When the Jamaica Food & Drink Festival (JFDF) returns, March 5 to 8, the focus will not just be on the crowd or the music. It will be on the plate.

Two of the festival’s signature events, KUYAH and DECADE 2.0, have always been about showcasing Jamaican food in different ways.

KUYAH, set at Festival Marketplace on the waterfront, asks chefs to take familiar Jamaican flavours and reimagine them. It is about reinterpretation. The ingredients are recognisable. The execution is sharper. The presentation is more deliberate.

This year, Chef Scotley Innis, of Jamaican heritage, joins the KUYAH line-up, courtesy of Scotiabank. Many will know him from Hell’s Kitchen and the Food Network, but his real impact has been through his restaurants, Continent Atlanta and Continent Brooklyn.

Innis has built a career refining Caribbean flavours rather than softening them. Think: Oxtail handled with precision, jerk balanced carefully instead of aggressively, coconut used with restraint rather than excess. His cooking is bold, but controlled.

On Friday night at Sabina Park, DECADE 2.0 takes a different approach. It is bigger and more expansive. Multiple festival concepts come together in one all-inclusive showcase that reflects how Caribbean cuisine has evolved over the last 10 years.

Among the chefs contributing to that evolution is Trinbagonian Brigette Joseph, courtesy of presenting partner Visa. Her background spans diplomatic dining and large-scale culinary productions, and her cooking reflects that range. Caribbean ingredients are layered with global technique. The result is food that feels confident and contemporary without losing its roots.

Also returning is Patrick Simpson of The Simpson Brooklyn, continuing his work with Walkerswood. His offerings capture something familiar to many Jamaicans. Local flavours travel, absorb influence and return home slightly changed but still recognisable.

The Jamaica Food & Drink Festival has long featured some of the island’s most respected culinary names, including Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, Alexa Von Strolley, Oji Jaja and Brian Lumley, to name a few. Their work has helped shape modern Jamaican cuisine and create space for new talent to experiment.

Festival Director Alicia Bogues says the inclusion of international chefs is intentional. “Each year, we invite international chefs to the festival, not because Jamaica lacks culinary talent, but because we believe in exchange. Our chefs are exceptional. What we’re creating is dialogue. It gives Jamaicans the opportunity to experience different techniques and perspectives, while visiting chefs get to engage with the depth and creativity of our own food culture.”

The idea is not comparison. It is exposure.

For four days in March, Kingston becomes a place where Jamaican food is both familiar and unexpected. That tension is what keeps it interesting.

Chef Brigette Joseph is known for precision and disciplined technique, qualities she brings to DECADE 2.0 at JFDF 2026. (Photo courtesy of Brigette Joseph)

Chef Brigette Joseph brings her globally influenced Caribbean perspective to DECADE 2.0 at the Jamaica Food & Drink Festival (JFDF) 2026. (Photo courtesy of Brigette Joseph)

Chef Scotley Innis has built his reputation on refining Caribbean flavours through technique and restraint. (Photo courtesy of Scotley Innis)

Chef Brigette Joseph is known for precision and disciplined technique, qualities she brings to DECADE 2.0 at JFDF 2026. (Photo courtesy of Brigette Joseph)

Chef Scotley Innis joins KUYAH at JFDF 2026, bringing refined Caribbean flavours shaped by his international career. (Photo courtesy of Scotley Innis)