Audio By Carbonatix
In American slang, being a jerk is considered a bad thing. It means you’re idiotic, rude, insufferable, and generally not fun to be around. But to Jamaicans and other Caribbean islanders, the word jerk conjures up delicious images of highly spiced meat dishes. Jerk means lots of thyme, Jamaican allspice, and enough Scotch bonnet pepper to make anyone’s forehead erupt in sweat. Helen Willensky is a bona fide jerkologist, and today at 1:00 p.m. at Macy’s Dadeland, she will teach the masses how to incorporate a little jerk into their lives.
“I was the one who brought it here 20 years ago,” she reminds us in a recent phone interview. “I started out providing sauces for hotels in Atlanta. These chefs kept asking me for jerk. They found working with the paste to be difficult, so I developed a dried product for the first time,” Willensky recalls. Now her Helen’s Tropical Exotics spices are flying off the shelves at your local Publix; she has authored a book, Jerk from Jamaica: Barbecue Caribbean Style; and the Jamaican Tourist Board and WSNA radio are hosting today’s demonstration by the chef who is now considered a Caribbean treasure. So what’s on today’s menu? “I will make some jerk popcorn to start, and if I have the energy, I’ll do a jerk turkey for the Thanksgiving crowd. Stuff the marinade under the skin and serve it with orange cranberry sauce,” she says. Call 1-800-544-JERK for some of Helen’s goodness, and call 305-662-3350 to reserve a seat at today’s demonstration.
Sat., Oct. 6, 1 p.m., 2007
