International Supper Club: Jamaica

In the summer of 2018, I interned at the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. Everyday on my commute, I passed by an unassuming Jamaican restaurant tucked in the middle of a strip mall. And everyday I wanted to stop but my dwindling savings account convinced me otherwise. Finally, when my parents came and their hotel was just a block away from the restaurant, it felt like kismet, we needed to go to that restaurant. My dad still talks about that restaurant, and the amazing oxtail and cocktails served out of tea cups. Sometimes our travel and food adventures don’t take us around the world but to the unassuming restaurant in the middle of a strip mall.

This month the International Supper Club will be journeying to Jamaica for our culinary journey. Jamaican cuisine is hearty and full in flavor. It is an eclectic mix of flavors from around the world-from the Indigenous people of the Island (Tainos) to Spanish and British colonizers to African and Chinese enslaved and indentured laborers. At its core Jamaican food is soul food- it feeds the mind, body, and soul. According to SeriousEats, [Jamaicans] “embrace cooking as a way to show love, forge a sense of belonging, welcome strangers, create memories, and celebrate heritage.” This is what we strive to embody at International Supper Club. As well as pushing ourselves and our customers to try new foods and cooking styles. So this month, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone— cooking oxtail and exploring new and exciting spice blends. Come step outside your comfort zone and try these new foods.