Falmouth Food Tour Continues to Tantalize the Taste Buds

If you were to accuse me of the sin of procrastination, I assure you I would have absolutely no defense.  I would humbly bow my head and honestly acknowledge this failing, at least in the area of writing.  In the past few weeks, I have been digging up and reviewing many half-finished articles and vowing to myself to get cracking on completing at least some of them.  

Last weekend, a way too short but fun-packed trip to Jamaica, coupled with strong urging from dear friends strengthened my resolve and in the review process, I came across this one article I wrote subsequent to a food tour I did in 2016 that was actually complete!  There have been some changes in the tour since then but I have decided to publish as is with foot notes of the changes.  Here goes...

It seems fated that by “bestie” and I would follow in each other’s footsteps.  In our earlier years, fresh faced and ready to conquer the world, I followed her into the field of diplomacy.  Years later, the tables turned, we both changed course and she followed me into the world of tourism.

They say hindsight is 20-20 and they may very well be right because it makes perfect sense now.  The summer months we used to spend in Ochie at Turtle Beach Towers, the lunch hours in New Kingston, asking for “samples” from various eateries, the quick sneak next door to the Pegasus for “high tea” and the memorable moments we use to share in general all seemed to have centered on food.  Let’s face it; we were genuine Foodies in the making.  We just didn’t know it yet!

My Bestie and I

The Crick Sisters

Today, my friend Janet Crick, and her equally brilliant sister, Dr. Anne Crick are proud co-owners of Jamaica Culinary Tours.  Their pioneer tour, the Falmouth Food Tour, is based in the beautiful Georgian style town of Falmouth, a place steeped in history.  I myself simply could not have conceived a better idea than pairing history with food, especially in Jamaica, renowned for, among other things, its cuisine - brilliant, Jan!

Not to be too cliché…well, yes I am being that, but nonetheless - the proof of the pudding is in the eating and knowledge is power for sure.  So, armed with my straw hat and these however unnecessary excuses (that nobody who knows me believes), I found myself on the food tour.  Let me say at the outset, I felt no guilt whatsoever because I was, and still am persuaded that the two and a half hour walk more than made up for the calories I consumed on this historically-based scrumptious tour.  Yes, I am fooling myself again.

From the meeting place on the gorgeous Falmouth Pier, around the town of Falmouth and back to the pier, the trail was chock full of history and food.  But since my task is to tantalize your taste buds, let’s concentrate on the food portion of the tour. 

Before even leaving the pier, we were delighted with fresh tropical fruits from fruit vendor, Carlos, including generous portions of pineapple, sugar cane and watermelon.  Carlos is a bit of a celebrity on the Falmouth pier, famous for having served sugar cane and coconut to Prince Charles and Prince Harry on two separate visits.  I often wonder if I should count myself as one degree separated from royalty, but I digress.

Photo courtesy of Jamaica Culinary Tours

Next stop, Spicy Nice, a bakery known throughout the town for arguably the best gizzadas you can find just about anywhere.  Gizzadas are tasty sweet treats, made from the ever popular coconut.  I recommend that you purchase a few to take back with you…share the love, I say! 

But we were really here for the Jamaican beef patties.  The beef patty, a meat based, flaky pastry is similar to an empañada.  There have been many new fillings created over the years, including chicken, vegetables, shrimp and lobster, the newest one being curry goat, which I am assured is delicious.  But in my mind, the beef patty remains king!

It is always a wondrous thing to see your beloved country through the eyes of a visitor. It did my heart proud to watch the couple beside me each bite into a piping hot beef patty and pronounced it amazing.  That they did not leave a crumb behind is testament to the goodness found in this simple meal.

What better way to wash this down than with ice-cold jelly coconut water, found at our next stop.  In addition to being refreshingly delicious, coconut water has the reputation of being highly nutritional and great for the heart.  I suggest you also sample the jelly within the coconut husk.  As children we used to add brown sugar to the jelly for a great snack!

It was now time to head towards the food that is synonymous with Jamaica – Jerk!  No trip to Jamaica is considered complete without sampling some Jerk.  Uchuma, a sit-down restaurant, café and bar which serves traditional, authentic Jamaican cuisine, did a fantastic job of offering up the most succulent tasting of jerk chicken with a side of festival.  Internationally famous, I am sure jerk chicken needs no introduction or explanation.  For the novices, however, “festival” is deep-fried dough made of flour, cornmeal and sugar and yes, it is quite tasty.

The final stop was Hyatt House, a 19^th Century Townhome.  There, under the surrounding ackee, mango, banana and coconut trees, their leaves swaying in the gentle breeze, we sat and chatted with the lovely owner, Anne Hyatt. 

Here, our enthusiastic tour guide introduced the guests to an array of sweet treats all made from coconut, including gizzadas, coconut drops, grater cake, etc.  Naturally, we all graciously made space in our now full bellies to accommodate this delightful end to our five course tour.

As we munched on our coconut goodies, Anne filled us in on a little of the history of Hyatt House, how she came to be there and the various changes the property had undergone over the years.  The guests had the opportunity to ask any burning questions and from their faces I could tell they were reflecting on all they had learned during the tour, the history and culture of Jamaica in general, Falmouth in particular and how these came to influence the palate, giving rise to some of the foods which they had just sampled.  Cool, huh?

This amazing tour become so successful that the next natural step was made to branch out further on the Jamaica culinary/history trail, resulting in the “Nyam An’ Guh Weh” (Eat and Leave) Tour. 

This new tour also starts in Falmouth, but ventures farther out by bus, along the northern coastline and into the garden parish of St. Ann, where the beautiful resort of Ocho Rios is located.

But I will leave you here. I have not yet done this tour though it’s definitely on my to-do list. Based on the success of the original tour, I have every reason to believe all the good words and effusive reviews I have heard about the new tour. But by now, you know me as well as my dear friends do. The new phrase (excuse) I am using is – “trust but verify”. More to come!

Footnote:  Since this article was written in 2016, Uchuma closed its doors and Peppers Jerk Center is the restaurant now used for the Jerk tasting.  AND, I had the good fortune to experience the “Nyam An’ Guh Weh” Tour very recently...my trust was not misplaced.  Stay tuned for the review.