If you are passing through Brown’s Town, St Ann, be sure to check out new restaurant Sunsplash. A mere three months old, the Jamaican and soul food restaurant with a full line bakery and ice cream parlour has become the town’s hotspot, cultivating constant traffic as well as nods of approval as a result of both the food and warm welcome. From all appearances, at Sunsplash, the customer always comes first.

Thursday Life visited the establishment last Friday and broke bread with its owner Michael Thorpe and his partner, author of Soul and former competitor on Food Network’s Rewrapped, Chef Dawn Tyson, as the enterprising duo shared what inspired them to take their talents and a few recipes to Jamaica.

Thorpe, being Jamaican-born, was ready to come home “…to start a business out of philanthropic notions. (I) wanted to bring something back to Jamaica… and I later asked Chef Dawn to partner with me.”

Scrumptious food aside, what sets them apart from other restaurants in the area is their method of cooking. Sunsplash prides itself on being a farmto- table establishment.

Tyson shared, “We are working together with our farmer Rohan Ricketts as a cooperative. We are hoping to be 85 per cent farmto- table by November.

We now get all of our produce from our farm and can soon add poultry and pork.” It’s early days yet, but according to Thorpe, “Patrons can look forward to our continued standard of excellence in taste, quality and hospitality. Look for our changing main specials, daily soup specials and seasonal bakery specials.”

Kingston is also on the drawing board. Thursday Life looks forward.

Address:

53 Main Street, Brown’s Town

St Ann, Jamaica

Tel #:876-917-6957

BBQ CHICKEN WINGS

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken wings

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 cups flour

Your favourite BBQ sauce

Oil for frying

Method:

Clean chicken and season with thyme.

Mix flour, salt and pepper.

Fry wings then cook for 7-8 minutes

Rest cooked wings on paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Toss chicken in BBQ sauce

Save some of the sauce to use as a dip.

Serve.

SUNSPLASH STYLED COCONUT MACAROONS

Ingredients:

5-1/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

7/8 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large egg whites

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Set two oven racks near the centre of the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract, then set it aside. In the bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form.

Use a large rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Using two spoons, form heaping tablespoons of the mixture into mounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1” apart. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and the bottoms and edges are deeply golden.

Let them cool, then serve.