Food in every fashion

Jamaican culinary stories were at the forefront of the Foodie Seminar 2026 as culinary-minded youngsters and industry professionals gathered at Terra Nova All Suite Hotel yesterday where panellists aimed to elevate the narrative around food while honouring local culture.

Held under the theme ‘Unbreakable Spirit’, the seminar was an expert-led conversation on all things food, from safety and sustainability to confectionery creations, the future of Jamaica’s culinary scene and stories on resilience within the industry.

The event precedes the 27th staging of the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards, the island’s premier culinary arts showcase. It featured panellists Allison Richards, Joseph Johnson, Nadine Burie, Romario Creary, Adrian Wilson, Dr Altreisha Foster, Suedi Ann Hamilton, Kishauna Armstrong, and Robyn Fox.

Richards, long-time regulatory inspector, opened the event with a presentation on food security, questioning whether Jamaica actually has the capacity to feed itself. Highlighting the four arms of food sustainability: availability, access, utilisation, and stability, she urged Jamaicans to align themselves with the World Food Safety Day 2026 theme, ‘From burden to solution – safe food everywhere’.

“Start with you,” Richards urged. “If every household grew just one thing, what do you think Jamaica would look like?” she questioned.

Food security also came into play for Soup King entrepreneurs Creary and Wilson, whose burgeoning business was affected by Hurricane Melissa in 2025. The Category 5 storm hit the island a week before their grand opening, leading to ingredients shortages and price hikes in a business that depended heavily on fresh produce. They persevered.

Wilson shared a timeline of his journey from a car wash operator offering soup as an extra perk on the weekends in 2015 to the now recognisable Soup King brand. Noting that the car wash is now defunct, but the soup business just opened its first retail location, Wilson urged Jamaicans to listen to what consumers want.

“Opportunity does not always come from creating something new; it can come from something that was always right in front of you,” Wilson said.

“Sometimes it comes from improving something very familiar,” he added.

Creary urged entrepreneurs to have a passion for the product and people and practise consistency.

“In order to innovate, you have to be consistent first…and then you will recognise avenues to innovate; those will come,” he shared.

The mood made a sweet switch when former vaccine scientist turned baker and entrepreneur Dr Foster (Sugar Spoon Desserts) presented her non-profit ‘Cake Therapy’ programme, which helps underprivileged girls find peace and direction through baking.

She maintained it was not just about baking, but about what happens when young people are given space to create without judgment, stressing that the kitchen becomes a metaphor for life and making something meaningful out of chaos.

“It is about human connection, food carries memories, it carries identity, it carries my culture,” she explained.

Attendees were not just interested but incredibly engaged. Two of them – National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ) employees Shelly-Ann Brown and Garfield Allen – gave an emphatic thumbs up to the event.

Food security communicator and Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards 2026 Foodie Seminar speaker Allison Richards (centre) shared a moment with Jamaica Observer Media Group Managing Director Dominic Beaubrun and Jamaica Observer Food Awards Chair and Conceptualiser Novia McDonald-Whyte ahead of her presentation on Jamaica’s food security. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

“Us coming here today was a natural fit because the business that we do certifies various businesses involved in food. It definitely exceeded my expectations, the presentations were superb,” Allen said. “The organisers should be lauded, and I think the presenters should be lauded,” he added.

Brown was equally complimentary.

“Having that interconnection, looking at building your own business and also social responsibility being included, it was just a beautiful connection…coming together just talking about food and how it is evolving, it was excellent,” she said.

In the vein of evolution, Joseph Johnson, Peckish restaurant owner and chief executive officer, presented attendees with what he says is the next culinary destination of Jamaica: downtown Kingston.

“What we are witnessing downtown is more than just restaurants,” he stressed, indicating that the area already possesses the backbone to become a culinary stronghold.

Maintaining that his vision is sidewalk cafés and open-air restaurants connected by walkable streets, he stressed that downtown Kingston has the organic vibe for which Manhattan, with its open air stalls and hot dog stands, is celebrated.

“We don’t need to invent food culture downtown, we simply need to recognise it…downtown’s best days are ahead,” Johnson predicted.

To round out the event, Burie spoke about crafting Jamaica’s award-winning chocolate, while Creary and Wilson schooled attendees on creating business opportunities.

Suedi Ann Hamilton, Kishauna Armstrong, and Robyn Fox were faces of resilience for 2026.

Attendees were extremely engaged throughout the event, with multiple audience members asking questions of every presenter. Speakers shared insider knowledge, encouragement, steps to secure capital, industry operations, tips on successful business partnerships, networking, and more.

Creary, for example, urged young people not to rely on only linkages; however, he lauded the Observer for creating forums such as the Foodie Seminar.

“It is very important, especially for younger persons, links are nice…but let me tell you, we can do it without that, we can do it [by] believing we can do it and don’t ever compromise yourself to [do] it,” Creary urged.

He stressed that hard work and exposure are key to the future of the culinary industry, through youth.

Managing director of the Jamaica Observer Dominic Beaubrun, who brought his son with him to experience the event, stressed that the Foodie Seminar aimed to dissect in a day the intricate ecosystem behind creating the food products that people engage with daily.

“We can’t really begin to pay homage to the level of service and effort and thought and ingenuity that goes into it, but here we are laying face to people and their experiences and stories, histories, successes, failures and learning, and all of that goes to inform and educate even more,” said Beaubrun.