“If the industry won’t give it to us, we’ll give it to ourselves”: how a Caribbean food festival in East London is changing our perception of jerk

Mclarty spent his formative teenage years in Jamaica, and revisited earlier this year following Hurricane Melissa. “This festival is personal for me,” he commented. “I know what authentic jerk is and how it should be represented, and coming back to the UK without seeing that, I want to revive it and uphold the standard.”

So Hackney Wick became, for the weekend, a little Jamaica – with street food vendors hawking their takes on the best jerk recipes to a live soundtrack of reggae and dancehall.

At the heart of the festival, 11 vendors went toe-to-toe for three awards that celebrate the community’s excellence: Best Jerk in the UK and Jerk Innovation, chosen by the attendees, and the Judge’s Choice, chosen by a panel from Caribbean food culture.

Street food from Yard 2 Yard, one of this year’s winners

As for who won the top prizes?

Best Jerk in the UK

The thousands of Jerk Fest attendees crowned Yard 2 Yard the best in the country. The award-winning team are based out of Romford. Find them cooking until 9pm daily at Sandys 111.

Jerk Innovation

The guys at Quick Tingz say they’re “inspired by soul food, rooted in Caribbean flavours”, and their recipes won them the title of best Jerk Innovation. The team currently caters from their base in North West London – keep an eye on their Instagram to see where they’re popping at festivals and street food events throughout the year.

Judge’s Choice

Whats On The Menu Ish was awarded by the expert Jerk Fest judging panel: find the Caribbean seafood specialists near Hackney Wick six days a week to judge for yourself.