Staff WriterDirectly on the heels of her historic James Beard award for Best Chef: South, Caribbean-native Chef Nina Compton will host an intimate pop-up dinner event at Skylark Negril Beach Resort, the new sister property behind Jamaica’s legendary clifftop Rockhouse Hotel. The one-night only culinary event will take place on the new hotel’s open air-deck overlooking Seven Mile Beach on Saturday, July 28th, at 7pm.
All ticket proceeds will benefit Rockhouse Foundation, the charitable arm of Skylark and Rockhouse Hotel, which transforms the places where Jamaica’s children learn and supports the people who teach them. Over the past decade, the Foundation has invested over US$4 million in projects improving education for the children in Western Jamaica.
The five-course jerk-themed menu will be served family style, and will showcase the diversity of Jamaica’s signature ingredient. Menu highlights will include inventive preparations of local beef and seafood, house-made pasta, and fresh produce sourced from Rockhouse’s organic garden, all prepared with the beloved spice blend.
Compton has shaken the culinary world this year, earning accolades for her unique Caribbean-inspired Louisiana cuisine. Her participation in this special pop-up event has her returning to Jamaica, the beloved island she fell in love with while working in a hotel kitchen when she was in her 20’s.
Jamaica’s own Chef Andre Fowles will be supporting Compton in the kitchen on this special evening. The Kingston-born Food Network Chopped “Champion” and New York City-based chef is helping to lead culinary development at the Skylark’s new restaurant – Miss Lily’s – slated to debut in September.
The dinner, priced at $200 per person inclusive of beverage, tax and gratuity, is open to both hotel and non-hotel guests. Reservations must be made in advance, and space is limited to 40 people. For more information and reservations, please email [email protected].
For guests interested in staying at Skylark that weekend, the hotel is offering special room rates of $95 per night.
NINA COMPTON is the St. Lucian chef at the helm of award-winning Compère Lapin in New Orleans and winner of this year’s James Beard Award for ‘Best Chef: South’ – the first black female chef to be honored in this category. She was named one of Food & Wine’s ‘Best New Chefs’ in 2017 and was runner up on Top Chef: New Orleans in 2013. Following her success on Top Chef, in 2015 Compton debuted the immediately acclaimed restaurant Compère Lapin in the heart of the Warehouse Arts District in New Orleans.
In March of this year, just one day before Compton was named a James Beard Award finalist, she debuted her second restaurant — one of the nation’s most anticipated openings. Bywater American Bistro in New Orleans, developed in partnership with her Compère sous Levi Raines, looks at American food “as it is right now.”
Compton’s food mixes the indigenous ingredients and rich culinary heritage of New Orleans with those of her Caribbean roots. She explores the city’s historic ties to the Caribbean, combining her love for French and Italian cuisine with the flavors of where she was born and raised. The result is a playful menu that takes food you know, and makes it food you love. Her meals are about moments, memories and those who surround you at your table.
SKYLARK NEGRIL BEACH RESORT is the highly awaited sister property from the team behind Jamaica’s beloved Rockhouse Hotel. The beautiful boutique resort is situated along Negril’s famous white sand Seven Mile Beach, offering 220 feet of pristine beachfront and sweeping views of the turquoise Caribbean sea. Encircled by two acres of lush property, Skylark offers chic affordability, where retro vibes meet modern design, drawing inspiration from the naturally vibrant color palette of Jamaica.
Skylark Negril Beach Resort will officially debut this fall season, with special preview rates available now through September 7th. When Skylark opens, it will be home to the first Jamaican outpost of Miss Lily’s restaurant – a homecoming for the beloved Caribbean oasis born in the heart of New York City. Miss Lily’s Chef Andre Fowles has split time between Jamaica and New York to lead menu and team development at the new restaurant. During the hotel’s preview opening phase, the kitchen is serving a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu until Miss Lily’s signature restaurant design is complete.
ANDRE FOWLES is the Kingston-born chef and the first Jamaican-born and youngest chef to compete and win on Food Network’s show Chopped – winning twice and then runner-up in the Grand Championship tournament. In 2016, Jamaica Observer named 28-year-old Fowles “Chef of the Year” and Culinary Ambassador.
His passion for the culinary arts began as a child cooking sweet potato pudding and other local Jamaican specialties with his grandmother. At age 17, Fowles began his fine dining experience at Mac’s Chop House, where he worked with renowned Chef Mario Machado for two years, then served as Sous Chef at Round Hill Hotel & Villas, working under award-winning Executive Chef Martin Maginley where he mastered the art of fine-dining and contemporary Caribbean cuisine. After four years at Round Hill, Fowles moved to New York City, landing at one of the city’s most popular Caribbean restaurants: Miss Lily’s, a tropical Caribbean oasis located in the heart of downtown Manhattan. At Miss Lily’s, Andre has brought his modern and innovative approach to Caribbean cuisine by introducing authentic Jamaican flavors and techniques to the kitchen. Andre continues to work with Miss Lily’s as the brand expands internationally and has been working on establishing the newest location at Skylark in Negril.
THE ROCKHOUSE FOUNDATION has completely transformed and modernized six schools – in addition to the complete renovation and expansion of the Negril Community Library – directly impacting the lives of thousands of young people and their families. The Foundation’s most recent and ambitious project to date is the completion of the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Infant Academy (SIIA), which is the first inclusion model, mixed ability, special needs early childhood school in the Western half of Jamaica, and the first training center of its kind to support educators and families.
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