Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival delivers flavour, sizzling competition despite rain

Even with the aroma from jerk pans being dampened by continuous rain at the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival on Sunday, hundreds of Caribbean nationals were not deterred from going to Miramar Regional Park with their umbrellas in hand.

As the afternoon and evening showers poured heavier, so did the influx of patrons flowing into the venue, creating long queues at the cashiers of each exhibitor to sample dishes.

Before performances by Elephant Man, Nigy Boy and Shuga, news celebrities and chefs living and working in Florida participated and were awarded in the Celebrity Quick Fire Challenge, ‘Chef Clash’ and the 2024 National Jamaican Jerk Day Grace Sauce contest.

For the National Jamaican Jerk Day Grace Sauce contest, Findler Charles (left), proprietor of Fin’s Kitchen, emerged as the winner against one other finalist, Krystal Powell of Dynamic Cuisine. They had previously gone head to head on National Jamaican Jerk Day, which was formally recognised in the state of Florida on Sunday, October 22.

At the end of the day, for the Celebrity Quick Fire Challenge, Alexis Frazier, morning traffic reporter, Local 10, emerged the winner with her mixed dish, which was made with lettuce, chicken, sweet pepper, seasoning and Grace baked beans.

Frazier says when she is not on air, she likes to travel, try new food recipes, spend time with family, read, and listen to Beyoncé.

Chef Alain Lemaire, a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was awarded the winner of the ‘Chef Clash’ competition against Chef Winston Williams.

Chef Lemaire has appeared on several TV shows in the USA, Canada, and Haiti. He was the host chef of the Taste of Haiti episode of the Luda Can’t Cook series with award-winning rapper, actor, and restaurateur Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges. He was also a contestant on the Food Network’s hit series Fire Masters, Cutthroat Kitchen, and Chopped.

Derrick Reckford, president and chief executive officer of Grace Foods USA/organisers of the event, was elated about the hundreds of persons who turned out despite the continuous rain.

“It’s a rainy day, and this is actually a good representation of South Florida [who attended], and you know we don’t do very well with the rain, and I am sure many persons were looking in the sky and saying this is not the best time for an outdoor thing, but we are grateful for the people who showed up, and it’s always fun to be [with] and interact with our consumers in South Florida,” Reckford told Food.

“I know that there are many persons who are here who travelled further than South Florida to be here as well,” he said.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com