Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Sgt. Steve Brown of Operation Kingfish examines the ingredients that he will be using to prepare his brown-stew fish at 'Who seh Jamaican men can't cook' held at the Liguanea Club, New Kingston on Sunday, July 24. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
WESTERN BUREAU:
CLOSELY GUARDED secret ingredients. Free for all tasting. A roving hostess, set loose with a cordless microphone and an appetite for good food and humour. Music from gospel to mento.
Cooking was never quite like this.
Several Jamaican men doffed their customary public caps as police officer, entertainment executive, journalist, broadcaster, businessman and caregiver, among other callings, on Sunday afternoon, and took on the tall caps and tasks of public chefs.
And true to the tradition of range and oven, quite a few, including Michael Anthony Cuffe, Andrew and Ferdinand Madden Jnr., had secret ingredients that they would not divulge.
The lawns of the Liguanea Club in New Kingston were transformed into a platter picker's delight for 'Who Sey Jamaican Men Cyaan Cook', with Fae Ellington adding the spice of her commentary on intricate matters of food and entertainment as she criss-crossed the greens briskly and continuously.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
It was a family affair, with a bounce-about, magician, clown, electric train ride and other games for the young and young at heart, as well as entertainment from the stage and the Rapture Disco.
There was no mistaking, however, that food of the male prepared variety was the order of the afternoon. And while the booths hosting Maggi, Lasco, Seprod, Geddes Grant, Universal Meats and Products, Tia Maria, Colbeck and Sangster's had their fair share of sampling action, it was the announcement of chow time from the various men that had instant orderly lines being formed at the main tent.
In the early going the line formed for Dennis Hickey's barbecue chicken, while the breeze made lighting Richard Graham's banana flambé, done with Edwin Charley Black label, a stiff task. Clyde McKenzie went for stir-fried shrimp with vegetable and, when asked by Fae Ellington if he had started from scratch, McKenzie said he was "scratching the surface". He added that he once had a promising career as a chef, but it "went up in flames".
Clement Burnett went for seafood chowder and there was a wait for Andrew Lawrence's beef pot roast. Derek Wilks chose to do a casserole and Maurice Foster stuck to the original with pig's tail for his stew peas and rice.
Hickey's barbecue bird got 9.5 out of 10 from a representative of Maggi, but when Fae Ellington asked one happy muncher what she was eating the response was a muffled "me no know".
Steve Brown stuck close to his Kingfish leanings with brown stew fish, saying that he was brought into the kitchen runnings by his grandmother and aunt.
Owen Bernard brought his two decades of globetrotting with the British Army to bear on what was jokingly labelled 'Jamaican' goulash, while a Mr. McCoy did a roast suckling pig over by the Universal Meats tent.
Andrew Lawrence's pot roast was presented on a wide platter and garnished with onion, tomatoes and scallion, with the mashed potatoes similarly decorated.
SECRET INGREDIENT
As for Sergeant Brown's secret ingredient, he would only say that "just like Kingfish, in the end the product will be good". "The fish is undercover?" Fae Ellington enquired, to laughter.
Michael Anthony Cuffe promised "an amazing sweet and sour chicken", while Marc Johnson worked on grilled shrimp. When he said that he got the shrimp from St. Elizabeth, Fae Ellington reminded him that the water "sorta muddy".
"We caught it in the middle," Johnson reassured.
Michael Williams provided for the vegetarians with ackee and tofu.
The Harmoniser Mento Band, Garfield Lawrence, Diamara Neil and the duo Pinky and Janice provided live entertainment to go with the munching, while Stokey Love and Tricia 'Wild Child' Spence spun the tracks.
