Modern Jamaican Cuisine

By Christopher Golding

While working at sea, in foreign countries, or in his Jamaican homeland, Chef Christopher Golding came to understand the depth of his grandmother’s saying, “Cooking is sharing love.”

In a debut cookbook, Golding blends quintessential Jamaican cuisines with a modern twist in tantalizing recipes that capture the essence of the lessons, techniques, and methodologies of his grandmother and translate them into accessible dishes that are still reminiscent of the island’s heritage and bounty. His collection includes recipes for lime-honey marinade and Sugar Mill spice rub, rum bearnaise sauce and jackfruit chutney, beetroot dip and blackened tuna and scallop ceviche, braised oxtail confit and pumpkin soup, annatto poached snapper fillet and grilled lobster tail, sous-vide Cornish hen with lemongrass and ginger, Josper-grilled jerk chicken with green-lipped mussels, and yam risotto and breadfruit pancake.

Modern Jamaican Cuisine shares recipes from an executive chef that exquisitely blend classic Jamaican cuisine with a contemporary touch.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 13, 2024
• ISBN: 9781663257147

Christopher Golding

Chef De Cuisine Christopher Golding, is a Jamaican chef and culinary expert. Stepping out of his grandmothers kitchen, Chef Golding’s career has led him to unforeseeable heights showcasing his craft both locally and internationally. From television appearances to Chef World Series in London, his exemplary detail to food and impeccable skills is not one to deny.

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Copyright © 2024 Christopher Golding.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-5715-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5713-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5714-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023919866

iUniverse rev. date: 03/13/2024

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CHRISTOPHER GOLDING

Modern Jamaican Cuisine and Technique

What! This little boy can cook! My grandmother ignited my desire to cook at a very early age with her passion for and commitment to the idea that cooking is sharing love.

I was the second eldest of five kids, and I was always in the kitchen with her and felt I was born to cook. This later led to an apprenticeship at the Wyndham Hotel, Kingston, before a move to the renowned San Souci Resort on Jamaica’s north coast.

Years of mentorship, training, and hard on-the-job experience have galvanized the seeds planted in my grandmother’s kitchen.

Working, whether at sea, in foreign countries, or here in Jamaica, I began to understand the depth and scope of my grandmother’s saying, Cooking is sharing love. In sharing time in the kitchen with chefs from Spain, Italy, and other parts of Europe and seeing their passion for their cuisines, I began to better understand my own culinary culture and my grandmother’s cooking.

Jamaican cuisine in its classical sense is deeply rooted in the history of our island and is influenced by the multiple ethnic groups that have battled and possessed this beautiful and bountiful island. The classical methods and dishes evolved from these times; those such as one-pot cookery, pickling, barbeque, and slow-cooking are eternal favourites. For those lucky enough to be born into this culture, these are the go-to dishes, but with the broader development of tourism critical to our island, it became clear to me and many like-minded chefs that a culinary bridge needed to be built.

In my position as executive chef at the Sugar Mill Restaurant, I have been given the perfect stage for this culinary revolution and have been able to build a talented young team who share my passion.

We seek to take the lessons, techniques, and unwritten methods of my grandmother, capture their essence, and translate them into modern, accessible dishes that are still redolent of this island’s heritage and bounty.

As we journey together through this book, with each recipe, you will discover the secrets of modern Jamaican cuisine and, along with our guests, will love how we’ve taken quintessential Jamaican cuisine and blended it with a modern-day touch.

"Granny, mi glad fi everyting."

Contents

1 Techniques and Methodologies

• WHAT IS HEAT?

• EFFECTS OF HEAT ON FOODS

• DRY-HEAT METHODS

• DRY-HEAT METHODS USING FAT

• MOIST-HEAT METHODS

• DRYING

• OTHER TECHNICAL TERMS

2 Condiments

• Ackee and Pimento Salt

• Sorrel and Beetroot Salt

• Tomato and Jackfruit Salt

• Cannabis Salt

• Red Label Wine Salt

• Basting Oil (for Grilling)

• Steak Rub (for Large Chops and Steaks)

• Lime-Honey Marinade

• Sugar Mill Spice Rub

• Wet Jerk Seasoning

3 Sauces and Chutneys

• Avocado Sauce

• Blackened Salmon Sauce

• Crayfish and Ackee Sauce

• Callaloo Sauce

• Rum Bearnaise Sauce

• Citrus Butter Sauce

• Roasted Cho-Cho (chayote) and Tomato Sauce

• Otaheite Apple Chutney

• Jackfruit Chutney

• Sorrel-Dark Rum Chutney

• Escovitched Slaw/Dip

4 Chilled Appetizers and Dips

• June Plum and Scotch Bonnet Compote

• Jerk-Seasoned Ackee Dip

• Beetroot Dip

• Bell Pepper and Green Olive Dip

• Arugula and Tomato Salad

• Cream Cheese and Pumpkin Dip

• Grilled Watermelon Ceviche

• Codfish and Cho-Cho (Chayote) Dip

• Blackened Tuna and Scallop Ceviche

• Sous-Vide Scallops and Tuna

5 Warm Appetizers

• Ackee Flan

• Braised Jerk Pork Belly with Celery

• Braised Oxtail Confit

• Pumpkin Soup

• Shrimp Cakes

• Crayfish Bisque

• Crusted Shrimp

• Saltfish Croquettes

• Curry Goat Spring Rolls with June Plum Sauce

• Tostones

6 Seafood

• Blackened Salmon Fillet with Shrimp Cake

• Breadfruit Gnocchi with Seafood

• Annatto Poached Snapper Fillet

• Grilled Lobster Tail

• Crab Legs with Garlic Butter Sauce

• Sous-Vide Scallops

7 Meat and Poultry

• Curry Chicken

• Double-Cut Grilled Pork Chop with Apple Chutney

• Sous-Vide Cornish Hen with Lemongrass and Ginger

• Free-Range Chicken

• Grilled Angus Beef Tenderloin

• Grilled Rack of Lamb with Herb Marinade

• Grilled Veal Steak with Jerk Butter

• Josper-Grilled Jerk Chicken with Green-Lipped Mussels

• Grilled Pork Loin with Beetroot Sauce

8Vegetarian

• Vegetable Cannelloni

•