I enjoy good food. I have eaten at the most posh hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants to simple dishes in the bush or in rustic settings. I love my food and will just about try anything once. My palate is adventurous. It’s also quite sensitive and can usually pick up every seasoning and spice in a dish. Some foods have sent my being into heavenly bliss while others have been downright gross. However, there is one thing which holds true for me countless times and is proven over and over again. There is nothing as good as a simple meal with the freshest of ingredients made in love.

I’m over unnecessarily complex meals and gimmickry. I’m not alone. Most chefs across the world are going back to the grass roots. Instead of camouflaging the main ingredient with overboard sauces, garnishes and spices, they are allowing the star ingredient to shine through with just the right amount of complementary accruements. Jamaican chefs are doing this too and getting more creative with local ingredients.

I know a few factors have led to this new consciousness in the food world such as customer dissatisfaction with paying huge amounts and still feeling hungry, and the recession plays a huge role. Excess is now vulgar. Yes, there will be certain trends and flavours or dishes à la mode, but at the end of the day we need food to live. It’s a basic necessity and everyone has the right to eat well.

I love recipes with layers of flavour. I was taught by master chefs to delicately season food at each stage towards the end result. When you think about it, many everyday home-made meals are like this. Mothers make sure they purchase the best-looking produce to feed their families. No one wants to serve their loved ones inferior stuff if they can help it.

Another thing which is bothering me lately is that my generation and those younger than me can no longer cook traditional meals. Many of us depend on restaurants but can’t do it in our own kitchens or we gorge on fast food. I think we need to seek those of the older generation in our families and learn “old-time” recipes and preserve them for future generations.

When it comes to food, go back to the simple things. Learn how to tell if a fish is fresh, a fruit is properly ripened, how to properly scramble an egg or make freshly squeezed orange juice. Take the time and bake a cake from scratch. Not only is it a delicious pursuit, it can relax you after a stressful day. Nothing is sweeter than freshly baked bread warm from the oven with lashings of real butter or cheese. As I’ve implored time and time again, get back into the kitchen and rediscover the simple pleasures which sustain life.

Baked Eggs and Bacon

I don’t often do morning dishes, but this is an elegant way of presenting breakfast. It’s also healthier in that you don’t need to add extra grease as the bacon will render its own fat to cook itself and the eggs. Serve with toast on the side. You will need ramekins.

Ingredients:

2 eggs per person

2 to 3 rashers of bacon per person

Cracked black pepper (to taste)

Parsley for garnish.

Bread for toast (reckon on 1-2 slices per person

Method:

Line ramekins around the circumference and the bottoms with bacon rashers.

Crack 2 eggs per ramekin

Season with fresh cracked black pepper and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Curry Coconut Saltfish with Young Green Banana

I love rustic-style Jamaican dishes. This is reminiscent of what my late grandmother used to prepare in the countryside.

Ingredients:

Saltfish, boiled, skin and bones removed or soaked overnight to remove excess salt

1 Sprigs of fresh thyme

2 Plummy tomatoes

1 Dry coconut, cut up and blended (optional 1 can of coconut milk plus one cup of water)

1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, seeds removed and cut up

2 or 3 stalks escallion

1 tbsp Jamaican curry powder

6 pimento berries, crushed

3 Young green bananas, washed and sliced

Method:

In a Dutch pot, pour in the coconut milk and let it boil until there is oil on the surface.

Add all of the other ingredients and simmer for at least 20 minutes until the sauce is thick.

Rum and Raisin Cake

Sometimes I just crave a simple cake to go with tea when I take a little break. Rum and raisins are a classic combination and luckily we reside on an island with the best rum!

Ingredients:

450g all-purpose flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

115g butter, melted and cooled

170g brown sugar

3 eggs

225g raisins

160ml dark rum plus 3 additional tablespoons

Method:

Soak raisins in 160ml of rum for at least an hour before baking.

Preheat oven to 350ûF

Prepare nine-inch baking pan by greasing it with butter and a dusting of flour.

Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy.

Remove raisins from rum, reserving liquid.

In stages, fold in melted butter, flour mixture to egg mixture, and add a tip of reserved rum at each stage.

When the mixture is fully incorporated, add raisins and mix well.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour the 3 tablespoons of extra rum. Remove the cake from the tin when it is cool.

Serve on its own or with ice cream or whipped cream.

Many thanks to the staff at MegaMart Waterloo.

Contact me at info@juicychef.com

Bon Appétit!