Chris Blackwell wears many hats: record producer, Island Records founder, and the man behind the luxury hotel brand Island Outpost. What many might not know is his passion for Jamaican food.

“He loves fish soup, especially when he travels — it settles his stomach. He also loves red peas soup, spicy tomato soup — think: a well-seasoned Virgin Mary, snapper, oxtail, ackee and salt fish, run down, boiled dumpling and Scotch bonnet pepper.” This, according to Blackwell’s personal chef, Talcie Neil, who has been with him for more than 30 years. Neil, who hails from Galina, St Mary, has travelled extensively with her boss ensuring that he’s properly nourished, be it oats porridge or banana fritters and, no, his passion for Marmite has not waned.

Thursday Life spent the weekend with Blackwell at Goldeneye sharing breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails with him at the Ian Fleming Villa as well as at his own flippie-chic hut. The man is as passionate about food as he is about music. And Talcie Neil’s food, in the words of our team: Tun up! Every meal is a veritable symphony of flavours, fused perfectly and slowly, left to explode into one perfect crescendo.

Mario Batali, who has tasted Neil’s seasoning hand, as indeed have the other guest chefs, knows that he has to come good. We leave the last words to Bob Marley: Hallelujah Time!

NyamJam Festival takes place at Goldeneye on November 13 and 14. Tickets are available at www.nyamjamfestival.com/tickets