EDMOND Lam, founder of the iconic Jade Garden Restaurant, and Paul Salmon, chairman and CEO of the award-winning Rockhouse Hotel and its sister property Skylark Negril Beach Resort, are the recipients of the top two honours at this year’s Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards.

Lam will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award while Salmon will accept the Chairman’s Award at the 24th staging of the prestigious event honouring culinary excellence, at Devon House on Thursday, June 29.

Lam left the People’s Republic of China in 1952 for Hong Kong at age three. After his school years he honed his skill in the food industry, like his grandfather, until a friend who had left China for Jamaica encouraged the young Lam to join him.

Lam accepted the offer, visited Jamaica, liked what he saw, returned to Hong Kong, and soon after moved his small family to Jamaica in 1981.

Five years later he introduced Jade Garden Restaurant — and its quickly embraced authentic Cantonese menu — to Kingston’s culinary landscape at Village Plaza in St Andrew.

It quickly became one of the capital city’s favourite restaurants, attracting high-profile customers whose numbers continued to grow when it moved to the newly opened Sovereign Centre at Liguanea, St Andrew, in 1993.

Today, more than three decades later, Jade remains culinarily and socially relevant in an era of eateries coming and going with unfortunate frequency.

Last December Lam, who is now 74 years old, transferred ownership of Jade Garden to Kenneth and Florence Lee, and expressed pleasure at the dealing, saying, “I know my customers will be looked after.”

Chairman’s Award recipient Salmon is from Melbourne, Australia. He had moved to New York City in 1991 to work in the finance industry, transitioning into hospitality in 1994 when he and his partners bought Rockhouse Hotel.

Salmon is also the managing partner at Miss Lily’s — the beloved Caribbean restaurant with locations in New York City, Negril, and Dubai.

Described as a thought leader in the practice of sustainable tourism, Salmon has 30 years’ experience in the industry and is committed to best practices for how a foreign hotel operator can do so responsibly in a developing country.

His philosophy of investing in the staff, the guest experience, the environment, and the community is reflected in Rockhouse’s commitment to its long-term team, upholding environmental sustainability practices — both properties are members of Regenerative Travel — and positively impacting the local education system through the work of the Rockhouse Foundation, the charitable arm of Rockhouse and Skylark, which Salmon co-founded in 2003 and has served as chairman since its inception.

To date the foundation has invested US$8 million in the development of six local schools and the Negril public library.

The foundation’s current primary focus is on Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Infant Academy in Westmoreland, which it built to serve children with and without disabilities.

The foundation has partnered with the Ministry of Education in committing to build out the school to the high school level, adding a grade each year for the next decade.

Salmon also conceptualised the Guest Chef Dinner Series to support the foundation; and Rockhouse Hotel as well as Skylark Negril Beach Resort are the proud hosts of a biannual Guest Chef Dinner Series at Miss Lily’s in Negril.