo Pukka Poos"-from their Rise Above Profanity track - made intergalactically famous via their Puma ad collaboration with Usain Bolt.

The completed colourful plate is wholesome, sustaining and full of flavour. Recreate their dishes at home as and don't be afraid to get hands-on in the kitchen as Shepherd shared what his grandmother taught him: "When you get your hand inside your cooking, it taste better."

No-Maddz original split season stew with mango jam and curried ackee

1 package split peas (or lentils) almost cooked with scallion and whole scotch bonnet

12 okras

5 carrots

2 two-inch pieces ginger

4 cloves garlic

¹/² scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded

1 onion

5 stalks scallion

3 plummy tomato

1 sweet pepper

1 stalk thyme

1 dozen pimento berries, crushed

¹/² cup mango jam

1 dozen ackee, cooked firm

Sea salt to taste

Split season stew:

1. Simmer almost cooked split peas.

2. Mince garlic, chop remaining items (seasonings and vegetables into approx one-inch pieces) Some will be used for stew, other portion for ackee.

3. Blend half of each item: garlic, ginger, onion, scallion, tomatoes with a little Scotch bonnet.

4. Add mango jam and few tablespoons cooking liquid.

5. Add pinch of sea salt and purée.

6. Add okra and carrots to split peas.

7. Add pureed seasonings and jam.

8. Check for taste, add salt if needed

9. Simmer until vegetables are soft.

Curried Ackee:

1. Add curry to remaining seasonings - onion, scallion, ginger, green pepper, garlic, little scotch mixing well with a tablespoon cooking water.

2. Add curried seasonings to pan heated on medium.

3. Sauté stirring constantly, until crisp tender.

4. Add ackee and combine gently. Try not to break ackees.

5. Heat through and enjoy. with stew.

No-Maddz Tip: Serve both dishes with brown rice, raw salad and roast breadfruit!

Vibes tip: Soak split peas or lentils overnight for faster preparation.

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