When Brian and his sister Stephanie came to discuss their plans for a series of Pasta Nights at selected locations around Jamaica, I felt the energy and saw the enthusiasm in their presentation. I was not too sure about the format of how a typical evening would go, so I offered our little spot at Devon House and proposed for them a tasting session. Brian Lumley did not disappoint.

Brian Lumley

Brian is slowly (more like carefully) but surely charting his path and making a name for himself firstly in his target market , which for now comprises is his peers and supporting friends. The fact that Brian is the chef at the Embassy of France means that his target marketing will continue to naturally expand to a much wider and diverse audience. Brian Lumley represented Jamaica at the 39th WorldSkills International Competition in Japan, and upon his return he was involved in a number of competitions where his experience and skills led him to take home the top prize in several of these events

Pasta Night Preview

I was expecting to see a simple pasta station set up to serve up some simple chicken or shrimp pasta, but Brian Lumley had a different plan. Instead he chose to present a five-course pasta-tasting menu to show the diversity of pasta and a complete demonstration of his culinary skills. His menu began with a shrimp linguine with pesto, roasted garlic and julienned zucchini; for the fish course he opted for a Chorizo sausage in a tomato sauce with shell pasta topped with a pan fried red snapper; the third course was sautéed vegetables with fresh fettuccine topped with a grilled beef tenderloin and roasted almonds; the pièce de résistance was the fresh oxtail ravioli with carrot puree and oxtail beurre blanc. We finished the evening with the passion fruit sorbet with deep-fried cinnamon-coated angel hair pasta topped with mango pieces. For me, it was all good and a very interesting journey of flavours and I look forward to the full-production events.

Wine and Pasta

Pairing wine and pasta depends heavily on the type of sauce or dressing on the pasta. A very high-level guideline follows:

For Pasta: Try Wines that are:

With white sauces based on fish Dry, fresh, perfumed whites of light to medium strength

With white sauces based on vegetables Dry, soft, fragrant whites of light to medium strength

With dark sauces based on vegetables Dry, soft aromatic whites or fragrant roses of medium strength

With dark sauces based on meat Dry, tasty, lightly tannic reds of good body and bouquet

With melted cheese Dry, medium-bodied, lightly tannic reds of good bouquet

As we had a wide variety of pasta, I selected three wines to cover most of the taste profiles. My ‘off-dry’ or slightly sweet white wine was the chart topping Barnard Griffin Riesling from Washington State. The other white wine was the Santa Julia Organica Torrontes – the consensus was that it was totally delicious. Light, crisply dry, yet exuding lime, peppery spice and tropical fruit like juicy papaya and mango .For the red wine we decided to go for an Italian, the Badia di Morrona Caligiano Chianti. This Chianti was Ruby red of medium intensity, a fresh bouquet with distinct fruity and floral overtones. Pleasing and versatile to the palate with a well-balanced acidity and soft, mature tannins

Cheers! Try some pasta and maybe a Chianti at your next dining out opportunity.

Chris Reckord is an independent wine consultant who operates DeVine Wine Services with his wife Kerri-Anne. Chris & Kerri are also part owners of Jamaica’s first and only wine-only bar -Bin 26 Wine Bar. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com . Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines