WOYOOIE! - Chef Rameish Desouza’s jerked pork with ackee was mouth-watering

When I set out to learn the ropes of creating one of chef Rameish Desouza's signature ackee meals, I was very sceptical. As a person who was raised by Rastafarians, I was taught that pork was unclean.

So when Desouza, the WOYOOIE chef, said he would prepare coconut festivals with ackee and jerk pork for this foodie, I figured it was not going to be a good day for me. However, much to my surprise, and most definitely the disapproval of my father, the forbidden meat not only touched my lips, but made its way to my stomach.

My chance encounter with the pork began last Friday when THE STAR ventured to Desouza's Portmore-based kitchen. The mission, though clear, wasn't simple. Memories of the last foodie feature were fresh in my mind. On that occasion, I went to Portland to prepare a meal with Oshane 'Chef Oshea' Williams, of Oshea's 876 Kitchen. My long acrylic nails were a point of contention for many who viewed the feature. This time around, for the trip to Desouza's kitchen, I wore shorter nails, but quickly found out that they were still too long. I was nonetheless determined to show my worth and I got off to a decent start by firing up the coal-fired jerk pan.

Preparing the ackee was an easy task as I was well schooled by Chef Oshea. My greatest challenge, as you may have imagined, pertained the pork. It took guts and mental fortitude to season the leg that was cut in order to get it ready for the pan.

Desouza, though, made it look easy. Although he has not been formally trained, the talented 20-year-old has been tantalising taste buds for as long as he can remember. He whet his culinary palette as a child when he was forced to fry chicken in his parents' cookshop.

"Mi never like fry di chicken dem. When everybody outta door a run up and dung, me inside a fry chicken," he reminisced.

He has since grown into a culinary professional of note, and is making a name for himself online as a master of unconventional meals. The Portmore native's iconic meals include pineapple shrimp and soursop roti, coconut jerk chicken and breadfruit fries, and ackee ice-cream.

On Friday, he led all the way in the preparation of the jerk pork. Under an overcast Portmore sky we made light work of the boiling of the ackee and cutting up of the seasoning. It was then that I realised that Desouza's genius idea was to use the pork as a saltfish substitute. The dread began to build within me. During the frying process when the two were combined, the smell that began to waft through the air had even my mouth watering. Pushing those thoughts away I turned my attention to the festivals.

I was not to be outdone. Despite my long nails, I did not shy away from making some coconut festivals. While my festivals were not as attractive as Desouza's, they, fortunately, tasted just as flavourful.

Good was an understatement.

Desouza, despite my best effort, kept the ingredients close to his chest. It's his secret. The flavour, however, betrays the fact that his coconut mixture is magical.

The real, unexpected treat though was the ackee and jerk pork. The meal was an ideal mixture of a familiar ackee taste topped with a rich, smoky taste from the jerked pork.

If you see me eating pork again, blame Desouza. He has magic in his hands. WOYOOIE!