Explore the real Jamaica through a food festival. Jamaica has many interesting foods and several annual food festivals. The Portland Jerk Festival is one of the best-known festivals because it involves one of Jamaica’s most popular ways of cooking – you idiot!
Jerk is the process of seasoning and grilling. The meat is rubbed with a mixture of herbs and spices. The main ingredients of the mixture are red pepper and bell pepper. The meat is then grilled over charcoal or pepper firewood. Jerk at its best tastes tangy, juicy, tangy, and tender.
At the festival, anything that can be pulled will be pulled and, over the years, new additions, such as the shredded lobster, have added to the “flavor” of the festival. Considered the home of jerk, the town of Boston in the parish of Portland attracts jerk lovers from all over the island, who spend hours sampling chicken, pork, fish, sausage, lobster, and side dishes like bread, festival, and breadfruit.
The food festival includes performances by local artists and community dance groups, arts and crafts exhibits, a bounce, a merry-go-round, and face painting appropriate for all age groups.
Another culinary event that is gaining popularity is the Yallahs Chicken Festival held in the parish of St. Thomas. In the summer months, a wide variety of chicken dishes are on display from vendors throughout Jamaica. Cultural and musical entertainment is also offered, and chicken lovers flock to the area to “fill their bellies.”
The Westmoreland Curry Festival is one of Jamaica’s leading community food festivals, and the number of attendees has grown from 2,000 to more than 10,000 in seven years. The festival is the largest of its kind and continues to be the premier fundraising event for Mannings School, a high school located in Westmoreland Parish.
Other festivals held locally include a Bussu Festival in Portland, which features Bussu meat mined from the in-shell creatures of that name in local rivers; and the Little Ochi Fish Festival in Alligator Pond, Manchester, where you can eat fish cooked in all styles, listen to great music and enjoy the beach too.
In Jamaica, you will never be hungry, but a food festival may be just what you need to truly appreciate the variety of food that makes Jamaica so unique. Be sure to explore the real Jamaica through a food festival.