All-star food: Specialty dishes at Osmosis a hit with patrons

Variety seemed to be the mandate at last Saturday's staging of Smirnoff Vodka's signature event, Osmosis. The variety of ways one can enjoy Smirnoff Vodka matched the variety of delectable offerings that were available at the super all-inclusive party's famed food court.

This summer, the biannual party's planning team went all out to recruit food hot spots across the capital to cater to the crowd and, as they partied the night away, patrons indulged in numerous savoury selections from the 13 restaurant booths there.

Jermaine Brown, co-director of Osmosis, said: "We always look at variety. You have to have the staples like the curried goat and white rice. That is a must. And you have to have shrimp, ribs, and beef."

The event's expansive food court featured T.G.I. Friday's, Cuddy'z, The Cove, Pizza Hut, Monster Grill, Reggae Jammin, KFC, Zander's Ribs and Beef (formerly Rib Kage Bar & Grill), So-So Seafood Bar and Grill, Elite Kreations, and new custom cake-delivery company, Say It With Cakes. There was also a Salada coffee station and a Grace Cock Soup Mix soup station, for patrons to detox during the night.

Crowd favourites

The night's overall crowd favourite was the Juggling Jambalya, Cuddy'z's take on the traditional, spicy Louisiana dish. It featured pasta with jerk sausage, chicken and shrimp with sweet peppers and onions, complemented by a tomato sauce.

Kelly Barwise, one-third of the Savoury Crits blogging team who describe themselves as "real yaad foodies on the hunt for the next best dish", said it was awesome. "From the first bite, the flavours were jumping out at me. It wasn't too spicy; it wasn't too salty. The jerk sausage was very nicely flavoured, as well as the shrimp in the pasta. It was a good mix."

Another booth that seemed to be a favourite was Zander's Ribs and Beef. Christopher Carr, the company's events manager who also dabbles in a bit of the cooking, said: "We did a teriyaki beef, our famous barbecue ribs and Zander's specialty shrimp."

The full-flavoured curried goat from the Monster Grill appealed to mostly men. Gairy Cowan, a patron who delighted in the traditional Jamaican dish, said: "I'm a typical Jamaican guy, so I grew up on curried goat and chicken. But this one is so good, it actually reminds me of my grandmother's curried goat and rice."

The Say It with Cakes cupcakes, on the other hand, seemed to be a hit, especially among the women.

But don't take our word for it. You can have all this and lots more when you attend this year's Smirnoff Dream Weekend in Negril, Westmoreland, from July 29-August 1.