MIAMI – The Jamaica Partnership for Education (JPE) and the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) have joined forces to host The Spice is Right, Restaurant Week Jamaican Style in New York and South Florida, from August 22 to 28, 2010.
Scores of Caribbean nationals and aficionados of Caribbean food are expected to take part in the week-long celebration of culinary fusion and culture, which is being staged as “cuisine for a cause” according to the AFJ’s New York-based Executive Director, Donnette Chambers.
“It is a special fundraiser to tempt the palette, while rendering support to educational charities in Jamaica. Patrons will enjoy the taste and texture of Caribbean foods while contributing to Jamaica’s economic, social and national development, ” she stated.
Participating restaurants will contribute part of the week’s proceeds to support education initiatives in Jamaica through the JPE and AFJ. The JPE, a project of the Jamaica National Building Society Foundation, facilitates the acquisition and distribution of offshore and domestic resources to Jamaican public schools in need.
In the Big Apple, participating Caribbean eateries include Nakisaki Jamaican Chinese located in Long Island; Negril Village Caribbean Restaurant and Spur Tree Restaurant in Manhattan’s trendy West Village, and Pimento Caribbean Restaurant in the Bronx.
Participating South Florida restaurants are Marcia’s Café in Lauderdale Lakes; Ortanique on the Mile in Coral Gardens and Tropical Oasis in Pembroke Pines.
“This inaugural fundraiser, The Spice is Right, is a joint initiative of the AFJ and the JPE, and marks the deepening of our synergies, as we continue to engage Jamaicans in the Diaspora, and others with a vested interest in Jamaica, both at the individual and corporate levels,” Ms. Chambers stated.
JPE Project Manager Anna Toby declared that the event “provides a wonderful opportunity to blend authentic Jamaican cuisine with a worthy Jamaican cause – eradicating illteracy and enabling dreams.”
Commenting on the 2010 focus of the JPE to improve literacy rates among primary school students, Ms. Toby argues that “with approximately 45 percent or more of grade four students being unable to read at their grade level, the immediacy of stakeholder intervention is strengthened. We encourage Jamaicans at home and abroad to join the cause, starting with Restaurant Week,” she says.
Interested persons may make reservations for The Spice is Right Restaurant Week Jamaican-Style via the JN Foundation’s or the AFJ’s Facebook page, and win a coupon for a restaurant of their choice.
“And, donations can be made to the JPE all year-round at any JN Money Transfer location in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Cayman Islands,” Toby added.
Since May of 2010, the AFJ and the JPE have been collaborating to raise funds for educational initiatives and charities in Jamaica. In July, both organisations participated in a Summer Garden Party hosted by the British Societies of New York.
At the AFJ’s 6th Annual Peacock Gala, held in Coral Gables, Florida on May 22nd, Jamaica National Building Society was honoured with the prestigious Hummingbird Award for its philanthropic work in Jamaica.
