MoBay Jerk Festival honours island’s culinary heritage
Published:Friday | July 4, 2025 | 12:11 AMJanet Silvera/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
More than just a food event, the 16th annual MoBay Jerk & Food Festival, set for Emancipation Day, August 1, will pay tribute to Jamaica’s enduring legacy of survival, creativity, and resistance through the island’s most iconic dish: jerk.
Launched officially on Wednesday at the S Hotel in Montego Bay, the city’s mayor, Richard Vernon, lauded the festival as a cultural and economic force that continues to uplift local entrepreneurs and preserve Jamaica’s heritage.
“Each year, this event supports over 100 vendors, dozens of entertainers, and countless small businesses,” said Vernon. “It’s more than just a weekend of fun, it’s a season of opportunity and local economic enhancement.”
The event happens 13 days after the world famous Reggae Sumfest, and five days ahead of Jamaica’s 63rd Independence celebrations.
Festival Director John Lindo noted that staging the event on Emancipation Day was no coincidence. “Jerk is not just food. It is a legacy of our ancestors, the Maroons, the enslaved Africans, who turned scarcity into innovation and oppression into identity,” he said. “This festival honours that spirit.”
Jerk’s origins are widely traced to the Maroons, runaway slaves who resisted British colonization and settled in Jamaica’s mountainous interiors. They developed a method of seasoning and slow-cooking meat underground to avoid detection from colonial forces. That practice evolved into the modern-day jerk technique, defined by its bold spices, wood-smoking process, and deeply rooted cultural symbolism.
EVENT’S THEME
This year’s theme, ’Jamaica: Food Capital of the World’, is not just aspirational, Lindo said. It is a call to recognise and elevate the island’s culinary heritage as a global treasure.
The event, slated for the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre, will feature live entertainment, craft vendors, family activities, and the highly anticipated Celebrity Cook-Off powered by Walkerswood, starring acclaimed Jamaican chef Wenford “Patrick” Simpson.
Known for preparing meals for international figures like Barack Obama and Beyoncé, Simpson will headline a line-up of chefs showcasing modern interpretations of traditional Jamaican cuisine.
Mayor Vernon added that events like the MoBay Jerk & Food Festival are aligned with Montego Bay’s wider transformation. “As we improve infrastructure and attract new investment, cultural festivals like this help to build community pride and international appeal.”
The event organizers are urging Jamaicans and visitors alike to mark Emancipation Day not just with celebration, but with remembrance, through food that tells the story of struggle, resistance, and triumph. “Jerk is history you can taste,” said Lindo. “It belongs to the people. And through this festival, we honour those who created it, and the freedom they fought for.”
Gates open at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 1, with programming scheduled throughout the day and into the evening.