Rosemary Parkinson, Gleaner Writer

Marblue's lamb tenderloin on summer beans, Rosemary lamb-jus. - photo by Rosemary Parkinson

Once again Kwame Dawes, Colin Channer and Justine Henzell produced a fine literary festival for the enjoyment of addicts to the word who attend the Calabash Literary Festival every year.

At Calabash, I ate heartily: fried glutten, mixed vegetables, callaloo and a great tofu from the ital chefs. The rest of their fare looked equally good.

At Marblue Villas - Axel and Andrea with their new cosy restaurant and bar on the cliff's edge, commanded a delightful cool breeze and an amazing view of the crystal clear waters of St Elizabeth. Gorgeous fresh salads and well-seasoned fried fish, Axel and 'Preacher' (assistant chef) are kings in their new expanded kitchen and a visit to this restaurant, Calabash or not, is a must.

"I just love having a small crowd of appreciative gourmands," and how well the play unfolded with a dinner awash with Champagne for friends. "I love to experiment with tastes like the dessert, for instance, guava ice cream with the emulsion of passion fruit, the two really worked together." They certainly did Axel, they certainly did!

Derek Walcott's rendition of his hatred for V.S. Naipaul; not necessary.

Jack Sprat could do with some expert help in the kitchen, their fare was palatable. But whoever took Little Ochie's place in the outside arena buffet that has become part and parcel of Calabash, served food that was just plain disgraceful. Now really, this was all about local cooks doing local dishes, nothing out of the ordinary. I get so angry paying a minimum of J$600, lining up for ages in the hot sun looking forward enjoying a plateful of Jamaica but receiving a horror story on a plate! Come on!

Really Ugly

We all know that during Calabash, villas, guest houses and hotels get the chance to make a 'killing' with occupancy and rates. That's okay. But when a hotel first of all doubles its rate from 2006 to 2007, and rents out three rooms, a kitchen and a gallery, terming it 'a villa', making no effort to ensure that simple things such as knives, forks, glasses, coffee cups and saucers, enough plates even a sharp knife is in the kitchen; when one room has an air-conditioner that just blows out cool not cold air, its overhead light giving out hues of blue with a ceiling covered in disco paint, making the art of reading at night or even during the day a magnificent feat; when the total décor of unending bright plastic flowers (displayed on walls and tables) that overlook polyester bedspreads and curtains have been dusty for the four years a faithful group has rented same, the time for complaint (the first!) seemed unavoidable.

But the following morning, met with the same lack of utensils together with trying to overcharge at breakfast, more complaints followed. That brought a message through a member of staff: "Corrie says 'forget bout next year', meaning (discovered after questioning) that our bookings for 2009 were cancelled by the owner.

God help those who book into this hotel if this is how we faithful are treated! Sunset Resort, please right now a resort you're not! And by the way, other guests had similar problems. Of note are a towel rack that fell off the wall into the toilet and, being charged US$5 for a boiled egg! Perhaps the time has come to do something here out of order.

CASSAVA CHALLENGE

Sweet cassava is a great accompaniment for stews and your favourite meat dish.

Continue to send us your recipes for our Cassava Challenge Contest. Win many major prizes from the Ministry of Agriculture and other sponsors for your innovative ways to prepare the much-talked-about yet versatile cassava. From flour to bread to ice cream, test your skills and send us the recipes now. Email:

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