By Megan Guerrero

From its signature flavors of pimento, allspice, and the distinct essence of fresh scotch bonnet herbs, jerk cooking is undoubtedly a special and unique culinary style. This brought Chef Kenyetta, a chef partnered with Jerk Wings Cafe, to teach Granada Hills Charter (GHC) advanced culinary students how to cook jerk chicken and macaroni and cheese. 

The lesson started with Chef Kenyetta explaining what Jerk Wings Cafe was, and the importance of Jamaican cuisine.

Chef Kenyetta defines the jerk cooking style as a style of cuisine that originated from the combination of African traditions with the traditions of the indigenous Taino people of the Caribbean who taught it to the slaves. 

“The jerk method of cooking during times of war included cooking underground to hide the smoke,” Kenyetta said. “It’s a slow dry method of cooking, and the term ‘jerk’ means dry meat but the meat is so flavorful it’s not dry at all. Oftentimes, we use a wet marinade and you can marinate and cook a variety of meats including chicken, beef, and pork.” 

According to senior Eddie Rodriguez, the jerk paste or marinade especially made the dish stand out from his usual palette.

“The thing that stood out the most was definitely the jerk paste, which was used both in the jerk mac and cheese and jerk chicken,” Rodriguez said. 

Ultimately, students were not only able to take home delicious jerk chicken and mac n’ cheese;  culinary students were also able to expand their cultural knowledge of Jamaica through the lesson.

“It helped me branch out from what I am used to,” Rodriguez said. “I’m still used to only usually cooking American, European, and Asian cuisine, so branching out and cooking something that I’ve never heard of and that was completely foreign to me was really special.” 

Sharing food history and techniques is a mission for Kenyetta. Through his partnership with Jerk Wings Cafe and the school’s culinary program, he was able to achieve this goal.

“My goal was to expand the students’ knowledge of food culture and cooking techniques for Jamaican cuisine, and I was well pleased with the outcome,” Kenyetta said. 

Kenyetta chose to demonstrate how to cook jerk wings and macaroni and cheese because he explains that they are popular comfort foods that can serve as an easy, delicious gateway to Jamaican cuisine. Kenyetta’s demonstration was successful in that students learned how to cook Jamaican comfort food through the mentorship of a professional chef. Kenyatta most enjoyed the opportunity to share food history and cooking techniques with young culinarians. 

Other chefs from Jerk Wings Cafe came to bring this lesson into action, including the man who was instrumental in founding Jerk Wings Cafe: “Grandpa” Gladstone. Gladstone is the grandfather of Jerk Wings Cafe’s founder, Mark Gladstone. He hopes the restaurant brings the elements of the family’s Jamaican heritage to the San Fernando Valley, by way of their stomachs.