nigel spence

A Caribbean Recipe for Sea Scallops

A Caribbean Recipe for Octopus Ceviche

A fresh and delightful way to enjoy the summer heat is with this easy octopus recipe. Many people are very intimidated by the idea of cooking octopus but it is actually really easy to master. Simply start with a great …

Nigel Spence: A Recipe for Roasted Cho Cho

With Spring in the air, we tend to lighten up on the heavy winter meals to shed those pounds in anticipation of the great unveiling of the summer fashion and the body that fits in them. I start leaning heavily …

A Recipe for Jamaican Cucumber Salad

With the Paleo diet gaining even more momentum moving into the new year, there is a constant search for new and interesting side dishes that are not heavily processed to accompany the main dishes at the table. This recipe looks …

Nigel Spence: How to Make Salted Codfish Cookup From Jamaica

Salted Codfish is ubiquitous in the Caribbean kitchen, but we rarely find it being consumed fresh. Fresh codfish is worlds away from salted cod in texture and taste having a very flaky, tender meat and mild flavor. It is the …

Curried Cabbage, the Perfect Caribbean Vegan Recipe

Sometimes trying to stick with a vegan diet, you can hit a wall trying to come up with new and exciting things to cook. Today was one of those days for me. It didn’t help that my fridge and cupboards …

How to Make Paella, Caribbean Style

So much of the seafood we eat today is farm raised on crappy diets with all kinds of additives, hormones antibiotics etc. that when I saw some wild shrimp from the ocean along with some octopus from Spain available, I …

Nigel Spence: A Holiday Brussel Sprouts Recipe

With the holidays upon us once again my thoughts always turn to new and improved recipes for the many dinners to be hosted during the season. Lately I have been on a mission to update side dishes that usually don’t …

A Great Caribbean Mushroom Recipe

By Nigel Spence Mushrooms are generally not high on the list of foods that Caribbean folks hold in high regard. That may be because we are not and have never been a mushroom growing or consuming society. What I was …

A Caribbean Harissa Recipe

By Nigel Spence CJ Contributor Shifting toward a whole food plant-based diet requires quite a bit of changes in the way one eats and presents quite a challenge in keeping the dishes interesting. Bold flavors along with great eye appeal …

How to Make a Beachy Caribbean Salad

By Nigel Spence CJ Contributor Finally, a breath of fresh air coupled with new beginnings, signifying another season of Spring. With renewed energy and vigor, we start to clear out the old and refresh with the new – usually reserved …

A Recipe for Caribbean Stuffed Plantain Boats — And the Memory of a Chef

By Nigel Spence CJ Contributor Many years ago, back in Culinary school, I can never forget this particularly hardcore instructor who trained me in fish fabrication and cooking. Every day upon arrival at 6am for class, he would add just …

Nigel Spence: The Perfect Caribbean Summer Cocktail

By Nigel Spence CJ Contributor It’s funny how suddenly we New Yorkers have to be paying attention to the fact that the hurricane season began June 1st. It’s as if we became tropical overnight and no-one bothered to update us. …

Nigel Spence: Two New Recipes for Thanksgiving

By Nigel Spence CJ Contributor As the Thanksgiving Holiday rolls around, with it comes a flurry of activity and excitement as families prepare to master the most important of all meals – the Thanksgiving Feast. Supermarket shelves fully stacked with …