Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook

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Motherland is a cookbook that charts the history of the people, influences and ingredients that uniquely united to create the wonderful patchwork cuisine that is Jamaican food today. Sometimes, the more such top-notch sitcoms go on, the more the characters better themselves. To which Motherland, to borrow the words Julia uses when she is wished a happy Mother’s Day, says: “Oh, shove it up your hole.” The mums (plus Kevin) of Motherland remain a bunch of infantile, and infantilised, horrors. The only character who vaguely redeems herself this season is Amanda (Lucy Punch), when she apologies to Anne for treating her like a doormat (and not even one she would sell at hyggetygge.org). Mind you, immediately afterwards, she launches into an excruciating dance at a PTA fundraiser that “received 400 likes on TikTok”. I will never be able to strip it from my eyeballs. Motherland is a recipe book, but more than that it is a history of the people, influences and ingredients that uniquely united to create the wonderful patchwork cuisine that is Jamaican food today," writes Melissa Thompson in the introduction to her debut cookbook. Melissa Thompson’s enticing Jamaican-inspired cookbook Motherland combines a solemn history of the Caribbean island nation with notes about its delicious food and spirited reputation … Spicy, sweet, rich and varied, the recipes of Motherland evoke the unique wonders of Jamaica’s enduring spirit.” — Foreword

Melissa Thompson’s new book Motherland traces the history of

Leyla Kazim visits Cue Point to hear from Mursal Saiq and Joshua Moroney about their unique ‘British Afghan Fusion BBQ’ that brings an inclusive style of smoking to a wider audience while drawing on diverse culinary heritages. Melissa Thompson, writer, cook and author of Motherland, discusses the central role smoke plays in Jamaican cuisine, and why food and history in the Caribbean are so intertwined.

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Leyla and Robbie sit down to taste some smoky drinks, while pondering the future of traditional methods, and how to balance the world’s love for peated whiskies with peatland restoration. The practice of smoking is one of the world’s oldest food preservation methods, but which techniques are catching fire today, while other processes risk being extinguished? It is often said that food is a direct way of understanding and connecting with other places, peoples and cultures, and this can indeed be true, but you do need to be willing to learn more than recipes for that. And Melissa Thompson’s Motherland is a truly exceptional book, telling the story of Jamaica through its food, which cannot be separated from its history. About this Thompson is direct and — rightly — unsparing, and yet she manages to bring such joy at the same time: this is a true celebration of Jamaican food and Jamaica, not an airbrushed, whitewashed version. The third season of Motherland starts as it means to go on: with an “absolute nitshow”. As an official arrives to brief parents at the state primary school, every unravelling mother in the land will wish she didn’t recognise herself. The nit expert urges parents to comply with the guidelines: “Combing … shampooing … combing again,” which is only marginally less laughable than the government’s “stay alert” slogan it is satirising. But it is not too soon for the pandemic to get the Motherland treatment – if it came in a bottle, it would look, smell and perform precisely like nit shampoo.

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Running through the recipes are essays charting the origins and evolution of Jamaica's famous dishes, from the contribution of indigenous Jamaicans, the Redware and Taíno peoples; the impact of the Spanish and British colonisation; the inspiration and cooking techniques brought from West and Central Africa by enslaved men and women; and the influence of Indian and Chinese indentured workers who came to the island. Author of the Barbecue Bible and Project Smoke, Steven Raichlen, traces the history of smoking from its Palaeolithic origins to present day, and argues that cooking with fire was one of the greatest technological advances in the history of humankind. And then there is one of Jamaica's most famous signature dishes, curry goat – goats were introduced by the Spanish, but the dish was created following "the introduction of indentured servants from India".

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So she wrote this book, what she calls ‘a cookbook with historical narrative,’ weaving Jamaican recipes with essays about the impact of slavery, colonization, and immigration on Jamaica’s cuisine. It’s worth mentioning that this beautiful book includes a map so you can connect flavor with place. There are recipes for the classics, like saltfish fritters, curry goat and patties, as well as Melissa's own twists and family favourites, such as: We hear from producers bringing diverse barbecue and smoking techniques to new audiences, as well as those keeping traditional processes alive. Motherland does not shy away from the brutality of the colonial periods, but takes us on a journey through more than 500 years of history to give context to the beloved island and its cuisine. This beautiful cookbook features in-depth research into the evolution of Jamaica’s food. It charts the contribution of indigenous Jamaicans, the Taino. It follows the impact of colonization, and how the periods under Spanish and British rule left an indelible mark on the nation’s gastronomy, without shying away from their brutality: Eyewitness accounts describe the barbarity of the colonial powers. And it recounts how enslaved men and women from West and Central Africa brought inspiration from home and familiar cooking techniques to create legacy dishes that are still celebrated today. The contribution of Indian and Chinese indentured workers is also examined. These stories are woven into the recipes, so the reader is invested in the dishes they cook.