Runaway Bay, Jamaica – Driving along the highway from Runaway Bay to Discovery Bay, visitors to Jamaica view one of the country’s most scenic coastlines. It is dotted with all-inclusive hotels, small properties, and a slew of jerked food restaurants.
In February, Dalian Clarke entered a competitive market with the opening of Farenough Jerk & Seafood Restaurant. It is located at Main Street in Runaway Bay, just outside of Ocho Rios.
The self-taught chef, who previously operated a catering business, knew that in order to take on more established rivals, his menu had to be unique. And it’s paying off so far.
“Patrons enjoy the curried reindeer and jerked wild boar along with our sides more than anything else. We get tourists from hotels, guest houses and the cruise ships. The numbers are not huge but it’s often,” said Clarke.
For many years, jerked cuisine was limited to chicken, pork and fish. In the past 20 years, as the spicy food gained a global following, that has grown to include lobster, conch and even ice cream.
Clarke, who is from Manchester parish in southern Jamaica, wanted to excite his clientele with something radical. Hence, the jerked wild boar and curried reindeer which he serves on Fridays.
The Runaway Bay/Discovery Bay leg of the North Coast Highway is part of Jamaica’s prime tourism real estate. It attracts thousands of visitors, mainly from North America and Europe. Many of them, stopovers from cruise ships in Ocho Rios, seek out jerked food at restaurants big and small.
As he seeks to tap into that competitive scene, Dalian Clarke is already looking down the road.
“In the next five years, we want to be the premier restaurant on the North Coast, offering diverse and tastiest foods to meat and seafood lovers and vegetarians,” he said.
Howard Campbell is a Jamaican journalist who has covered major events in that country, the Caribbean and South Florida for over 30 years. He has written for the Jamaica Observer, Gleaner Company and the Caribbean News Agency.
