JFDK celebrated flavour with pork and cork experience

Pork and Cork, anyone?

The Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen invited guests to pig out on the last Friday of October with a feast dedicated to, yes, you guessed it, all things pork. And the night wouldn’t be complete without wines paired to complement the pork selections.

According to Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen (JFDK) Director Nicole Pandohie, this gastronomic initiative sprang from the desire to celebrate Pork Month, which is recognised in the 10th month of the year.

“It’s Pork Month, so we wanted to celebrate one of our major proteins. Jamaicans are pork lovers, and Copperwood is one of our major sponsors, not just for the kitchen but for the festival as well. So we thought it was a good idea to fuse the two,” she explained to Food.

The savoury and sweet offerings provided a feast for the senses. The featured line-up included star dishes such as candied spicy pork belly served with bacon cheddar cornbread, Moroccan cumin-spiced pulled pork accompanied by pickled onions and banana peppers on crispy bammy rounds, escovitch crispy pork belly, smoked char siu barbecued pork, green Thai curry pork with cilantro jasmine rice and fried rice noodles, and pork makhani with papadums.

Chef Celeste Gordon of JFDK explained that her team members were tasked with putting their own spin on the dishes, and they delivered. “We always collaborate in the sense that we all make sure that we’re not doing similar things. There are different focal points, cuts, and cooking techniques at play to make the evening an exciting one for the taste buds.”

The feedback was great, with many raving about the candied sticky pork and the pork makhani. “The one that really kind of stood out for the night was the pork makhani with the Indian flavours. It’s Asian, and Jamaicans love Asian food. So we decided to go Far East with the offering and came up with this dish,” Gordon added.

And the pork variety didn’t stop there. The executive chef shared that it was also present in the dessert with the bacon crumble bread pudding, made with brown sugar cinnamon apples and served with an Amaretto custard. “Chef Trevanne Donegal is really great at blending and combining flavours. We joined forces with Seprod, and she did a wonderful job with the desserts.”

Rounding off the evening, and providing the perfect pairings for the pork selections, was a variety of bubblies and other offerings from Select Brands, CPJ, and Betco Premiere Limited. Logistics Manager at Betco, Shaneeka Graham, revealed that guests were busy making toasts with premium prosecco, as well as a malbec, a velvet tinto dulce, a blanco dulce and a roscato from the Dilema brand. “The highlight of the night was the Vina Tendida, a low- to no-alcohol pink moscato, the first of its kind to grace our local shores. We heard everyone talking about it, and people kept coming back for more.”

Pandohie shared that the company was celebrating more than just Pork Month. “Jamaica Food and Drink Festival had its first event in New York in September, and it was absolutely amazing. Local sponsors flew up to make the event a success, and it was fully sold out,” she said. “We won the World Culinary Awards for Best Caribbean Food Festival this year, and it’s our fourth time winning, so we’re riding on a high. And now we’re planning for next year’s festival, and we have some really big secrets that we don’t want to reveal. All we can say is that it’s gonna be bigger and better for 2027.”

Pork Makhani Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

PORK

2 lbs pork leg, cut into cubes

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

4 tbsp tandoori masala

1 tsp kastoori methi

1 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper

1 pack papadums

Vegetable oil, for frying

MAKHANI

½ cup butter

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 can tomato purée (14 oz)

3 tsp tandoori masala

3 tbsp fenugreek leaves

1½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp honey

Salt and pepper

Directions

Season the pork with ginger-garlic paste, tandoori masala, kastoori methi, cumin, salt, and pepper. Ideally, let it marinate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the pork in an oven-safe dish, cover tightly with foil, and place in the oven for approximately 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the makhani sauce. Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions and ginger-garlic paste and sauté until golden brown.

Stir in the tomato purée, garam masala, fenugreek, the remaining tandoori masala, and turmeric until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the heavy cream and honey. Let the mixture simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.

Once the pork is tender, add it to the sauce and cook together for a few minutes.

While the pork is simmering, heat some vegetable oil in a pan and, once it is hot, fry the papadums individually. They will puff up once they are added to the hot oil.

Serve alongside the pork and your favourite chutney and enjoy!

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com