Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter
Rose Hall Resort and Country Club executive chef, Robert Perry meticulously arranges the food on a plate. At top, lobster salad on a bed of grilled pineapple with curry oil and roasted paprica oil, topped with a bouquet of beets and carrots. - PHOTOS BY CLAUDINE HOUSEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WESTERN BUREAU:
ONCE AGAIN the island's best culinary offerings will be on show. This time, it's for the annual Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, which gets under way this evening on the undulating hills of Rose Hall Resort and Country Club in Montego Bay, St. James.
So if you feel the island tilting westwards, it's because, by night, the resort city has come alive to the sounds of music and, by day, thousands of palates will be singing to a fusion of flavours expertly orchestrated by some great chefs.
From Half Moon to Wyndham Rose Hall; from the Ritz Carlton to Sunset Beach, and from Sandals to SuperClubs, bands of culinary experts will prepare a harmonious feast to tune up the taste buds as juices gently gyrate down to the stomach.
Forget room service and dining by candlelight; sample the local fare at one
of 14 food stalls at the show venue. Taste the tempting treats specially provided in sponsors' tents, and savour the rich compositions of desserts among the scores of menu items that will be on show.
And since music is the food of love, forget Kingston and its hassles and - play on!
- Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor
A STOMPING ground for music lovers and socialites, the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival promises three nights of delight to excite and satisfy even the most discerning palates.
Over the years, Air Jamaica's Jazz and Blues Festival has presented artistes from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and the United States of America and embraced a plethora of musical genres. It is therefore no surprise that it would offer the same variety in foods.
Aiming to keep patrons well fed and in a festive mood, the event will feature 14 stalls in its food court. There will also be 10 skyboxes and 17 tents, which will have their own private menus.
"All the sponsors of the Jazz and Blues Festival have their own
hospitality tent and we do the catering for these sponsors," said George Pengg, director of food and beverages at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club. "The menus will be different for each sponsor."
Also the hosts of the event, the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club have gone all out to make sure every possible taste would be met. How did they do it? They created a master menu and then allowed each tent to select its own combinations.
ENDLESS CHOICES
"All the different tents have a completely different choice, because these food items are pre-ordered, and due to the massive effort that is required in putting those presentations together, we have all those food orders in hand already and are preparing for them," he said.
According to Mr. Pengg, there will be no last minute preparations at the festival itself, but just in case, he says they will have refrigerated truck and a mobile kitchen to accommodate last minute pop-ups.
Said to be last year's rave among the patrons, the hotel also has its own hospitality tent and will feature a new menu everyday.
"We feature every day, menus that will be cooked on location and ranges from tenderloin of beef to rack of lamb with stir fried shrimp and again with Jamaican accents," he said.
A bit tight-lipped about which tasty delight will be featured at each booth, Mr. Pengg nonetheless gave Food a taste of what is to come.
