Words by Natalie Weiner, Photos by Martei Korley
The staples of Jamaican cuisine are familiar to anyone who’s ever visited the island, or Central Brooklyn–or even just listened to one of the many reggae songs about them. But there’s a whole world of Jamaican dishes outside of jerk chicken and curry goat that reflect the island’s many diverse cultures, and that’s where The Belcour Cookbook comes in.
Robin Lim Lumsden, granddaughter of Red Stripe co-founder Peter Desnoes, is the author of the latest addition to the small handful of cookbooks spotlighting Jamaican cuisine, showcasing the breadth of local cooking, with a focus on the island’s lush bounty of fruits, vegetables and spices. (FYI: We’re giving away a copy. Enter here to win.) Lumsden has been using uniquely Jamaican ingredients for the last decade to create a line of specialty hot sauces and jellies through her company Belcour Preserves, sourcing most of the ingredients from her family’s Belcour farm in the Blue Mountains, where she produces her own local honey. She recently gave LargeUp photographer Martei Korley a tour of her home and the apiary, and met with us for an interview at Manhattan’s Summer Fancy Food Show.