Sun-kissed afternoon, the hum of conversation, and the clink of glasses set the scene at Uncorked Ochi at Drax Hall on Sunday, July 26 as Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Jamaïque, Select Brands, and Uncorked hosted a celebratory bistro brunch showcasing the return of Chef Colin Brown to Jamaican shores. Brown — back from an international run of kitchens — teamed with Uncorked’s culinary team to present a lively fusion of island flavours and classic French techniques that won praise from members and guests alike.

The cold and seafood station opened the meal with refined island flair: Yellowfin tuna crudo brightened with a lime-ginger marinade, Scotch bonnet oil, ripe mango salsa, and a crisp of breadfruit; and an escoveitch conch paired with calabash lobster, spiced pickled vegetables, allspice, and lime zest that married Caribbean acidities with steely seafood sweetness.

The opening of the smoked and slow-roast station followed. A pimento-smoked salmon with a rustic salsa; golden goat, glazed with Appleton rum and finished with a nutmeg-thyme jus offered deep, caramelised rum notes; and Blue Mountain coffee-crusted pork belly, lacquered in a tamarind-molasses glaze balanced bitter, sweet and savoury. Braised oxtail croquettes, stuffed with a butter-bean purée with chive oil, provided a textural and flavourful nod to Jamaica’s comfort-cook traditions, while a live action station with pimento-smoked roasted leg of lamb, scented with rosemary, orange zest and tarragon, rounded out the roast offerings.

Side dishes and local provisions were treated with equal care: roasted sweet potatoes and breadfruit crowned with coconut butter and toasted pimento, herbed yam croquettes, creamy coconut rice with gungo peas, callaloo-pak choi sautéed with ginger, garlic and island five-spice, and an inventive green banana risotto studded with aged local artisan cheese. These accompaniments anchored the menu in terroir while supporting the international techniques on display.

Dessert showcased Jamaica’s signature ingredients in elegant formats: Wray & Nephew rum and gingerbread pudding bathed in warm coconut custard, a sorrel-hibiscus panna cotta with candied ginger, and a guava tart in flaky coconut pastry. Sweet finishes were complemented by a chilled limoncello cooler pairing that cut through the richness.

Select Brands curated the beverage pours, pairing the menu with a sparkling and wine line-up that included Veuve Clicquot Brut NV, Kettmeir Pinot Grigio 2024, Terra Alpina Chardonnay 2022, Aqua di Venus Rosé, Tassajara Pinot Noir 2022 and Dominio Fournier 2020. The thoughtful beverage selection underscored the brunch’s balance of celebration and culinary craft.

The event was both a welcome-home for Chef Brown and a statement of culinary collaboration — a tasteful fusion that celebrated Jamaica’s pantry while leaning into French technique and presentation, a thrust Brown is quick to emphasise in the Jamaican culinary space.

“We have to cook our own food, add our cultural perspective and use the techniques from France, Italy and we’ll become masters by taking an indigenous cuisine and refining it. For today’s menu we used the Seville orange, rice vinegar, Mirin, sushi ginger, ripe mango, tomato and we boiled the breadfruit in the skin, sliced thinly, fried it to make a nice crisp and this came out really well for the yellow fin tuna. escoveitch conch and lobster, we made a lobster bisque for the base, boil it and season only with Scotch bonnet powder, sear it, keeping it fresh and nice. For the conch we cooked it for hours and sliced it thinly, tossed and fried keeping it crispy,” Brown explained.

“The salmon was done of more a jerk style but with more kick to it. Everyone is more use to curry goat, but we slow-cooked the goat with Appleton rum, nutmeg and thyme, making it a well-balanced dish. The crispy pork belly was cooked in Blue Mountain coffee jerk for two and half hours and glazed with June plum and lime and dusted with Blue Mountain coffee, giving you the sweet, sour, coffee flavour and the jerk. The oxtail was also slow cooked and the lamb leg we marinated for three days,” Brown added.

Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Jamaïque members (from left) Chef Jaqui Tyson, Brian Sang, and Debra Taylor (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

From left: Anna Kaye von Dueszeln, managing director, Uncorked; Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Jamaïque member Brian Sang; and Chef Colin Brown (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Tablescape and place setting for the afternoon (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Tablescape and place setting for the afternoon (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Uncorked Ochi at Drax Hall (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Pimento-smoked salmon with salsa (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Escoveitch conch and calabash lobster with spiced pickled vegetables, allspice, and fresh lime zest (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Kimm Daley, attorney-at-law, tucks into the escoveitch conch and calabash lobster with spiced pickled vegetables, allspice, and fresh lime zest.(Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Veuve Clicquot Brut NV is the opening pour. (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Marcine McLeish, mixologist, Select Brands, serves up a Chaine Spritz, made with Delheim Pinotage Rosé, Da Luca Prosecco, lime juice and plain syrup. (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Pimento smoked roasted lamb leg with rosemary orange zest and tarragon. (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Jamaïque members Pierre Battaglia (left) and Helen Chen (right) share a toast with tourism consultant Delouise Battaglia. (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Gia Abraham (left), vice chargé(e) des Missions, and entrepreneur Cecile Levee exchange wine notes. (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Braised oxtail croquettes with butter bean purée and chive oil (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Blue Mountain coffee-crusted pork belly with tamarind and molasses. (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)

Sweet -potato, breadfruit, coconut butter and toasted pimento (Photo: Aceion Cunningham)