Kuisine
Maroon Jerk Fusion Cuisine: The Maroons invented Jamaica’s now world-famous jerk cuisine. Hundreds of years ago, our Taino and African ancestors (who came together to form the Maroon groups) marinated their meats in natural spices and herbs, and slow-smoked them underground or in caves as a means of preserving their meats. This method also prevented the rising smoke from giving away their location to their Spanish and later British adversaries. At Katawud Village, we have assembled the best chefs from the Maroon communities, as well as culinary connoisseurs from other countries to create an authentic, innovative, and international menu for our guests.
Our foods are created and prepared at the Katawud Village Jerk Hut Kitchen, which includes a brick and river-stone Jerk grill. Our food choices include a variety of jerk-grilled and smoked vegetables, meats, and seafood, paired with staples sourced from farmers in the Maroon communities and adjoining areas of Port Antonio and beyond. Our vegetables are organically grown by community small farmers, our seafoods are wild-caught, our meats include free-range, grass-fed or raised on small community farms.
At the Katawud Village Juice Bar, we prepare natural juices and cocktails infused with organically-grown fruits - hand-picked from trees or sourced from farmers in the community. We minimize the use of plastic utensils, plates, and cups. We serve some our Maroon Jerk Fusion Cuisine in traditional calabash "Paki" and coconut shell plates, with bamboo and wooden forks, spoons, knives, and kebob sticks as utensils. Some of our beverages are served in mugs made from bamboo and other natural. Bamboo is a sustainable and renewable tree/grass that grows abundantly in the Rio Grande Valley.
An example of our uniquely prepared and presented Maroon Jerk Fusion Cuisine are the jerk chicken or jerk pork kabobs (barbequed and smoked on pimento and other wild woods on our Brick & River-Stone Jerk Grill), with rice 'n peas and garden-harvested organic salad (tomatoes, lettuce, shredded carrots, and cucumbers), served in traditional calabash "Paki" and coconut shell plates, with a bamboo mug of ginger beer.
