IN TAKING THE FOOD of his native Jamaica to a higher level, chef James Palmer finds it helps to deconstruct and simplify. Jamaican cuisine hits
international levelBy Betty Shimabukuro
bshimabukuro@starbulletin.comA traditional dish of curried goat, for example, takes three hours to prepare his mother's way, but he's cut the time to a fraction of that.
"You're getting the same thing at a faster pace," Palmer says. "Rather than taking three hours, it now takes 15 minutes."
Basically, it was a matter of removing the bones. Then the meat could be quickly sautéed instead of stewed. It's the same curry sauce, but prepared ahead of time, and the same tortilla-like wrapper.
A traditional, home-cooked meal now brought to the level of haute cuisine.
And the reaction? "For a year or so it was, 'What happened to my curry goat?' I said, 'I just removed the bone for you.'"
Palmer, executive chef of Strawberry Hill resort in Jamaica, is in town for a weeklong Jamaican festival hosted by basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at All Star Hawaii.
The festival will feature music, cooking demonstrations and more, but the focus will be Palmer's modern take on Caribbean cuisine.
It's a style of cooking and eating that should be comfortable to island eaters, he says, because of our shared tropical heritage. "We have a lot in common."
And even if meats flavored with jerk spices are outside your area of taste expertise, take the plunge, he encourages."Food, like music, is international. It doesn't matter whether it is Jamaican or Cajun or Italian; it's international. People all want to eat."
Palmer's background is, in fact, international. A graduate of the Jamaica Hotel School, he studied the culinary arts in the classic way and learned French, Italian and Chinese techniques.
Then came travel through Europe and the Americas, with more exposure and more experience in these classic styles.
But 20 years ago, while working as sous-chef at Turnberry Isle, a country club in Miami, his executive chef -- a risk-taker, he recalls -- decided to experiment with Caribbean ingredients.
Fusion, you could call it, or New World cuisine. Whatever the label, it caught on, Palmer says, and four years later he took the cooking style to his own kitchen, when he became executive chef of ShaBeen Cookshack and Bar in Miami Beach's Marlin Hotel.
Palmer's stock in trade is a reliance on indigenous produce, especially tropical fruits. "All my sauces are fruits," he says. No roux, no demi-glace, perhaps a touch of cream on occasion, but no heavy white sauces.
He does use wine reductions, though -- wine, after all, coming from fruits.
The menu for the Caribbean festival will include his signature Jerk Lamb with Roast Garlic Guava Glaze, his Rasta Pasta, and some casual dishes such as this shrimp plate:
Grilled Shrimp with Rum, Ginger and Molasses
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup white rum
2-inch piece ginger
8 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, leave tails on
Salt and pepper to taste
>> Fruit relish:
1 cup diced papaya
1 cup diced pineapple
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons olive oil
Pinch salt and pepperCombine molasses and rum in a saucepan, add ginger, whole. Reduce mixture until it coats a spoon.
Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Grill. Toss with molasses mixture.
To make relish: Combine ingredients and mix well.
Serve shrimp atop relish.
Nutritional information unavailable.
Host: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who will appear at brunch, 1 p.m. Sunday, with Henry Kapono, and occasionally throughout the festival. Montego Joe's Caribbean Festival
Dates: Sunday through Aug. 26
Place: All Star Hawaii, Waikiki
Benefit: A portion of proceeds will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities Hawaii and Worknet, a culinary training program for at-risk youth.
Call: 945-9700
Caribbean cuisine
Sunday brunches: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 26
Breakfasts, lunches and dinners: Offered throughout the festival
Mojo Happy Hours: 5 p.m. Monday through Aug. 23
Special events
Sam Choy's Kitchen: Live taping, open to public, 3 p.m. tomorrow
Jazz Jam: With Azure McCall and Tennyson Stephens, 6 p.m. Sunday and 11 a.m. Aug. 26
Ronald McDonald House Benefit: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Magic of Caribbean Cooking: Hands-on cooking class, $20, includes food tasting, 2 p.m. Aug. 22
Jungle Juice: Musical performance, 7 p.m. Aug. 22
Worknet Charity Dinner: 6 p.m. Aug. 22
Dinner shows
$10 for entertainment only; $30 with buffet
Pati and Native Blend: Dinner show, 8 p.m. Aug. 23
Fiji with Sam and Lina Girl: Dinner show, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24
AZ with FM 100 All Stars: Dinner show, 7 p.m. Aug. 25
Click for online
calendars and events.
