Rosemary Parkinson, Gleaner Writer

Even Ting gets its special spot at Irie Bites. - photos by Rosemary Parkinson

On Ariapita Avenue, right almost in the heart of Port-of-Spain, I find a jerk centre. I thought I had died and gone to Jamaican heaven. All the roti, doubles, shark and bake - forgotten the moment I saw the sign big and bold in ites green and gold - IRIE BITES.

It's very similar to a Jamaican centre, all tied up with nuff wrought iron you would think Irie Bites was in the middle of downtown Kingston! Now it is all right to find a jerk centre in the middle of curry and roti country, but what about the taste? What did these people know about jerk? Well, as I found out - the knew a lot!

Pilot turned jerk man

Stephen Steel, his wife Joanne and his brother-in-law own and run this establishment. Stephen's father used to fly for BWIA and although born in Trinidad, he went to Wolmer's Boys' School in Kingston, Jamaica. Stephen is also a pilot with Caribbean Airways - the former BWIA. It was lovely talking to him; his face is unwrinkled although his hair and beard are sprinkled heavily with silver grey.

"You know John and Jenny Greaves?" he asked me.

"Yes! Actually I do," said I.

"Well, I used to work for them when I lived in Jamaica. They used to have these huge parties, and it was John who sparked my interest in jerk, he even taught me how to make my own jerk seasoning. So when I decided to open this place, a lot of what they taught me came into play."

Stephen said that once he had made up his mind (against a lot of Trinis who thought he was mad,) to go ahead with his plans, he wanted his establishment to be very, traditional-looking.

"Hence the zinc. You have to keep it real, in fact, we took even the wrought iron design from the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston!" Stephen was able to contact 'Norris' Marshall whose father was a jerk man in Portland and to this day, 'Norris' is the real 'jerk man' behind the pits and according to Stephen "the backbone of the centre".

Walkerswood and the menu

Stephen Steel has learned all there is to know about jerk.

Stephen has been the agent for Walkerswood in Trinidad for almost nine years. "They have the best jerk seasonings, sauces, everything you could want if you open a jerk centre outside of Jamaica. Their products are consistent, their taste rich and delicious so I use them in my restaurant. I started this business seven years ago and Walkerswood has always been at my side. 'Norris' is to the jerk pit, what Walkerswood is to my heart."

The menu board showed curried goat, steamed fish with several other dishes that according to Stephen are all about what is available fresh from the market. With this in mind, I particularly loved 'sautéed something'. That begged the question, "so what is it today?" I also saw Jamaican rice and peas, stewed oxtail, stewed pork and bhagi rice (bhagi in Trinidad being callaloo in Jamaica, callaloo in Trinidad is dasheen leaves!)

Exquisite taste

"We do fish both steamed and jerked. Man when you taste our jerk fish, you just cannot go anywhere else for fish of any kind" he says confidently. I noticed wild hog and provisions (same as 'food' in Jamaica). "That is on a Saturday," said Stephen and I wished at that moment that this had been a Saturday but, alas! I shall have to wait for another visit to the island of the hummingbird to enjoy that dish. I have not eaten wild hog since I was a child. My uncle, Edward Meaden, used to go hunting in the deep green of forest reserve down in the oil-field belt of southern Trinidad, a band of dogs sniffing out all types of wild meat and what a feast we would have then!

"We also do jerk lamb," Stephen said. "You know, sometimes we have a real 'blocko' going on here, people come from as far as Arima (further south of the island), just to taste our jerk."

Open six days a week, apparently this ever-so friendly Trini/Jamaican has not been able to renovate since he opened. "People want to know where they are going to eat if I close, so I just have to do a little touching up here and there to keep the place a certain way."

The Jerk Pit

Naturally, I could not leave without seeing where the actual jerk took place. Stephen took me behind the scenes, where a type of jerk pit was set up. I have seen similar ones in Kingston - off the ground and with a grill. There was no pimento wood but that grill certainly looked well used. Bags of coal lined the side against the wall, the aroma of the 'real thing' permeated the air. The taste told in no uncertain terms that Stephen and 'Norris' know what they are doing!

Tender morsels of jerk, just perfectly seasoned, perfectly jerked. "Man, Trinis love our jerk sauce. Sometimes I even have to tell them to stop putting so much on, so they can taste the meat itself." Unfortunately, I was unable to meet 'Norris' the jerk man from Portland. He had not long left after a long day over the fires. But I understand he is quite a character and loved by one and all. I hope to meet him when next I am in this gorgeous island to delve into more of their very diverse and totally delicious cuisine.