Soul food

Soul Food is cuisine that is steeped in heritage and tradition, with each locale having its own story and own flavours. The result is a tantalising blend of strong earthy tastes and traditional techniques.

It is food inspired by Africa, the Caribbean and much of the Americas.

From farming the land to rearing livestock, through to the intense flavours of fresh coconut picked off a tree and grated, these are the recipes and techniques passed down from generation to generation: stews infused with spices and flavours ‘stolen’ from conquerors all over the world, charcoal stoves with famous jerk spices warming below a corrugated iron cover, aromatic wood burning ovens and bubbling, simple coal pots that sat outside every family home.

Whether it was chickens or pigs or any animal, older generations would work with what they had. They didn’t have the money to only eat the best parts of the meat, neatly packaged in a plastic box. They used everything, and still cooked in the way of times gone by – when people either worked for someone or were enslaved and only given the off-cuts.

The relentless push for modernity and the unforgiving pace of modern life has meant that this is a dying art. Getting the best from what you have is the only way to push the boundaries and to try something new; experimenting with new ideas and allowing the time for them to flourish and progress.

Soul Food does just this – letting the food do the talking and watching the days pass by whilst delicious succulent meats are sizzling underground or on hot stones, and making rice and peas with the special, magic ingredient of the sun. Some will have never tasted such sweet tasting food; food that is so simple but so beautiful. And many are about to experience it for the first time.

Intoxicating and irresistible, it’s time to introduce Soul Food. It’s time to celebrate togetherness.