Jamaica Culinary Tours

10/09/2026

07/09/2026

Good food, Good drink, Good Company, Good Stories...... We don't unroll until we're sure that you'll love every minute of it. But we're getting warmer and warmer.....

01/09/2026

Early morning walks are hard especially in the summer when the sun's up and scorching from as early as 6 a.m., so there's nothing better than the reward of a new foodie find along the way! Our find on last Sunday's walk was a bubbling pot of rich, thick and delicious Red Peas Pigstail Soup with a flavour that seeped into the depths of our souls! Now that's a reward!

And yes, surprise surprise - some Jamaicans do drink soup early in the mornings. These and other 'oddities' about our culinary culture are the stories we tell on our food tours. Come journey with us!

31/08/2026

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Hope Gardens has always felt like Kingston's best-kept secret hiding in plain sight. 🌿

We grew up close by, and Sunday afternoon walks there are some of our fondest childhood memories — walks that always, always ended with ice cream! In a city as built up as Kingston, Hope Gardens has remained an oasis where you'll find people relaxing, catching up with friends, or just quietly enjoying nature.

But there's more to those grounds than green space and good memories. Hope Gardens was where the British experimented with what would grow well in our climate — it began life in 1881 as a 200-acre experimental station, with fifty acres devoted to developing new varieties of sugar cane and another ten given to teak, coffee, cocoa, and pineapple. In fact, several of the exotic crops we now think of as classically Jamaican, including coffee and pineapple, were introduced to the island right there.
The gardens even had a working relationship with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, swapping plants and research back and forth across the Atlantic.

And if you've ever strolled past the main entrance, there's a good chance you walked beneath the Cassia siamea Grove — planted all the way back in 1907, still standing.

So much history rooted in a place so many of us just remember for the peace, the people-watching... and of course - the ice cream!🍦🍦

Jamaica once ran its farming policy out of a garden. 🌴

The colonial government opened Hope Gardens in 1873. It took the land from the old Hope estate in St Andrew, first granted to Major Richard Hope after the English took the island in 1655. The new garden was not built for strolling. Officials wanted a place to test crops and see what would actually grow here.

Staff planted cane varieties, fruit trees and timber species and watched them closely. What thrived got passed on to farmers across the island. In 1898 Hope became the headquarters of the Department of Botanical Gardens and Plantations. Ten years later the Department of Agriculture moved in too. Farm policy for the whole country came out of those grounds. 🌱

The pleasure garden came second. People walked the palm avenue, sat by the lily pond and made the place their own. Today it is the largest public green space in the Kingston area, about 200 acres.

Do you have a memory of a day out at Hope?

31/08/2026

Sure “Sunday is Funday”, but at Jamaica Culinary Tours even our fundays are workdays because we’re always exploring and on the hunt for new scenic sites, off the beaten track locations and of course fun foodie finds for our guests.

So what discoveries did we make on today’s Sunday Funday and what’s in the pot? Tell you soon!🤫🤫🤫

26/08/2026

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Last October Jamaica was hit by the strongest storm in recorded history and ground zero was our South Coast. Hurricane Melissa did a number on us but Jamaicans are never to be counted out and we're literally clawing our way back. Our friend Allison shared this video about the restoration of the Parish Church in Black River and we wanted to share with our facebook friends who sometimes wonder if Jamaica is back. Yes we are! Every brick has a story and a meaning and Allison, like us at Jamaica Culinary Tours, is dedicated to sharing our Jamaican story with the rest of the world.

The watchword for Jamaicans since Hurricane Melissa is resilience and that's what you'll see in this video.

25/08/2026

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Jamaica runs on a market system that no government built. Higglers built it. 🧺

It began in slavery. Enslaved people worked provision grounds and grew more food than they ate. Sunday was the one free day, so Sunday became market day. The women carried the extra to town and sold it.

Many of those women came from West Africa, where markets were old and women ran them. That knowledge crossed the ocean too. After emancipation the trade grew fast, because it was work people already knew well.

Markets rose in Montego Bay, Lucea, Falmouth, Black River and Brown's Town. Higglers still feed Kingston today. They buy from small farmers and bring the load in by night.

24/08/2026

Ever wonder why coconut water is everywhere in Jamaica in August? 🥥
It's not just refreshing — it's tradition. Long before bottled electrolyte drinks existed, Jamaicans were cracking coconuts roadside for a natural way to rehydrate in the heat. Our ancestors used to say that coconut water 'wash di heart' and now the science is catching up with what they always knew.

Don't like the taste of coconut water? Don't worry. Add a fresh-pressed mango or June plum juice, and you've got a cooldown routine that's been perfected over generations.

On our tours, we don't just talk about the food — we let you taste how Jamaicans have always beaten the heat. 🇯🇲

24/08/2026

Yes we have a sweet tooth in Jamaica and we're creative about it. Want to taste some of our unusual sweets and treats? We got you - coming very very soon.......

21/08/2026

Even our proverbs are food.

In Jamaica, we don't just eat our culture — we speak it. This one tells a young woman her worth using the language of the table: you're not scraps to be treated carelessly. You're the good cut. The one with the extra gravy. The one worth savouring.

It's a small phrase, passed down the way recipes are — from a mother, an aunty, a grandmother who wanted a girl to know her value before the world tried to convince her otherwise.

This is what we mean when we say food is never just food here. It's how we raise our children, comfort our friends, and remind each other who we are.

Come taste the culture with us — every proverb, every pot, every story. 🇯🇲