Spicing It Up with Jules Gourmet Foods

According to the National Restaurant Association, two of the top 20 hot culinary trends this year are ethnic condiments and spices, as well as offering authentic ethnic cuisine. They certainly do compliment each other—it seems logical that ethnic condiments and spices would produce more authentic ethnic dishes. But, with the tasks of running and marketing your restaurant on your plate (not to mention all the cooking you are doing!), how can you easily brush up on a new cuisine to ensure you stay on trend?

James Beard award-winning chef, Bradford Thompson, has the answer for you. Currently the executive consulting chef for Miss Lily’s Favourite Cakes, a Jamaican restaurant in Greenwich Village, Thompson teamed up with his wife to create Jules Gourmet Foods, a NYC-based company offering Caribbean-inspired rubs, sauces, and marinades.

Historically, “jerk” was created after Indian cooking techniques combined with African spices, adapted to the natural resources Jamaican cooks had at their fingertips. The secret recipe for the Jules Gourmet Foods “jerk” stems from Thompson’s mother-in-law; her renowned gourmet jerk sauce mixes scotch bonnet peppers, ginger, scallion, and spices to create authentic Jamaican jerk that balances between spicy and sweet. Violet “Jule” Brown and her husband Glen Brown had a string of Glen’s Jerk Chicken restaurants in New York popular in the 80s and 90s. Thus, the company was named in her honor.

While Caribbean foods may not be on the top of the “ethnic foods” list, Jamaican jerk, and the Jules Gourmet Foods sauces and marinades, are very versatile. One can add jerk to almost anything, enhancing the natural flavors of chicken, goat, lamb, beef, rabbit, fish, seafood, and vegetables with a spicy kick.

Recently, FlashPepper featured this product, along with a select group of other products, at the 2016 Chefs Collaborative Summit in NYC. The Chefs Collaborative is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to building a better food system. Jules’ natural and organic qualities made it a perfect fit for the Chefs Collaborative community. Jules Gourmet Foods offers two varieties—Jamaican Jerk and Mango Jamaican Jerk. For more information, visit www.julesgourmetfoods.com.