Podium finish - Thalia Lyn says 'thank you' to 5K runners

Jody-Anne Lawrence, Gleaner Writer

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon to have a brunch, and recently Thalia Lyn held one to remember.

This brunch was held as a 'thank you' to those that aided in the Caribbean Broilers Group UWI (University of the West Indies) 5k, which is a fundraiser for students at the University of the West Indies.

"I am the co-chair of the CB Group UWI 5k, and last year I received a lot of support from members of the diplomatic community for the event. So I decided to have a little brunch as a thank you," Lyn told Food. "This year, I have also received a lot of support, even more than last year, and was asked if I am going to keep the brunch again, and I thought why not." She believes that the brunch has now developed into an annual 'Thank you'.

On the menu were traditional Jamaican dishes, rice and peas, callaloo, plantain, avocado and roast breadfruit. Then they had pig and lamb in a box, which is the pig and the lamb done in a steel box under coal and smoked. The pig took three and a half hours to be smoked while the lamb took a mere one and a half to get to that perfect texture and flavour. The lamb was one of the guests' favourites.

"Since we were doing the lamb in the box for the first time we publicised the pig in the box more, since it was something we were more accustomed to doing. I told them to come for my husband's pig in the box - everyone loved the lamb, it was gone in no time," Lyn told Food.

She told Food that she got the lamb from Jacob's Ladder - Mustard Seed home in Moneague, St Ann. The home raises the animals and plants vegetable for the children that they have in their care and sell the surplus. She takes pride in knowing that their produce is always fresh and organic.

Of course, there was something from her restaurant, Island Grill - their popular and tasty barbecue chicken.

She also had a tossed salad made with mixed greens that was from Robyn Fox, and then she added her own twist with blueberries, chopped parsley, garlic and romaine lettuce.

She ensured that a balanced and healthy meal was served as she is not just a food lover, but a lover of healthy food. This is something that she is bringing over into her restaurant, Island Grill.

"We are going to put on our menus the amount of calories in each meal. We are working on becoming completely MSG free. There is currently just one meal on our menu with it, and we are working to get around that," explains Lyn.

She does admit that she is not really the chef of the family, and her husband, who is a retired pilot, is the one that makes the masterpieces in the kitchen, but she does enjoy good food as she lives by Island Grill's tag line, 'Eat good, live good'.

Some of the delicious dishes that were served are shown here.