There’s something inimitable about a Jamaican Christmas. Yes, it’s about the food but also about family, who can be blood relations, friends or strangers. Wherever Jamaicans are, there is also a party atmosphere filled with flavour, colour, and memorability. On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, the Jamaica Observer – hosted Countdown to Christmas Day — the final Lifestyle webinar of 2021.

Glancing at the webinar’s promotional material, you’d think it was a global conference about the foodways of the Caribbean Diaspora. Some of the best culinary minds here on The Rock were joined by Jamaicans living in Australia, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Trinidad and Tobago. So, what did the 13 participants talk about? Well, when one receives directives from Jamaica Observer Limited Senior Associate Editor Lifestyle & Social Content Novia McDonald-Whyte, the response is to go all-out and create envy-inducing, mouth-watering content for those watching at home. Let’s dive in, shall we?

The first stop is in Melbourne, Australia. There, St Thomas-born deejay Stick Mareebo takes us into the home of Belver Williams-Niblett, who, since arriving Down Under from Jamaica 21 years ago, has a tradition of finding and hosting Jamaicans in the city. Mareebo allowed viewers to crash a recent Jamaican Christmas party of Williams-Niblett’s. The Australians present were in for a treat. But it was the Jamaicans who were on tenterhooks, itching to partake of glazed ham, curry goat, oxtail, roast beef, roast chicken, baked chicken, both gungo and kidney bean rice and peas, mannish water, plantain, escoveitch fish, callaloo, tossed salad, potato salad, carrot juice “with likkle beetroot” and sorrel. Of course, there was Christmas cake with a promise of the dessert spread being more extravagant. Mareebo was in his element at the party. He, too, loves and appreciates Jamaican food, to the extent that he founded Melbourne’s Jamaica Music and Food Festival, which will have in its sixth staging March 12, 2022. DJ Stick Mareebo and Belver Williams-Niblett are connectors. Not only because they know lots of people and love making introductions, but because they keep Jamaicans in Melbourne connected to their roots through food, music and culture.

What’s that sound, you ask? Oh, it’s the boarding call for our flight to Amsterdam where Rita Wright, principal, Reggae Rita’s, awaits us with more delicious fare. Wright was born in the UK to Windrush Generation parents; mom is from St Ann, and dad is from Clarendon. While stationed in the Netherlands for work, she noticed the lack of Jamaican food, though 150 registered Jamaicans live in the country. So to satisfy her cravings and that of the Caribbean folk in the city and introduce an authentic taste of Jamaica to the Dutch, Wright opened Reggae Rita’s. For Christmas, Wright is not only offering full Jamaican Christmas dinner — jerk chicken, curried goat, rice and peas, escovitch fish, Christmas cake, vegan stew peas, vegan ginger cake — for delivery. She also has Jamaican grocery items for sale at Reggae Rita’s so that Jamaicans can have “home away from home.”

Our next stop takes us across the Strait of Dover to London, where Jamaica Patty Co principal Theresa Roberts is busy operating two locations — Covent Garden and Liverpool Street. Our glimpse into a day at Jamaica Patty Co revealed how the brand is beloved by Londoners, one of whom said it was the best patty he had outside of Jamaica. Large tables of customers tucked into hot patties, rum cake, soup, washing it down with Jamaican soft drinks, and yes, you guessed it, Red Stripe Beer. Now, at Christmastime, the shops are gearing up for a busy season of catering orders and carefully packed boxes of patties that will make a trip to numerous destinations across Europe.

A red-eye flight takes us to Minneapolis, where virologist Dr Altreisha Foster does double duty baking stunning cakes that have been featured on The Bachelorette, Axios, PBS and in People and US Weekly magazines. Dr Foster’s home is warm and buzzing with guests who praise her cooking, medical, and maternal skills. On the menu, ackee and salt fish, glazed ham, curried goat and chicken, escoveitch fish, oxtail, egg nog, sorrel laced with overproof rum, her aunt’s Christmas cake and of course, a plethora of desserts.

After boarding our connecting flight, we land in Port of Spain, where chef John Aboud and the team at Aioli are awaiting our arrival. And since we couldn’t attend carnival this year, Christmas dinner at Aioli is an acceptable substitute. Whether you’re grabbing ready-made meals from Aioli Upmarket or dining in the restaurant, Chef Aboud’s creations will delight. Imagine tucking into roast turkey with walnut, raisin, and truffle stuffing, glazed ham served with Trini chowchow and cranberry jelly, sweet potato pie with brûléed marshmallows, Trinidadian pastels, and walnut-raisin wild rice. That’s the kind of menu that will make anyone jump and wave, exclaiming togetherness.

We’ve jumped off our Caribbean Airlines flight and are now on The Rock. After all that travelling, our first stop includes securing several Likkle Tea’s products to boost our immunity and soothe our nerves. With Patrique Goodall’s superb hand-picked teas (black, green, rooibos, white) infused with Jamaican flavours, this will be our go-to moment of zen as the silly season is upon us. After all, “there’s nothing a likkle tea can’t fix”. Next, we visit Fromage co-principal Lisa-Gaye Chin, whose table is so laden with delicious dishes, you’re wondering if Chin used a bit of sorcery to fit the centrepieces. On the table were beet gem salad with candied pumpkin seeds and goat cheese, three-cheese mac and cheese, roast leg of lamb with chimichurri, porchetta, orange-glazed apricot roast chicken with sausage stuffing, gruyere scallop potatoes, bourbon-glazed leg of ham, rice pilaf with cranberries and merlot onions, Filet mignon, gingerbread crust cheesecake, and death by chocolate cake. Oh, and if you thought that was over the top, just wait until you see Chin’s bubble bar stocked with bottles of sparkling wine ready to pop from Harbour Wines & Spirits.

Then we head out of town, but not before stopping at Christopher Issa’s newest gem in the S crown, S Foods. Though the supermarket won’t open until the end of January, Issa gave viewers a sneak peek into the space that formerly housed the Worthington conference facilities. Can’t wait until 2022? No worries. S Cafe has delicious treats to tide you over. Veering off the highway into Tower Isle, we’ve arrived at Summerhouse at Harmony Hall. Consummate hosts Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau have sorrel mimosas at the ready as well as some of the best dishes from their cookbooks — Caribbean Potluck and Provisions. Imagine sitting on the Harmony Hall verandah tucking into organic green salad, ackee wontons with papaya ginger sauce, creamy callaloo dip, kale and quinoa salad with candied sorrel, seasonal fresh lobster with tomato butter and dill, eggplant and plantain gratin, and cassava-crusted goat cheese? After such a delicious meal, you’ll need somewhere to rest your head with a fantastic restaurant a few steps away. The answer, Half Moon. Executive Chef Klaus Frauenschlaeger and Sugar Mill Restaurant Chef de Cuisine Christopher Golding welcomed us to dinner with a few new menu items. There’s a shrimp trio appetiser that includes sweet potato wrapped shrimp, poached lobster in a herbaceous green sauce, seared tuna with turmeric and carrot purée topped with a papaya and jimbelin salad, and pimento-marinated duck finished with Worthy Park rum.

We hope that this tour of Jamaican Christmas around the world allows you to catch the Christmas spirit, putting you in a good mood, feeling fine. Looking forward to seeing you at our 2022 webinars.

Merry Christmas from Thursday Food.