- Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
Shirley Headley (left) with Hilary Grant (centre) and Carol Ball-Thompson at the cocktail reception preceding the Prime Minister's Independence Gala on Tuesday night.
Chester Francis-Jackson, Gleaner Writer
DOVES, IT was all about an emancipated people and an independent Jamaica last week and how! What a celebration! Oh for my word and on the life of all things fabulous, it was one total hotness and as Jamaica turned all of 41 on Wednesday, celebrations were a-plenty!
It was one almighty celebration all around with the Prime Minister's Independence Gala coming into its own, and how! Now, if they can only manage to make the show somewhat more compact, it would have been a winner over all. But not to worry, it was one fabulous production and then some!
Oh, what a week! What a feast of celebrations! Doves, pinch yuh-selves if y'all missed the celebrations because Jamaica is definitely in and happening like a fabulous nation, still in the throes of nation building, but celebrating her contributions nonetheless!
And luvs, when one speaks of the contributions of this island nation to the world community, there's much to celebrate. Among the many things spawned here and bequeathed to the world is the Rastafari religion; reggae music; jerk cuisine and the unique Jamaican language now being copied and practised by many an international artist.
JERK CUISINE
But on the subject of our jerk cuisine, last Thursday, it was all about gourmet jerk as the real chic Hedonism III resort over there in Salem, near Runaway Bay, in St. Ann, staged their second annual Jerk-Fest, on the grounds of the resort that proved a three-night, four-day affair that was a culinary sensation, and then some!
Now, known for its creative and exciting promotional marketing concepts, since its commissioning almost four years ago, Hedonism III has become a worldwide phenomenon in the leisure and travel industry. Its racy, and fabulously so, adult-oriented holiday offerings of beach, sun and fun with a bit of the wild thrown in for good measure has made of this resort a prime-time destination for the internationally traveller weary of the same-ole-same-ole annual vacation.
RED-HOT RESORT
As a direct result of its creative promotional campaigns and its in-house entertainment, the resort currently enjoys a multi-repeat clientele that makes it a red-hot resort all year round, a-boasting occupancy level that makes some of its competitors see red as they turn green.
Well daahlings, to celebrate Emancipation Day and the nation's independence, last weekend the hotel hosted a three-night, four-day fiesta, that was a decided humdinger and then some. It was a celebration of all things socially, musically, culturally and culinary Jamaican and how!
The Emancipation and Independence celebration got under way last Thursday evening with the GM's Kevin Levee's welcoming dinner a seven-course affair hosted atop the resort's famed Scotch Bonnet restaurant, that was simply, esoterically orgasmic!
Oh, my word, what a truly awesome display and understanding of the relationship between spices, herbs and their pre-eminence in cajoling to the fore, the rich, tender, and juicy secrets to be found in the foods around us! Luvs, this was the lesson of the night from the resort's award winning Executive Chef, Mark Cole, and how!
Now pumpkins, with the deck of the Scotch Bonnet transformed into a grand dining hall, housing some four tables, each seating five and with more cutlery and glassware per setting than mere mortals use in a lifetime, y'all know the stage was set for a culinary adventure! Well, it was and it proved one dee-vine odyssey, and then some! Dovecakes, the affair opened regally, with the resort's Food and Beverage Director Gordon Edwards nattily attired in tuxedo welcoming guests, before he introduced the opening course and accompanying wine, that preceded a retinue of faultlessly clad wait staff making their way to each table and with the precision of synchronised timing began an unforgettable evening of fine dining and elegant wines!
Doves, on Friday and Saturday it was all about celebrating the cultural and culinary gifts of the land as the resort's grand sun deck was transformed into a fabulous marketplace, ringed by kiosks boasting Appleton VX; Red Stripe's Ting and Ginger Beer; Tastee Patties; Walkers Wood Spices and Condiments; Gizzadas and Drops; A Jerk Spit with live-time jerking; An art gallery; art and crafts men and women; Madam Pink, the famed Tea-leaf reader; a palm reader; indigenous and imported jewellery; plus a host of other offerings!
A DIZZYING FEAST
And then there was the jerk fare itself! Oh for my word, what a dizzying feast! Luvs, there was jerk pork, chicken, turkey, beef, rabbit, ham, mackerel, and fish, with a choice of roasted breadfruit, hard-dough bread, boiled bananas, fried-dumplings to accompany the jerk dishes, with a sno-cone cart, sugar cane man and a coconut man on hand to provide the refreshments!
Then there was the Embers Mento Band, The Hot-Tops Cultural ensemble; singing one-man sensation Dennis Malcolm and Simone Michelle Clarke and her SIIM Line to crown the affair with her breath-taking creations. But what a weekend!
And with FAME FM's Francois St Juste and the fabulously lovely Paula-Ann Porter leading the assault of the FAME Road Party crew for the Beach Party, Quad Frolic and the Octopussy Disco! Oh my word, children it was as hot as hot ever gets and how! And it made for one dee-vinely fabulous celebration!
Dovecakes, aam-a-telling-you, it was like no other, a celebration of Jamaica and things Jamaican, and how!
And among the many guests spotted over the weekend, were: Ron and Jean Anderson; Maurice Foster; the lovely Sue McManus; Lennie Little-White; the oh so gorgeous Cecile Levee; Harry Smith; Jacquie Tyson and her beau Roy Riley of Squint Designs; Fiona McGloin; Rodney Campbell; the lovely Michelle-Ann Campbell; the excitingly charming Elva Ruddock; the charming Julia Vaz and her fiancee; the lovely Andy Golding; Nubian Godling and Milton Smith; plus several scores more!
