In the rolling green hills of St Ann, where morning mist clings to poinciana blossoms and the air carries whispers of wood smoke, the co-principals of Two Sisters, Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, are orchestrating a culinary masterstroke with The Best Dressed Chicken. The premium poultry brand, known for its exceptional quality and flavour, provides the foundation for what has become the signature dish of the summer.

The sisters, whose new Higgin Town location is destined to become a pilgrimage site for food lovers, have introduced something deceptively transformative yet straightforward: Spatchcocked The Best Dressed Chicken. In their skilled hands, this backbone-removing technique becomes an art form that captures Jamaica’s evolving culinary spirit.

A Technique Rooted in History

The method Michelle employs carries centuries of culinary tradition. Spatchcocking traces its origins to 18th-century Ireland, where the term evolved from “dispatch the cock” — a phrase describing the swift preparation of a fowl for immediate cooking. Captain Francis Grose captured this technique in his 1785 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, describing it as “an Irish dish upon any sudden occasion” involving a hen taken fresh from the roost or yard, then immediately skinned, split, and grilled.

What began as a practical solution for quick meals in Irish kitchens has evolved into a celebrated technique embraced by chefs worldwide. The method involves removing the bird’s backbone and flattening it completely, allowing for faster, more even cooking whilst creating the coveted crispy skin that’s nearly impossible to achieve with a whole roasted bird.

“Spatchcocking goes beyond faster cooking,” Michelle explains, her hands moving deftly as she demonstrates on a plump Best Dressed bird. “It’s about respect — for the chicken, for the fire, for the time we have together at the table. When you understand that this technique has been perfecting meals for nearly three centuries, you realise you’re part of something more profound than just dinner.”

A Modern Caribbean Interpretation

This celebrated dish anchors Two Sisters’ inaugural summer brunch — six unforgettable Sundays celebrating their St Ann launch in true island style. These weekend gatherings have become the parish’s most coveted reservation, where guests savour distinctive bites from the Pimento Grill, enjoy refreshing spritzes and wines, and experience what Michelle and Suzanne describe as “a myriad of stories, traditions, and island wisdom brought to life on the plate”. Against a tableau of pastoral beauty and infinite panoramic views, guests share food that feels both authentic and innovative around communal tables.

Rousseau’s spatchcocked chicken arrives lightly charred and glistening, the skin crackling with the kind of crisp that only comes from high heat and perfect timing. The Best Dressed bird is grilled over freshly chopped sweet wood harvested from the surrounding land, infusing it with the aromatic, smoky essence that Jamaicans have perfected through generations of jerk cooking. Finished with a vibrant salsa verde, the dish feels sophisticated yet accessible — elevating traditional techniques into something more nuanced and deeply personal.

The seasoning blend reads like a love letter to the island: Scotch bonnet peppers that provide heat without overwhelming, freshly ground allspice berries, and thyme picked from the restaurant’s garden. The star ingredient is pepper elder, foraged from the nearby hills — a native Jamaican herb with an earthy, distinctive peppery flavour and subtle bitter notes that add remarkable depth and complexity to the spice rub, creating perfect balance.

Theatre Meets Tradition

This process is pure theatre. Michelle removes the backbone with practised precision, then presses the bird flat with the confidence of someone who has performed this ritual thousands of times. The flattened preparation exposes the dark meat to more direct heat whilst reducing cooking time by nearly half. The chicken hits the grill with a satisfying sizzle, and within 20 minutes, it emerges transformed — a stark contrast to the hour-plus required for traditional roasting.

What makes this dish transcendent isn’t just the technique. It’s the way Rousseau has woven together tradition and innovation, creating something that feels both familiar and surprising — much like spatchcocking itself, which has travelled from Irish hearths to Jamaican grills, adapting to local flavours whilst maintaining its essential character.

The chicken is served family-style, accompanied by bread, mixed chips with garlic sauce, a salad of fresh greens locally sourced from a neighbouring farm that tastes like summer itself, and wood-roasted carrots — “because simple rural cooking in Jamaica speaks to the soul”.

More Than Just a Meal

“A meal here must honour where we are, who we are,” says Michelle, gesturing towards the view where hummingbirds dart between hibiscus blooms. “It has to connect you with the true rhythms and flavours of the place we call home. Each gathering is designed to do exactly that. This chicken dish embodies this philosophy — it’s efficient enough for a simple Sunday meal, but special enough that people want to plan a special outing around it.”

For those lucky enough to secure a spot at this reservations-only brunch series, the experience is sublime. There’s something about breaking bread — or in this case, sharing perfectly cooked chicken — in a place where the beauty is so overwhelming it borders on the spiritual.

As the afternoon light filters through the mountains and conversation flows as freely as the libations, it becomes clear that the Rousseaus haven’t just created a meal. They have created a moment, a memory, and a reason to believe that Jamaican cuisine is better than ever.

“When Michelle takes our premium birds and crafts them into something this extraordinary, it reinforces everything we believe about quality ingredients being the foundation of great cuisine,” says Arielle Oliver, brand manager for The Best Dressed Chicken. “This partnership with Two Sisters showcases how our commitment to raising the finest poultry translates directly to the unforgettable experiences diners have at their table.”

The spatchcocked chicken at Two Sisters represents more than food — it’s an invitation to slow down, to savour, to remember that the best meals are about more than what’s on the plate. They’re about where you are, who you’re with, and the stories that unfold when fire meets flesh, and tradition meets innovation in one of the most beautiful places on earth. In this case, those stories stretch back nearly three centuries, proving that great techniques, like great flavours, know no borders.

Bringing History Home

Two Sisters’ six-Sunday summer brunch series runs in St Ann through 24 August. Each gathering features speciality dishes from their Pimento Grill. Reservations are essential and can be made through their website twosistersja.com.

The buttercup-hued house with intricate white fretwork creates the perfect backdrop for the Rousseau sisters’ culinary vision in St Ann’s rolling hills. (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

From the verandah, sweeping views across green hills to the Caribbean Sea, framed by royal palms and gingerbread trim. (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

Communal tables dressed in white linens and coral chairs against ancient stone walls, where family-style service proves great food is about place and people. (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

Chef Michelle Rousseau massages her signature blend deep under the skin, ensuring Scotch bonnet heat and herb complexity penetrate every fibre of the premium bird. (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

Fresh pepper elder and thyme meet the mortar and pestle in Chef Michelle Rousseau’s hands, transforming garden herbs into the complex spice blend that anchors her dish. (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

Chef Michelle Rousseau demonstrates her craft at Two Sisters, where practised precision meets soul. “For the chicken, for the fire, for the time we have together at the table.” (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

Flattened birds hit pimento wood fire, exposing dark meat to direct heat while Scotch bonnet and allspice work their magic. Twenty minutes beats the hour-plus of traditional roasting! (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

Talented 18-year-old HEART trainee Kimanda Davis masters the grill, learning to coax golden skin and smoky “soul of jerk” essence from premium poultry. (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)

The finished bird emerges with charred edges and crackling skin, accompanied by woodfired vegetables — pure theatre transformed into plate perfection. (Photo: Best Dressed Chicken)