If you’re looking for a positive thing you can say about the lockdowns, they do seem to have given a lot of people the push they needed to open their own business.
One such lockdown- generated company is Jam Delish. Co-founder Jordan Johnson was furloughed during lockdown, which is when he took that opportunity to start up his own popup.
Jordan, whose mother is Australian and Dad is from Jamaica found it hard to get his favourite traditional Caribbean dishes once he turned vegan. “So, I thought, here’s a gap in the market.”
Jam Delish popped up first as a dark delivery kitchen in Wimbledon alongside appearances at various Kerb markets and festival gigs before going down a storm as one of the Sun and 13 Canton’s residencies.
When that finished Jordan busied himself cooking for the likes of US rapper and movie star Common, leading Black Panther actress Letitia Wright, British actress Lily James and England football player Raheem Sterling. They have become a major distinguished player and purveyor of high quality, creative and deliciously crafted Caribbean vegan food in the United Kingdom, and are now taking Jam Delish to the next level, opening their first flagship restaurant in Angel, Islington.
For the new restaurant, they’ve brought in head chef Nathan Collymore to head up the kitchen. Collymore, an ex-Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen alumnus, is of Caribbean heritage, with Jam Delish giving him the first real opportunity to cook his own cuisine. According to Jordan “We’re taking Caribbean food to the next level. It’s not fine dining, but it’s also not casual in terms of how the food is plated and the ingredients we’re using.”
On the new menu, dishes will include:
• Island Trio and Grilled Roti – Jerk baba ghanoush, plantain hummus, burnt spring onion and chilli butter, grilled roti
• “Saltfish” Tostones – “Saltfish”, peppers, twice fried green plantain, samphire, scotch bonnet mayonnaise
• “Oxtail” Stew – Jackfruit and wild mushroom “oxtail” stew, butterbeans, herb cassava dumplings, plantain, Jamaican sweet potato, rice and peas, crispy onions
• Jerk “Chicken” Wings with Rice and Peas – Jam Delish marinated “chicken” wings, rice and peas, Caribbean fried cabbage, Jamaican sweet potato, fried plantain, Jamaican gravy
Desserts sound just as enticing including a chocolate ice-cream sandwich served with Guinness punch sauce and mango and coconut tart.
The restaurant has its own bar space to serve up their signature Jam Delish cocktails along with a range of vegan wines, Champagne and beers. And there’ll be a terrace space too, which will open once we hit warmer weather.
Jordan Johnson, Jam Delish co-founder commented:
“We’re so excited to be launching our first ever Jam Delish flagship restaurant. My sister and I have grown up in Tooting but are from Caribbean heritage – we both made the decision to go vegan many years ago now but always missed the authentic Caribbean dishes we grew up on, so from here we started experimenting and have managed to create vegan versions of our favourite Caribbean meals over the years – and in all honesty, you wouldn’t know the difference!”
“The recipes have been perfected so much over the years that my vegan and meat-eater friends alike just can’t get enough, when they come to visit – a hot favourite is definitely the vegan jerk ‘chicken wings’ on the ‘bone’ and our curry ‘goat’. After enjoying the dishes so much ourselves and amongst friends we decided to share the experience for others seeking plant- based versions of their favourite Caribbean dishes, by launching Jam Delish in 2020.
We have some amazing events lined up for the new year including the first ever Jam Delish bottomless brunch at our new flagship restaurant in Angel, Islington.
