The Jamaica Food and Drink Festival (JFDF) is set to return live and promises to be an amazing affair with the eighth staging of the event officially launched on Friday (September 23) at the Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen in Kingston.

The most anticipated gastronomical experience in the Caribbean returns to its glory this October after a two-year break as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following restrictions imposed during pandemic, the event staged a limited in-person format hosted at the Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen, which led to numerous achievements.

The JFDF created history by copping the award for the Caribbean’s Best Culinary Festival for 2021 from the well-established and well-accredited World Culinary Awards; 2021 was the year for JFDF as the festival also won the much sought-after World’s Best Culinary Festival.

Nicole Pandohie, managing director of the JFDF, said the team was stunned when they received the great news.

“I think we are still flabbergasted. We went up against Dubai, Spain, Cayman lots of amazing food festivals that we emulate as well. So to hear that we had won, we were kind of shocked for a while and then we were informed that we were nominated again this year. We are definitely looking forward.”

She also told Our Today that one of the main ideas behind the creation of the festival is to promote Kingston as a favoured food destination.

“It is really important for us to be doing food, curating food events in Kingston to really promote Kingston as a food destination. The first part of that installation is really having a festival every single year and, even when we had lockdown, we still had an event in a box because it is really important for us to keep it over and over, so rain or shine we are in it for the long haul, the Jamaica Food and Drink brand is in it for the long haul.”

The event this year returns to its normal state of hosting hundreds of patrons.

“It’s like a breath of fresh air! Going outside, it’s going to be like we never stopped. Great food, great drinks because our chefs always bring their A-game. There will be amazing décor, we’ve always prided ourselves in doing world-class events, so patrons can look forward to what they had in the past and more,” Pandohie noted.

The managing director also mentioned that the model that the festival has been using in the past is one that continues to work and so the model won’t be changed too much.

In addition she said: “We have several different chefs, we are bringing back some of the older events so we want to rotate the events a little bit we’ve also shorten the period this year the festival will be five days, five intense days, back-to-back events, amazing venues and amazing chefs.”

The popular festival which started in 2015 continues to attract hundreds of people, both locally and internationally, but what makes this event so special?

“Because the product is by far the best in the market, we really put the customers experience in the fore and we are always thinking how we can do this better every single year. Over the years we’ve had no complaints patrons will tell you its great value for money. We make sure we have great sponsors on broad so the price is so worth it for the level of food and experience being offered,” Pandohie replied.

From October 26 to October 30, the city of Kingston will come alive with fired up grills setting the capital ablaze with anticipation.

This year’s staging will have 40 chefs showcasing their culinary skills over five enticing gastronomic events.

The five food events that will have you salivating are: Pork Palooza, Vintage, Crisp, Picante and Brunch.

With festival unable to be as successful without them, several sponsors turned out for the launch to show their continuing support.

Alicia Bogues, head of regional development at Caribbean Broilers (CB), shared with the audience how proud CB is to be a sponsor of this one-of-a-kind event.

“We are so proud to partner with JFDF. CB has been there since day one, we heard the vision, we saw the vision, we believed in the vision and we’ve been reaping the reward. CB Food is happy to continue its support for this great Jamaican festival that drive linkages, drives tourism and drives business.”

Rainforest, another corporate company, is happy that to have made the choice to partner with the JFDF.

“Each year, the chefs show us different ways to use Rainforest products, pushing the boundaries of traditional preparation and presentation. It’s never a regular esco fish or curried shrimp, it’s always new dishes and new combinations of flavours that surprise and delight us,” shared Bethany Young, marketing and communications manager at Rainforest.

Festival Director Nasma Chin is urging corporate entities that aren’t sponsors to support the event by coming out with their team or by purchasing tickets for their staff to attend the event.

“Buy your tickets now! Buy your early bird tickets, if you have a Visa card, please come and buy your tickets now,” Pandohie advised.

READ: WATCH | Jamaica Food & Drink Festival set to return