October 2017, Jamaica: The cool and hilly terrain of Content Gap, St Andrew was the site for strawberry-inspired Brunch on the Farm last week Wednesday. “This is just an absolutely splendid venue,” country manager of Nestlé Jamaica Daniel Caron told Thursday Food . “We're delighted, on behalf of Nestlé, to be here, to share with the children and reinforce healthy lifestyle. Plus, we are on a strawberry farm and so are able to incorporate them as part of a balanced diet.”
The brunch, a prelude to Nestlé's International Chefs' Day celebration, dubbed 'Foods for Healthy Heroes', was an initiative to raise awareness and healthy eating habits among children and as such included students and staff from St Jude's and Seaview Gardens Primary schools.
Guest of honour was the wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Member of Parliament for East Rural St Andrew Juliet Holness. Holness, whose initiative it was to focus on high-value niche crops like strawberries that would flourish in the cooler climates of East Rural St Andrew, was proud to partake of the brunch that included locally grown strawberries.
“I found this morning an absolute delight,” she told Thursday Food. It is wonderful in that it promotes strawberries that we have been pushing in Jamaica. However, it was very special because we were promoting healthy eating and I think it's a commendable and noble gesture on behalf of Nestlé, having our children appreciate that they should have a healthy, balanced diet and that fruits, particularly strawberries, can be used in unique ways to create great menu options.”
Using freshly picked organic strawberries grown by community farmer Fitzroy Mais, From Thought to Finish's Chef Jacqui Tyson highlighted the versatility of strawberries by creating tasty and nutritious meals including the 'Mix Up & Blenda', containing Cheerios layered with strawberries and topped with Lucky Charms, an entrée of triangular waffles topped with strawberries, French crêpes filled with glazed strawberries, and strawberry smoothies. The children, who were flabbergasted that healthy eating could be so delicious, eagerly tucked into their meals.
The initiative closed in fine style on Friday, October 20 with Nestlé's celebration of International Chefs' Day. Selected children were invited to the Nestlé Jamaica corporate office's show kitchen where they joined Chef Jacqui Tyson and created their own healthy dishes. See Pages 15-17.
Article reprinted from Jamaica Observer: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/thursday-life-food/nestle-brunch-on-the-farm-everything-strawberry-_114379?profile=1271
