Sista Love Wines principal Princess McLarty poured Bamboo Wine for guest judge Karl Tulloch, as Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judge Mala Morrison relished a glass of the same. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
There was no better place to kick-start the 2023 Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards countdown than S Foods, the hottest new food spot in town.
On Monday, May 8, S Foods CEO Christopher Issa and his wife Kimberley hosted an intimate group of epicureans to his recently transformed Worthington Ave spot for dinner, and more importantly an all-access pass to the different facets of the establishment.
The experience commenced in the supermarket’s frozen food section, where guests — Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards chair Novia McDonald-Whyte, judges, and Deputy Managing Director Natalie Chin — sipped Prosecco + Popsicles, and relished smoked marlin, salmon and flavoured crisps from a charcuterie board before settling into a picnic-style dinner in The Deli.
“I just want to say a very warm S Foods welcome to you all… the concept for tonight is deli cuisine. We’ve been doing quite well with our deli lunch options and have developed quite a following, so we’re going to give you a little taste of that,” said Issa. Little, we would soon learn, is relative!
The evening’s menu comprised tossed salads made from S Foods’ fresh produce, and served in true deli fashion in clamshell takeout containers. Also in to-go containers were an assortment of deli bowls (oxtail, salmon, and chicken) artfully presented from shopping baskets by servers. It’s all about the details, and chef and event specialist Jacqui Tyson and her team got them right, setting the scene for an unparalleled culinary adventure.
Post-entrées guests headed to the café where DeafCan! baristas served iced and hot coffee beverages, Sista Love Wines principal Princess McLarty poured specially crafted blends, and Mount Pleasant Farm Chocolatiers founder Averell Ffrench introduced his chocolate wine.
“We’re very big on trying to support local manufacturers. We know the challenges of a small manufacturer who may start to do well with friends and family and then somehow gets it [produce] in store, then sooner or later the issue comes up about ‘are you Bureau of Standards-approved?’ And we know that’s usually the point that they figure they can’t make it. We have a couple of people like that here today… Sister Love with ganja and bamboo wines, and Averell Ffrench who I met many years ago at the Food Awards — with his chocolate wines, so we have a little of that. Plus, other locally made products… We hope you have an enjoyable evening, and experience the supermarket which is definitely a work in progress. If any of you came here when we first started you would have seen the changes we have made, and continue to make, as we hope to keep improving on the product so that it will be your preferred place to shop,” explained Issa.
The party shifted outside where deejay Paulando Grant spun oldies but goodies from Issa’s recently acquired Swing A Ling Mobile Record Shack from reggae musician and producer Charlie Ace. Following his career as a DJ, in the early 70s, Ace drove around the back streets of Kingston, in his iconic Swing A Ling Mobile Record Shack, a converted Morris 1000 van. With much reluctance the judges bade their goodbyes, but not before picking up mini cakes each from S Foods Bakery.
The 24th staging of the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards takes place on Thursday, June 29 at Devon House. The theme this year: The role music has played in the culinary. How important is music in creating positive food experiences?
Scholarships will be afforded students at the University of Technology in tourism and hospitality management to ensure the development of the industry will continue.
Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judges Adolph Raynor and Stacy Belnavis accessorised their chipper Monday evening convo with flutes of Prosecco & Popsicles.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Table setting by Jacqui Tyson’s From Thought To Finish (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Guests raise a toast to a successful tasting. From left: Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judges Adolph Raynor, Mala Morrison, Victoria Colahar, Oneal Johnson, Josina Jackson; TV producer Kimberley Mais Issa; Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards conceptualiser Novia McDonald-Whyte; Jamaica Observer Deputy Managing Director Natalie Chin; guest judges Karl and Billie Jean Constantine Tulloch; Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judges Patricia Henry, Stacy Belnavis, Annaliesa Lindsay, Matthew Hogarth, and Professor Lloyd Waller. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Servers (from left) Kadian Brown, Janice Parkes, Fiona Palmer, and Akeem McKenzie (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Chef Floyd Foulkes (standing) got the stamp of approval from judges Stacy Belnavis (left) and Annaliesa Lindsay.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)
From left: Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judges Stacy Belnavis (left) and Victoria Colahar (right) caught up with guest judge Billie-Jean Constantine Tulloch over coffee.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Charlie Ace’s iconic Swing A Ling Mobile Record Shack (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
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Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judge Oneal Johnson secured a photo-op by the Swing A Ling Mobile Record Shack. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judges Oneal Johnson and Mala Morrison sipped Prosecco while checking out the S Foods fresh produce stand. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Salmon bowl — spicy honey glazed pan-seared salmon over crispy roasted potatoes(Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judges Victoria Colahar (left) and Stacy Belnavis toted S Foods bags.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Mount Pleasant Farm Chocolatiers founder Averell French (left) introduced Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judge Professor Lloyd Waller to his chocolate wine.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Pick Your Salad – marlin, cucumber, beetroot, carrot, lettuce (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Oxtail Bowl — slow-cooked and flaked, cooked with all the local goodness over herb rice pilaf. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Chicken bowl — coal-roasted chicken over garlic-infused breadfruit (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
The Mount Pleasant Farm Chocolatiers stand (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Mount Pleasant Farm Chocolatiers Chocolate Wine (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
S Foods Bakery mini cakes: Mocha (centre), and (clockwise from left) coconut rum, vanilla, icebox, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate, and strawberry (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Sista Love Wines principal Princess McLarty poured Bamboo Wine for guest judge Karl Tulloch, as Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judge Mala Morrison relished a glass of the same.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)
S Foods CEO Christopher Issa (right) with members of his team (from left) Manager – Deli & Grill Jon-Paul Munn; General Store Manager Kareisa Hanson; and Assistant Manager Janoy Smith (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Off the shelves — Charcuterie Dégustation (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
From Thought To Finish server Janice Parkes prepared the evening’s welcome drink: Prosecco & Popsicles. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Made with Mionetto Prosecco Doc Treviso Brut and PopCULTURE by Therapy Pine an’ Ginja, the Prosecco & Popsicle cocktails were an easy fave! (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
Deaf Can! barista Dimel Ballen (left) received a congratulatory handshake from S Foods CEO Christopher Issa (right) as fellow baristas Mellisa Thompson and Javanniw Dawes shared in the special moment. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)