In just two weeks, this newspaper will host Jamaica’s most anticipated culinary event – the Jamaica Observer Food Awards. The annual event among other things celebrates and awards persons and organisations from a wide range of categories in the world of food. This got me thinking about restaurants and how the dining public and patrons view these establishments.

Entertainment or sustenance

If you are a true food lover, I am sure that you can identify a friend or two who cannot understand why you would go to a certain type of restaurant and pay top dollars in order to enjoy fine food prepared by a highly skilled chef. These are the types that prefer to have their plates piled high with rice and peas, lots of gravy along with the meat of choice also filling out the plate. I call these types the ‘Belly full people’. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I don’t appreciate a good plate of stew peas or oxtail myself.

But if they are your friends or business associates and you have to travel overseas with them, the decisions around dining choices can get a bit difficult. This is usually when I might have to launch into my discourse on whether they are eating solely for the sustenance, or whether they would like to have a fine gastronomic experience; this discussion can get tough sometimes.

Restoratives

I decided to take a look into the top culinary reference entitled Larousse Gastronomique: The World’s Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia to learn a bit about the history of restaurants. The word appeared in the 16th century and meant at first “a food which restores” (from the word restaurer: to restore). The 18th century gastronome Brillat-Savarin referred to food such as red meat and chocolate as restaurants – thought to be capable of restoring lost strength. In 1765 a Parisian soup-seller named Boulanger gave to his soups the name of restaurants, i.e. restoratives, and inscribed on his sign: ‘Boulanger sells restoratives fit for the gods’, a notice which he embellished with a joke in dog Latin: Venite ad me omnes qui stomacho laboretis et ego restaurabo vos (Come unto me, all you whose stomachs are aching, and I will restore you). This was the first restaurant in the modern sense of the word; one would have thought it was older than that.

The Experience

History also shows that dining establishments of old developed reputations for special dishes, and news of this would travel and persons would come from great distances to experience the specialty of the place. This is very similar to what happens now, in addition to the fact that our chefs can now be trained on a number of cooking styles and bring dishes from far-off lands right to your table. Also, a really great selection of wines can add currency to a restaurant and take it to the next level. Armed with a great bottle of wine, patrons can enjoy a fantastic culinary experience and learn about cuisine from a different culture in a well-appointed fine dining establishment. To my “belly-full” friends I say, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

See you at The Food Awards, on the East Lawn, Devon House, on May 26th.

Chris Reckord – Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. He and his wife Kerri-Anne are part-owners of Jamaica’s only Wine Bar – Bin26 Wine Bar in Devon House, Kingston. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines

Clos Du Bois Chardonnay: These wines are rooted in Sonoma County heritage with an elegant, approachable style. They can be enjoyed with a range of the foods in Jamaica, whether you are eating for sustenance only or for the added entertainment value. This Chardonnay is full-bodied and offers up layered aromas of red and green apple, pear, vanilla bean, blossoms and lemon meringue. The palate delivers balanced structure and a palate-cleansing acidity alongside bright fruit flavours backed by intense notes of caramel, toffee, spice and toasty oak. The smooth, rich finish is lingering and wraps up with hints of butter and toast.

Clos Du Bois Cabernet Sauvignon: The deep, ruby red colour of this wine, hinting at black, is the first clue to its intensity. Vibrant aromas of ripe blackberry, spice and cassis mingle with notes of vanilla and toasted oak on the nose. Full-bodied and velvety on the palate, the flavors are bright and juicy, with hints of ripe blackberry, plums and clove. The wine’s persistent finish marries fruit, oak and tannin in perfect balance.

Clos du Bois Pinot Noir: This nuanced, elegant Pinot delivers big on aromatics, kicking things off with layered aromas of vanilla, earth, baking spice, brown sugar, red cherry and rhubarb. On the palate it marries the variety’s signature-smooth tannins, silky texture and excellent balance with well-knit flavours of cherry, toast, blackberry liqueur and a hint of cranberry. The finish is long and concludes with a soulful, smoky note.