[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] In “20 Minutes With: New York Chef J.J. Johnson on the Rising Reputation of Caribbean Delicacies,” Jeanette Settembre (Barron’s) speaks to Chef J.J. Johnson. The chef, whose dad and mom hail from the Caribbean (“my mother is Puerto Rican and West Indian, my grandfather was from Barbados”) feels rooted in Caribbean tradition via meals.
“I grew up in a Caribbean family,” Johnson, 38, says from his second FieldTrip restaurant location in Rockefeller Heart in New York. There, cooks assemble heaping bowls of slow-cooked, braised beef simmering over rice, chipotle black beans, and chilis. Candy plantains are dripping in sizzling honey; hen thighs are marinated in practically a dozen completely different spices over basmati rice.
Rice is the star of FieldTrip, which opened in 2019 specializing in sourcing non-enriched, unbleached rice instantly from farmers who mill the grain. In 2021, Johnson secured funding from two main funding companies with the aim of increasing to eight restaurant areas within the coming years, Crain’s New York reported.
“My mother is Puerto Rican and West Indian, my grandfather was from Barbados,” Johson says. “I embrace the tradition as a result of I perceive it, it’s in my DNA, and the meals I cook dinner is an interpretation of it.”
Johnson, identified for his full-flavored dishes like citrus jerk-marinated sea bass, a standout on the now closed Harlem establishment The Cecil, not too long ago merged jerk seasonings with sustainable seafood on the inaugural Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Meals Competition on the Atlantis Bahamas. The five-day pageant, which kicked off March 15, featured Johnson on the helm of Jerk Jam, a Bahamian-inspired culinary occasion alongside superstar chef Alex Guarnaschelli, highlighting flavorful grilled meats and domestically caught seafood with a beachside efficiency by Wyclef Jean.
“When individuals consider the Caribbean they consider jerk. The cooking strategy of jerk comes from the native individuals of the Caribbean, the Taínos. You get this chariness stuffed with spices. Modern-day jerk is one thing that’s extraordinarily spicy. I’m doing jerk shrimp. We’re going to marinate shrimp in our jerk recipe and char it on the grill with a papaya mango salad for a refreshing taste,” Johnson says.
Johnson discusses his community-driven restaurant idea, visionaries he admires, and his most memorable profession second but: giving again to his beloved Harlem neighborhood and clients.
PENTA: How does your heritage play a job within the meals that you just make?
J.J. Johnson: I’m a child of the African Diaspora. I’m a child of the Caribbean. I grew up in a Caribbean family. … A variety of the meals that I cook dinner is my interpretation of it. It’s wonderful that Caribbean tradition is getting celebrated these days in so many various methods in America. The Caribbean is that this assembly level between America and West Africa. [. . .]
Learn full interview at https://www.barrons.com/articles/20-minutes-with-new-york-chef-j-j-johnson-on-the-growing-popularity-of-caribbean-cuisine-a9f7c245
Fieldtrip
Harlem: 109 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10026
Rockefeller Heart: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
https://www.fieldtripnyc.com
https://www.fb.com/riceisculture
https://www.instagram.com/fieldtripusa