We are still in the season of Lent and our food travels take us back to Negril for a quick stop in with Beverly Allen. Her steamed fish and conch cooking set-up caught our attention on the way to checking out Negril’s West End.

The simplicity of the set-up and the steaming process have piqued our interest. What is her preparation process?

We settle in for a taste of her offerings and the back story on how it all came about.

“It was during COVID that I had the idea to do this. I was at home with my two children; my daughter was almost at the end of her schooling, and I was out of work. Before, I used to cook and sell at Green Island High School for over 12 years. Then with the start of the PATH programme sales went down. I moved on to selling at parties, then COVID stopped that. Then in March of last year I remembered that a man was selling steamed fish right here, but he moved on to open a restaurant. There and then I decided to take it on,” Allen explained.

“I got the two baking sheets, as that is how the gentleman before did it; he was my inspiration for that. How I prepare now, I get my fresh catch of fish and conch from the fishermen. For the conch, I clean it, wash it in vinegar, then beat and scald it. My fish and conch are seasoned with all-natural seasonings — no food colouring, no curry or anything like that. Then everything is steamed in coconut milk, Maggi soup flavourings and natural seasonings also. Of course, the ground provisions and okra are added to make it extra-nice. The spice inna mi hand mek the difference, though. That’s the flavour!” Allen added with a laugh.

— Text & photos: Aceion Cunningham