Prepping For NyamJam – November 13-14
What brings celebrity chef Mario Batali’s BFF Reyna Mastrosimone to Jamaica and, most importantly, to EITS Café, Irish Town in the middle of a torrential downpour?
A project, Thursday Life soon discovers, called NyamJam — A Jamaican Food & Musical Festival. Over shots of pea and mint soup and mouthfuls of salt-fish fritters we swap culinary tales: her former MTV employ; how she met Batali “about 20 years ago” when he had “just opened his first restaurant Pó in New York” and the business relationship formed six years ago — Mastrosimone produces his media content.
Still feeling her way across the island — her first visit was two years ago — the festival co-founder describes this trip along with celebrity chefs April Bloomfield, Jose Enrique, Seamus Mullen and Johnny Iuzzini “as an inspiration weekend — to try things and hopefully go back and be inspired to create dishes, especially for NyamJam slated for November 13-14”.
“This weekend is really special, in terms of having these chefs here. The only one missing from the merry tribe is Mario Batali, he is away with his family right now and could not make it. But he has been here (Jamaica) before and spent time at Goldeneye.
Reyna Mastrosimone’s initial trip to Jamaica was to scout for a project at Goldeneye. Breakfast the following morning of salt fish and ackee, in her own words, “turned things upside down… the food and the movement that I was witnessing — organic farming and sustainability — it was very topical. The way people eat, I thought, was really important to try to capture. That was how the idea was hatched — a celebration of Jamaican culture, but through a food lens.”
It doesn’t take long to grasp the rationale behind the choice of chefs — the egos (let’s not get it twisted have been checked) and we’re all getting along swimmingly. “It was not about, necessarily, finding people from the Food Network or big celebrity names,” Mastrosimone explains, “but rather their connection to an overall philosophy to understand what was going on in Jamaica. It was about choosing people who are influencers in their own industry, but their overall ethos, their food philosophy was important to me”.
She’s chosen well both in her choice of chefs and EITS Café for lunch — a Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards multi-award-winning establishment and a 2015 Parish Gem nominee.
SAVE THE DATE NyamJam: Jamaican Food & Musical Festival will be held on November 13 and 14 at Goldeneye.
“People can look forward to a great time of intimate food dining experiences. The chefs have now been here and will hopefully take that inspiration and create menus especially for NyamJam. We are booking with a lot of local purveyors and farmers, so expect fresh, amazing produce”. — Reyna Mastrosimone
Thursday Life is delighted to introduce Mastosimone’s roster of chefs
Part 1
In the Kitchen November 13 & 14
April Bloomfield, executive chef and co-owner of Michelin-starred restaurants The Spotted Pig, The Greslin Bar & Dining Room, The John Dory Oyster Bar and Salvation Taco in New York City and Tosca Café in San Francisco.
In 2014 Bloomfield received the coveted James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: New York City.
Thursday Life (TL): What are your five larder must-haves?
April Bloomfield (AB): Anchovies, vinegar, olive oil, chilli, and salt.
TL: My earliest food memory was…
AB: That was probably my grandmother’s roasted dinner, just being in the kitchen and seeing the steamy windows, and the smell of roasted pork. You know when you have those food memories with the smells… you are transported right back to that time.
TL: I love to cook because…
AB: It’s my passion. It is what motivates me, drives me. It is something I found that I was good at and I stuck with it.
TL: Butter or olive oil?
AB: That’s a really hard one. I am a big Italian fanatic, so olive oil is important. But then being English, and so close to France, there’s butter… can I do half and half? I usually mix half and half, so that is good.
TL: Wine or Champagne?
AB: I think wine! Preferably whites or reds from Italy, I really like those.
TL: Jerk sauce or Scotch bonnet pepper?
AB: These are difficult choices… Scotch bonnet because you can make a lot of unique stuff from that. You can make jerk sauce with it, so Scotch bonnet hands down.
TL: You are in Jamaica because…
AB: I love it. I have a deep passion for Jamaican food. When I was at cooking school in Birmingham, I did my finals in Jamaican cooking. I used to work for a Jamaican chef who did a mixture of Jamaican/French food in a very small restaurant in Alvechurch. He was a fabulous guy and that is why I fell in love with it (Jamaican food) and for my finals I made pepperpot soup from scratch (got all the ingredients sent to my college); I made a jerk pork loin and made my own jerk seasoning; and made some rice and peas. I did some lovely roasted bananas with rum. I love Jamaican food… I am yet to have a beef patty, but that’s my next stop.
TL: What has been your best food experience …
AB: Probably working at the River Café in England and just tasting their food. I had this epiphany when I went to work there, the food resonated with me and stuck with me. So, within that moment (and being in the moment and appreciating it) was my best food experience.
TL: What advice would you give to a young female chef?
AB: Just keep your head down. Lead by example, learn, be a sponge, be humble. I am a very humble person but I pushed myself, even sometimes when I felt uncomfortable and I wasn’t sure, I persevered and pushed through the pain. Sometimes it is hard. Life isn’t easy but if you keep your head down and keep pushing, you can be successful. It might take some time but you will get there in the end.
TL: What else are you eager to taste?
AB: Well, I want to go to Scotchies and eat the jerk chicken because I’ve heard amazing things. But this lunch right now (at EITS) has been phenomenal. The barrel chicken was good. I took a photograph so I could recreate that at home.
TL: Where is home?
AB: New York City — the Big Apple. I love the weather, the people, the multicultural emphasis; it’s all very eclectic. You can go down the road and get a Jamaican patty, or go for Filipino food or have some really great Japanese food; I love that.
TL: Tell us about your newest cookbook.
AB: My cookbook, A Girl And Her Greens, is all about vegetables and it came out in April. I have a deep passion for pork, so my first book was about that (A Girl and Her Pig, 2012), so this second book is about my other passion — veggies.
Mario Batali — Twenty-five restaurants nationwide, 10 cookbooks, Emmy Award-winning major network television show The Chew — Batali will be in Jamaica, November 13-14 for NyamJam.
Thursday Life (TL): Your passion for cooking commenced when…
Mario Batali (MB): I caught my first whiff of my grandma’s legendary calves’ brain ravioli cooking in the kitchen during the holidays. I’ve been in deep love with cooking simple, classic Italian food ever since.
TL: What are your five larder essentials?
MB: Hot sauce, extra virgin olive oil, Maldon sea salt, red chilli flakes and freshly cracked black pepper.
TL: Your favourite food to eat is?
MB: Linguine with clams
TL: Butter or olive oil?
MB: Extra virgin olive oil.
TL: Wine or Champagne?
MB: Vino!
TL: Jerk sauce or Scotch bonnet pepper?
MB: Scotch bonnet pepper
TL: You are coming to Jamaica because…
MB: I’m hosting a dinner with Chris Blackwell as well as other incredibly talented chefs for the NyamJam, a Jamaican food and music festival. Together we’re celebrating the authentic spirit and culture of the country, and the best way I know how to do that is through delicious food with 150 of my closest friends!
TL: What are you eager to enjoy in Jamaica?
MB: … Nothing quite compares to the moment Jamaican rum hits my lips. Wheeyumbang!!
TL: Your best food experience to date is…
MB: I have a new favourite food experience almost every day! The most recent was at Il Latini in Florence, Italy. Traditional Tuscan dishes incorporating genuine ingredients… it doesn’t get more “best” than that!
