Back to the Land
At one sustainable Jamaican farm, food travels a matter of feet from the earth to your mouth.
Montego Bay is a place of spotless white beaches, reggae, piña coladas by the pool and sparkling resorts — not the kind of place usually associated with agricultural sustainability and down-home meals. But some locals are working to change that image, offering visitors a true taste of the island by creating a farm-totable program so fresh you may as well have plucked your meal from the ground with your teeth.
Every Saturday closest to the full moon, Farm To Table Dinner guests are greeted by hor d’oeuvres and a special drink (mango-infused champagne, anyone?) before being led to an open field beside farmer Rudolph “Dull” McLean’s rustic farmhouse. There, seated under a giant mango tree at a long, family-style table lit by dozens of lanterns, they’re treated to the freshest meal Jamaica has to offer.
This popular farm-to-fork series is a collaboration between renowned boutique hotel, Jake’s, which markets the event, and farmer McClean, whose fields, about six miles from Jake’s Treasure Beach location (60 miles from Montego Bay), provide both produce and venue for the monthly dinners. The initiative was inspired by sustainable agriculture proponent Liz Solms, who came to Jamaica in 2005 to promote eco-friendly agriculture and wean local farmers off of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Each month, different local and internationally renowned chefs are invited to cook meals around a theme. One recent dinner featured Robin Lim Lumsden of Upper St. Andrew, who, together with her husband Michael, produces honey-based specialty products like pepper sauces, jams and chutneys under the Belcour Preserves name. The theme for the evening was honey. Beekepers gave presentations on beekeeping while a mix of local food connoisseurs and tourists savored a sweet, sustainable meal.
Lumsden made the elaborate meal with a combination of her honey-based preserves and local ingredients.
Crab cakes were served with pepper jam and honey jerk sauce alongside local goat cheese from a farmer near Mandeville, all wrapped in banana leaves with tomato chutney. A fresh salad of local lettuce, arugula and tomatoes was honey-fied with a honey and papaya seed vinaigrette, followed by the main courses of steak and sweet pepper kebabs with a honey jerk glaze and lobster glazed with honey mustard. Dessert included a guava-jam cheesecake alongside a traditional Jewish honey cake. Most of this mouthwatering meal never traveled farther than 10 miles before being consumed.
Jake’s farm-to-table series kicked off in June 2010 as a way to promote Pedro Plains, Jamaica’s agricultural center, and celebrate the work Solms had done in organizing an organic farmers’ cooperative.
The concept is simple: At least 80% of the food consumed (like carrots, arugula, herbs, sweet pepper, plantain, tomatoes, watermelon and pumpkin) is produced on McClean’s farm or sourced from others nearby. The only imported items used in the dishes are staples like rice or pasta. Even the alcohol is local, sponsored by Wray & Nephew, a Jamaican-based spirits group.
Sold out since they began (and at $95 per person, to boot), these dinners prove that the ever-growing popularity of the farm-to-table trend works as well, if not better, on this gorgeous Caribbean island as it does at the celebrity chef-helmed eateries in major metropolises.
Upcoming dinner dates are Dec. 17, Jan. 14, Feb. 11, March 17, April 14. For bookings contact Jake’s Boutique Resort and Beachside Villas (Calabash Bay,
Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth; +1 876-965-3000, www.jakeshotel.com)
QUIRKY EATS
Eat on stilts, in caves and on farms: Jamaica has no shortage of unique meals.
EITS Café in the Blue Mountains
Jamaica’s other regular farm-to-table venue is 3,500 feet above sea level in the Blue Mountains, Mount Edge, a low-key guesthouse that caters to backpackers, has given birth to the area’s best farm-fresh gourmet dining experience. An acronym for Europe In The Summer, EITS fuses European and Jamaican cuisine, with all of the produce having been grown by founder Robyn Fox and her father right there on what they have dubbed Food Basket Farm. (17 mile post, Newcastle Rd, St. Andrew; +1 876-944-8973; www.mountedge.com)
Pelican Bar in the Black River
Have a flopping-fresh meal in the ocean, 10 minutes out to sea. This bar and restaurant is a flimsy looking wooden structure that rests on stilts — reminiscent of a child’s tree house — on a sand bank a quarter of a mile out to sea, halfway between Black River and Treasure Beach. Food options are limited — the choice is usually between lobster and the fish of the day — but it’s consistently great. Plus, you can eat knowing that your meal was caught just before it hit your plate. (Treasure Beach, Negril; +1 876-354-4218)
The Caves, Negril
This luxury hotel allows for the ultimate romantic date by serving you a gourmet meal inside a cave. Enjoy a sumptuous dish made with fresh local meats and produce — from jerk barbecues to five-course affairs — while basking in glowing candlelight, feet comfortably in the warm water. (Light House Rd, Negril; +1 876-957-0270; www.islandoutpost.com)
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