Jamaica Jerk
Championship
Respect the Jerk. Honor Jamaica.
The Jamaica Jerk Championship exists to answer one question: who gets to define what jerk actually is.
Jerk left Jamaica long ago, carried across kitchens on nearly every continent. A tradition that travels that far eventually needs a standard set on its own soil. Champagne answers to the Champagne region of France. Bourbon answers to Kentucky. Tequila answers to Jalisco, Mexico. Jerk has never had that same accounting, until now. This is that standard, and Jamaicans are the ones who set it. The judges, pitmasters, and chefs who define best in class here are shaped by heritage, trained through education, and proven by experience, the people who have always known what jerk is because they never stopped making it.
The Championship. The Jerk Experience.
The Championship
A judged culinary competition evaluated by a panel of chefs and pitmasters assembled with real intention, establishing a formal standard for jerk cookery on the ground where jerk was born.
- 10 contestants, merit-first selection
- $10,000 grand prize, the largest in a Jamaican jerk competition
- Jamaican-majority judging panel
The Jerk Experience
A parallel program that welcomes chefs, artisan producers, hospitality partners, and food lovers into a wider celebration of Jamaican food and culture, held alongside the Championship.
- 500 guests across the weekend, by design
- The Cliff Hotel & Spa, West End, Negril
- December 4–7, 2026
Assembled With Real Intention
Andrew Black
Born in rural Jamaica; leads a four restaurant footprint in Oklahoma City, including Grey Sweater.
Nicola Blaque
Born in Mandeville, Jamaica. Michelin Bib Gourmand and James Beard semifinalist, Best Chef Texas.
Andre Fowles
Born and raised in Kingston. Three-time Chopped champion and author of My Jamaican Table.
Dae Kim
Youngest chef in NYC history to earn a Michelin star at his own restaurant, trained at Per Se.
Rodney Scott
A lifetime at the pit in Hemingway, South Carolina. Author of Rodney Scott's World of BBQ.
Adrian Miller
Known as the Soul Food Scholar, Adrian is a James Beard Award–winning author and former White House Special Assistant who left law and policy to study Black culinary history full time. As host, he brings the full history of jerk into the room: its roots in Maroon culture and the Blue Mountains, and its living, evolving role in Jamaican culture today.
Negril's West End, at The Cliff Hotel & Spa
Held each December on the cliffs of Negril, the Championship is intentionally intimate. Scale is kept thoughtful on purpose, so the focus stays where it belongs: on the cooking, on the people behind it, and on the discipline it takes to do it well.
An Invitation to Align
Presenting Sponsor
Jamaica's leading name in luxury and residential real estate since 2001, with offices in Kingston and Montego Bay and an island-wide network of agents. Coldwell Banker Jamaica Realty brings that same standard of excellence to its role as Presenting Sponsor.
Sponsor
Meaningful brand association across the event and pre-event marketing, with one defined on-site activation. Limited to one brand per category.
Participant
For competitors, beverage brands, and artisan producers who are part of the championship program itself. Curated invitation, not a booth for rent.
Sign Up for Updates
Judge announcements, application windows, and ticket release dates, sent as they are confirmed. Nothing else.