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A UNIQUE FUSION OF FLAVOURS AWAITS AT JEANELLE’S KITCHEN a national dish of Haiti.
ANDREW COPPOLINO andrewcoppolino@gmail.com
An opportunity to share family recipes Sekyere hadn’t been in the foodservice previously, but something inspired her in the location. “It was what was the opportunity to cook Caribbean food. It used to be a pizza place, and there was nothing around in the area. We felt like a lot of people travel and visit the Caribbean and would be curious about Caribbean food,” she says. After some renovations and alterations, Jeanelle’s – named for Seykere’s daughter – opened and immediately people visited to see what was going on. “People were eager to try the food,” she adds, “and so far, so good. The reception has been amazing and we’re still new to people.” The spicy dishes and blend of cuisines is a welcome change from the plethora of pizza joints that you can find. As I sat on the cottage deck-style patio listening to Bob Marley, a heavy-duty pick-up truck with a Quebec license plate pulled up, and a few minutes later a drywall contractor was driving away with a large bag of Jeanelle’s takeaway. The recipes are generated from the family kitchen, Seykere says, adding that “we cooked with our parents all the time.” “Some are my grandmother’s recipes. Some are my husband’s. We whip up our own jerk sauce which we twist in our own way,” she says. Inspiration for the goat dish includes both the Caribbean and Ghana in west Africa. “It’s our traditional recipe with seaso- ning and the way we cook it and add onions and green peppers,” says Seykere. “Most of our spices are imported from Ghana.” On occasional weekends, Jeanelle’s prepares a traditional Haitian dish called “diri djondjon,” a black rice that gets its deep colour and flavour from mushrooms and might be said to be a variation of traditional “rice and peas.” Unique dishes for the area Food offerings are a bit scarce in the immediate area, and Jeanelle’s Kitchen is a destination for home-style Caribbean cooking that adds a different dimension to dining in or taking away. Approaching only its first anniversary, Jeanelle’s Kitchen, according to Seykere, continues to grow. As it does, she wants the surrounding communities to know that there is value and flavour – “every bite is a vibe,” she notes – at the restaurant. “I want customers to know what we have here, and they can come and try it. We take our time with the food, and we make sure we serve good quality meals with good prices.” The restaurant opens at 11:30 a.m. Monday to Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sun- day). Jeanelle’s Kitchen is working on getting their liquor license. Food writer Andrew Coppolino lives in Rockland. He is the author of “Farm to Table” and co-author of “Cooking with Shakespeare.” Follow him on Instagram @andrewcoppolino.
Across from the Mini Mart dépanneur at the corner of Russell and Drouin roads, you can’t miss – and will likely be surprised by – the quirky statue of the two black bears standing on hind legs holding a crest of arms of the former village of Cheney. Founded in 1895 and about three kilometres southwest of Bourget, the hamlet was home to a former CPR station – the crest includes a prominent image of an old-timey steam locomotive – that connected Ottawa to Montreal. Bear Brook, a tributary of South Nation River, runs through the area and perhaps explains the idiosyncratic ursine statue. Sadly, tragedy changed the course of Cheney history in October 1897: a massive conflagration destroyed seve- ral businesses including the sawmill, a “carding mill” (which prepared wool for spinning), a nearby bridge and virtually all of the residences. The fire raged all night and spread to surrounding areas. A few metres from the Cheney bears on Russell Road is Saintil Plaza, a small enclave of businesses owned and operated by Jean Saintil and Loretta Sekyere. That includes Jeanelle’s Kitchen, a Caribbean- and Haitian-inspired road-side restaurant with seating for 24 inside and a few patio tables outside that today provides a bit of fiery spice-heat to the Cheney area. A fusion of flavours Having opened last August, the Jea- nelle’s menu features wings and burgers, including a spicy shrimp burger, and a handful of poutines which, of course, includes a jerk chicken variety. The “jerk” style of cooking is a long and deep tradition, especially in Jamaica, and usually includes a spice marinade comprised of allspice and scotch bonnet peppers to add some Scoville scale heat to your food. Jeanelle’s five-item sandwich menu includes a “snap” chicken wrap with crunchy onions, a sweet plantain with a chipotle, a shrimp wrap and beef and chicken sandwiches. Side dishes include veggie spring rolls, perogies, stir fried veg and sautéed mus- hrooms which give the kitchen something of a fusion-cuisine quality. The heart of the menu, though, is what Seykere calles “Caribbean infusion plat- ters:” pan-fried salmon, a chicken breast, oxtail, sauced meatballs and even a dish with ramen noodles. Jeanelle’s jerk chicken provides a good kick of heat, and the goat meat platter was tender and a nice blend of hot and sweet on the palate. Platters come with “island rice” (stud- ded with assorted vegetables including fava beans) or fries, pieces of fried plan- tain, macaroni salad and a spicy home- made dipping sauce. The restaurant also prepares a platter called creole griot which is pork marinaded and seasoned in citrus, braised and then fried: traditionally, when it is served with red beans and rice, it might be considered
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