Jamaica’s Finest Pt. II: Selina’s in Negril, Jamaica

This week I continue my interview with Selina in Negril, Jamaica. I have the answers to how she finds good help, the national fruit, Ackee, a great recipe for Chicken Jamaica and more.

HPR: I was here two years ago, and I am very impressed that Ida is still working here. She said it has been seven years. I think that is so amazing. Don’t you think that says a lot about you and your place?

Selina: Ida is a very dedicated and loyal person. We love her, and she is like family. I taught her everything: how to cook all the food the way I like it to be cooked, standards, cleanliness, customer service, and she has learned to the point where she is the only other person I trust to prepare the food the way I would! She is a dream!

HPR: What is the most interesting food you have worked with here in Jamaica?

Selina: Ackee. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It’s beautiful to look at when it opens on the tree, and it has to be cooked properly or it can be poisonous, especially if picked and forced open before it is ready.

The flavor of the buds is very earthy, delicate, and has been compared to scrambled eggs. I have had it mixed with rice, coconut milk and Scotch bonnet pepper; cooked with saltfish and veggies and served with callaloo; put is pasta; in a quesadilla; and people love an ackee sandwich in cocoa bread! Very versatile. You can buy it in tins abroad now too, as well as callaloo.

HPR: If I had only one spice I could take back to the states, what should that be and why?

Selina: Scotch bonnet pepper. You can dehydrate it. It just has a unique flavor that I love! Also, real Jamaican pimento seed (allspice in the U.S.).

HPR: Are you able to give me a simple recipe to share with our readers?

Selina: Sure. Here’s my recipe for Chicken Jamaica:
Using boneless chicken, cut into bite size chunks. Put in a bowl and coat with soya sauce (Jamaicans use “Browning”), and dried herbal seasonings like thyme, laurel, ginger, garlic, and pimento (allspice, very important!).

I dice up potatoes and Jamaican pumpkin. Chop up a good amount of onion, carrot and sweet pepper, and of course, some hot pepper, like country pepper (habanero).
Saute the chicken in hot oil, move around till browned, add onion and some chopped garlic, stir until onion is softened, add water or stock, I like to use the water from the potatoes, and then add the carrot, pumpkin and potato.

The pumpkin and potato will cook down to very soft to thicken the gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste, and if you have it, one whole scotch bonnet pepper, unpierced. If you like it spicy, cut up some scotch bonnet pepper to taste,

Add a stick of fresh thyme, or a pinch of dried thyme, you can add more dried seasonings to taste. Don’t forget a pinch of allspice! It’s actually pimento, a seed that grows on the pimento tree in Jamaica.
Simmer until the gravy cooks down to a nice consistency, taste and correct seasonings, remove whole scotch bonnet if used and put aside to use on the table if you like. Serve with rice or potatoes. Mmmmm!

HPR: Do you have any free advice for anyone traveling to Negril? Food or non-food related?

Selina: Well, I would just say, research sites like Negril.com to find what others have enjoyed, and stay away from chicken vendors with no running water. They scare me!
Otherwise, try the traditional foods, lots of tourists love Jamaican food. Nothing is too scary, except maybe goat head and belly, but you probably won’t encounter much of that except in the hills or at “dead yards” (wakes).

Enjoy the fish, conch, jerk flavorings, rice, peas, and all the fresh fruit. Don’t be surprised if things are a bit more expensive than you’d expected. Imported goods (cheese, salsa, tortillas, mushrooms, etc.) that you take for granted are not cheap here, and we have suffered a few hurricanes that have destroyed banana plantations, and a lot or our fresh produce has become difficult to find, and that is reflected in the cost.

Be understanding of that, and the fact the Jamaicans are very laid back people, and believe in taking their time, and resting when they need to. Leave your watch at home!
“Soon come” means anything between two minutes and 20 years! You don’t have to buy everything that is offered to you but be respectful always and firm when needed. Just relax. When in Rome…

And, stay clear of illegal drugs. Ganja is illegal here, although widely tolerated, but cocaine has destroyed many a life here. So if someone asks you for money to buy food, buy them food rather than give them money!

HPR: Could you tell us about the Webcast and the band that you have on Sundays?

Selina: Since the death of The Jamaican Cowboy, a very talented, self-taught Jamaican musician in 2007, we had a very hard time finding anyone who could even come close to bringing the vibe back to our regular “Sunday brunch and web cast.”

The “rhumba box” player who played with Cowboy introduced me to Ancel, a one armed, multi-talented musician and singer with a silky voice similar to Luther Vandross.

It was instant chemistry. Others came in like Omar, a very gifted bass player and musician in his own right, and Fitty Martin, a saxophonist who is well traveled and has played with some very famous talents all over the world, and Frank, a trombone player who also is international and has played with some huge talents worldwide. Now, instead of the rhumba box, Norman plays my son’s full set of drums!

Any musician is welcome to come in and jam with us, and we have regulars like Jimbo, a regular visitor for years from Maryland who plays wicked harmonica and Mark Alderman from Iowa who plays in a blues band at home. Various drummers, singers, and guitarists come in and have fun on Sundays while we Webcast all over the world so that our guests can be here, in a sense, when they cannot in person.

Rob Graves is responsible for the Webcasts. He is the original person to bring this technology into Negril, and he has Webcasts six days a week now. We have known him since the beginning, and he has been Webcasting since 2000 via http://www.negril.com, until he opened his own site, which I aptly named realnegril.com.

The Webcast is every Sunday at 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., and there are as many as 700 viewers each time, and there is also a live chat room where Rob and others who have their laptops set up at the restaurant chat back and forth with the “other side.” It’s really a wonderful thing.

HPR: I was also wondering, in general, how has the economy here been for business?

Selina: It has definitely had a big impact. We have suffered a big loss in tourism dollars, and I can really see the difference in the amount of people coming in.
I hope we see a positive change; although, our regulars always find a way to get here, and we see them every singe year! A lot of businesses have shut down, but we will go as long as you will have us!

HPR: Selina, thank you again for your time. Again, I am very happy that your business is still here. It is very much appreciated. Is there anything that you would like to share with us that I did not ask?

Selina: Just that I really am flattered that you have taken an interest in Selina’s Coffee Bar, and that I really enjoy sharing my history with you and your readers! When I get comments like that about my business, it makes all the hard work worth while!

Again, thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my story! I hope I get a copy!