Back in January, my mother and I attended an ocean view, outdoor private cooking class at The Great House at Prospect Plantation built in the early 18th century on the outskirts of Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
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| Back porch of estate. Photo credit: http://www.getyourguide.com/ |
Now, those who know me are well aware that I am not one to cook. At this moment, since moving into my new place in November 2013, I have yet to stock my kitchen with one pot or pan. BUT...offer a private cooking class overlooking the ocean in the Caribbean, on a sprawling estate surrounded by lush gardens and rooted in history, and am an all in!
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| Caribbean sea view from back porch of the estate where class took place. |
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| I suppose I'm ready to cook! |
We joined a small group of tourists under what's known as the Great Mahogany tree planted by Sir Winston Churchill in 1953. After the 950 acre (currently 400 acres) property was purchased by Sir Harold Mitchell in 1936 and featured Jamaica's first hydroelectric power station, notable guests were allowed to plant a tree to commemorate their visit. Sir Winston Churchill's mahogany remains in the center of the yard leading to the front door.
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| Me & Mommy |
Our garden tour lead by Chef Jason Herny (aka Chef Irie) included checking out the Pimento trees from which the fragrant wood was sourced for the grill used to finish our jerk chicken, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, and an interesting Plumeria tree (aka the Frangipani tree) with origins from West Africa.
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| Chef Irie underneath the Frangipani tree. |
Once settled in on the back porch and armed with a cool Red Stripe, the prep began.
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| Chef Jason "Irie" Herny |
We began with the steamed callaloo.
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| Callaloo bunch |
After removing the membrane from the stalks, we cut the callaloo into one inch pieces and added to a skillet with green and white onion, small amount of diced tomato, sprigs of thyme, green bell pepper, and margarine. Chef informed us that when a Jamaican says "add two spoonful", you should add four.
Seasonings for the callaloo:
We coated a boneless, skinless chicken breast with special seasoning in preparation for grilling over pimento wood and dousing with red stripe beer.
I was chosen to man the grill!
The spicy sent of flaming then smoldering pimento wood was intoxicating! The flavor it imparted to the chicken was unmatched.
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| Chef tending to jerk chicken on the grill |
Next up was the Shrimp in Coconut Sauce which was eventually plated over yellow rice.
While we awaited the chicken to be finished, we formed and kneaded Festival, a fried dough/dumpling Jamaican dish.
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| Festival |
We then prepped the sauce for the jerk chicken:
Final products were perfect:
Overall, it was a beautiful day to learn a few classic Jamaican dishes! Chef Jason "Irie" Herny was an amazing teacher and host. I strongly recommend partaking in this class if ever in Jamaica. You can sign up, here.
