Devon House primed to boost food tourism, says Bartlett

WESTERN BUREAU:

JAMAICA’S LOCAL gastronomy tourism, which offers a varied dining experience for visitors to the island who want to taste local cuisine, has been boosted to allow Jamaica to partner with the diplomatic community, thanks to a new initiative that will develop Devon House as a gastronomy centre.

In a media release on December 23, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said that members of Jamaica’s diplomatic community will be brought on board to help bring greater exposure to the island’s culinary offerings, to include familiar Jamaican dishes such as ackee and salt fish, jerked chicken, and various local fruits and vegetables.

“The Ministry of Tourism and the Devon House Development Company Limited (which manages the Devon House heritage site) have worked steadfastly in establishing the gastronomy centre to bring visitors from overseas and persons from across the island to the historic property to enjoy the culinary delights of Jamaica,” said Bartlett. “A big part of this is to involve the diplomatic community of Jamaica, to enable the exposure of international cuisine at Devon House.”

The minister noted that the initiative had been kick-started earlier in the week with a dinner hosted at Devon House. The dinner, which was also attended by Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, was the first in a planned series of similar events to promote Jamaican foods for the tourism sector.

“This special dinner was organised to expose members of the diplomatic corps to the unique culinary offerings of Jamaica, and at the same time to engage their interests in participating in this international gastronomic exposure, which will see every country represented in Jamaica taking on one dinner arrangement per month and inviting the rest of the world to come and enjoy the culinary delights of their own country,” Bartlett explained.

“We had a wonderful first dinner involving representatives from 10 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and China, to name a few. We think that this will create a new product in the gastronomy arrangements in Jamaica and will go a long way in further enhancing the value of Devon House as a great attraction,” Bartlett added.

Devon House had previously been named as Jamaica’s first gastronomy centre by the Ministry of Tourism in 2017, as part of efforts to increase the venue’s profile among food enthusiasts. At that time, Bartlett had proposed that a rum tour in Trelawny and a jerk tour in Portland could also draw in additional business from overseas visitors.

Bartlett also indicated that a pop-up kitchen will be established to enhance the food offerings at Devon House, manned by professional chefs and with fresh produce to be among the ingredients on hand.

“This pop-up kitchen will be supported by a small farmers’ market, with fresh fruits and vegetables, condiments, as well as meat, fish and other proteins to enable a full-fledged meal in many courses, to be prepared by individuals who come in for the single purpose of cooking. This is a major innovation in terms of food-based experiences in Jamaica, and we look forward to establishing this pop-up kitchen in 2023 to add yet another dimension to the culinary offerings of Jamaica,” said Bartlett.

Built in 1881 for George Stiebel, Jamaica’s first black millionaire, Devon House eventually became the property of the Government, which saved it from demolition in 1965 and saw it reopened in 1968.

However, in recent times, the Tourism Enhancement Fund has come under fire concerning an ongoing beautification project on the Devon House grounds, with critics lambasting the replacement of the property’s green spaces with brick and concrete materials.