Minister Bartlett launches Devon House as Jamaica’s first gastronomy center

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

The city of Kingston is poised for a culinary renaissance with Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett’s launch of Devon House as Jamaica’s first center of gastronomy.

This declaration was made at an official event yesterday (May 29) on the lawns of the historic mansion.

Minister Bartlett shared that “Devon House was selected because it is unique in its own offerings, it represents a piece of our history, a part of our heritage and it is in the center of commerce, entertainment and culture in the city of Kingston.”

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Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right) samples the Devon Tropical Ice from Coco Raw with Chairperson of the Gastronomy Network, Nicola Madden-Greig and Senior Technical Director of the Ministry of Tourism, David Dobson during a walking tour during the official launch of Devon House as the country’s first Centre of Gastronomy on May 29, 2017. The event is an initiative of the Gastronomy Network of the Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Network.

He noted that while his Ministry was proud of the culinary experiences currently in place at Devon House, his vision for the historic site included more interactive experiences for both visitors and locals to enjoy.

“We are going to be establishing here, the first Gastronomy Club, and we will be building a special kitchen which will be marketed to visitors across the world to come to Devon House to cook. So, you can bring your family on a Sunday afternoon, cooking with fresh ingredients from the farmers market we will be building here very soon,” said the Minister.

The Minister also disclosed that his Ministry also has plans to establish food stations – a concept which will allow tourists and visitors alike a unique opportunity to sample a variety of authentic Jamaican cuisine in a convenient way.

“Patrons will start at the beginning, pay for the experience, then sample as you go along. They will then visit each station which will feature a different dish – so nobody would be expected to buy a full dish from any one person. It will allow for the ‘little people,’ so to speak, in our country to have a chance to benefit from tourism,” he said.

Yesterday’s launch of Jamaica’s first Gastronomy Centre was attended by a wide cross section of persons from the hospitality and culinary sectors as well as representatives of the media, who received a “passport” to sample culinary fare from the various restaurants and food services at Devon House.

The Gastronomy Network, which falls under the aegis of the Tourism Linkages Network, has been developing initiatives, such as the gastronomy center, to strengthen Jamaica’s competitiveness in gastronomy tourism in order to diversify the tourism product and generate higher growth rates in both visitor arrivals and earnings.

There are also plans in place to establish at least four other gastronomy centers across the island in the future.

PHOTO: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right), reviews the official passport to sample culinary fare from various restaurants and food services at Devon House, with Director of Tourism, Paul Pennicook (left) and Chairperson of the Gastronomy Network, Nicola Madden-Greig. The occasion was the official launch of Devon House as the country’s first Centre of Gastronomy on May 29, 2017. While there, Minister Bartlett announced that plans were in place to establish: a Gastronomy Club, an Interactive Cooking Experience, a Farmers Market and Food Station facility which would allow the sampling of Jamaican cuisine at the historic location. The event is an initiative of the Gastronomy Network of the Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Network.

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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