On Saturday, December 6, The Cliff Hotel & Spa in Negril becomes the stage for what we believe will be the most significant celebration of Jamaican jerk culture ever assembled. Jamaican pitmasters will compete before a panel of world-class culinary judges — Rodney Scott, Andrew Black, Andre Fowles, Nicola Blaque, and Dae Kim — with a national title on the line.
Meet the Judges
Chef Rodney Scott is one of the most celebrated pitmasters in American history and only the second pitmaster ever to receive a James Beard Award, taking home Best Chef Southeast in 2018. He's been featured on Netflix's Chef's Table: BBQ, judged five seasons of Food Network's BBQ Brawl, and published his cookbook Rodney Scott's World of BBQ. His restaurants span Charleston, Birmingham, Atlanta, and Nashville.
Chef Andrew Black was born and raised in rural Jamaica, forging his culinary career through the island's resort kitchens and staged placements in European fine dining before building a four-restaurant empire in Oklahoma City anchored by Black Walnut and Grey Sweater. He's the 2023 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Southwest.
Chef Andre Fowles grew up in Kingston, trained at the Culinary Institute of America, and earned recognition as a three-time Chopped champion and semifinalist on Chopped: Grand Champions. He's cooked at the James Beard House, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, Food & Wine, and Bon Appétit. His debut cookbook, My Jamaican Table, was published in March 2026 with a foreword by Bruce Springsteen.
Chef Nicola Blaque was born in Jamaica, trained at the Culinary Institute of America, and opened The Jerk Shack in San Antonio — named one of America's 16 best new restaurants in its first year and awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand. A James Beard nominee, she's one of the most compelling voices in Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine working in the United States today.
Chef Dae Kim trained at three-Michelin-starred Per Se before opening Nōksu, his Korean-inspired fine dining restaurant in New York City, which earned a Michelin star in its first year — making him the youngest chef in NYC history to do so, a milestone chronicled on Apple TV in the debut episode of Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars. He did it again the following year, the year he turned 30. His fluency across Korean, French, Chinese, and Japanese culinary traditions makes him one of the most intellectually engaged palates at the table.
Cultural Correspondent and Master of Ceremonies
Adrian Miller brings extraordinary depth to the weekend as Cultural Correspondent and MC. A Stanford and Georgetown Law graduate and former White House official under President Clinton, Miller is a two-time James Beard Award winner — his books Soul Food and Black Smoke each earned the James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship. His presence alone makes this weekend something worth witnessing.
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