“Do you think we could pull off a jerk sandwich?” Chris wondered aloud in the car ride back from New York. This was back in September I think.
Chris loves the flavors of jerk rubs—the Jamaican spice mixes that are used to rub meat before smoking them. And we’ve never played around with the wide and delicious world of Caribbean cuisine.
Every few weeks during the winter, he’d bring a version to Food Dev. And every time it was not quite there. Version 2. No. Version 3. No. After a while even Olivia lost count of the versions.
Last week we were treated to version 6 and we were all nodding our heads like, wow. We couldn’t get enough. Chris made a jerk-spiced buttercream. A buttercream! Like you’d have on a cake! He added a slice of fresh pineapple. He doubled up on the onion-y flavors with both green and red onions. Napa cabbage for crunch and freshness. And spring-dug parsnips from the man himself as the main component. When roasted, spring-dug parsnips have this naturally cinnamon/nutmeggy earthiness.
Get over to Kendall if you can and try it, we’re testing it there only before deciding whether it goes companywide.