There was no better place to kick-start the 2023 Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards countdown than S Foods, the hottest new food spot in town.

On Monday, May 8, S Foods CEO Christopher Issa and his wife Kimberley hosted an intimate group of epicureans to his recently transformed Worthington Ave spot for dinner, and more importantly an all-access pass to the different facets of the establishment.

The experience commenced in the supermarket’s frozen food section, where guests — Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards chair Novia McDonald-Whyte, judges, and Deputy Managing Director Natalie Chin — sipped Prosecco + Popsicles, and relished smoked marlin, salmon and flavoured crisps from a charcuterie board before settling into a picnic-style dinner in The Deli.

“I just want to say a very warm S Foods welcome to you all… the concept for tonight is deli cuisine. We’ve been doing quite well with our deli lunch options and have developed quite a following, so we’re going to give you a little taste of that,” said Issa. Little, we would soon learn, is relative!

The evening’s menu comprised tossed salads made from S Foods’ fresh produce, and served in true deli fashion in clamshell takeout containers. Also in to-go containers were an assortment of deli bowls (oxtail, salmon, and chicken) artfully presented from shopping baskets by servers. It’s all about the details, and chef and event specialist Jacqui Tyson and her team got them right, setting the scene for an unparalleled culinary adventure.

Post-entrées guests headed to the café where DeafCan! baristas served iced and hot coffee beverages, Sista Love Wines principal Princess McLarty poured specially crafted blends, and Mount Pleasant Farm Chocolatiers founder Averell Ffrench introduced his chocolate wine.

“We’re very big on trying to support local manufacturers. We know the challenges of a small manufacturer who may start to do well with friends and family and then somehow gets it [produce] in store, then sooner or later the issue comes up about ‘are you Bureau of Standards-approved?’ And we know that’s usually the point that they figure they can’t make it. We have a couple of people like that here today… Sister Love with ganja and bamboo wines, and Averell Ffrench who I met many years ago at the Food Awards — with his chocolate wines, so we have a little of that. Plus, other locally made products… We hope you have an enjoyable evening, and experience the supermarket which is definitely a work in progress. If any of you came here when we first started you would have seen the changes we have made, and continue to make, as we hope to keep improving on the product so that it will be your preferred place to shop,” explained Issa.

The party shifted outside where deejay Paulando Grant spun oldies but goodies from Issa’s recently acquired Swing A Ling Mobile Record Shack from reggae musician and producer Charlie Ace. Following his career as a DJ, in the early 70s, Ace drove around the back streets of Kingston, in his iconic Swing A Ling Mobile Record Shack, a converted Morris 1000 van. With much reluctance the judges bade their goodbyes, but not before picking up mini cakes each from S Foods Bakery.

The 24th staging of the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards takes place on Thursday, June 29 at Devon House. The theme this year: The role music has played in the culinary. How important is music in creating positive food experiences?

Scholarships will be afforded students at the University of Technology in tourism and hospitality management to ensure the development of the industry will continue.