June 19, 2026
We built the judging panel with great care. We were equally careful about who would hold the story of the weekend.
A panel of five judges will determine who cooked the best jerk. That is the competition. But jerk carries something that a scorecard cannot fully capture: centuries of history, Maroon heritage, African diaspora foodways, and a culinary tradition that belongs to Jamaica in a way that demands to be understood, not just tasted. Someone needed to hold that story with the same seriousness the judges bring to the craft.
We are honored to announce that Adrian Miller will serve as Cultural Correspondent and Host of the inaugural Jamaica Jerk Championship.
Adrian Miller is the Soul Food Scholar — a James Beard Award-winning author and a Stanford-trained attorney who left law to dedicate his career to the study of Black culinary culture. His book Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue traces the deep, largely untold history of Black pitmasters and their foundational role in shaping American barbecue. His earlier work, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, won the James Beard Award. He does not present food as entertainment. He presents food as history, memory, and consequence.
Jerk is one of the great fire traditions of the world. Its roots run through Maroon culture, through the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, through centuries of resistance, adaptation, and mastery. When the judges evaluate a cook’s work in that room in Negril, the weight behind that evaluation goes back further than any of us can fully see. Adrian Miller can see further than most.
His role as Cultural Correspondent and Host means he is the narrative voice of the entire weekend, ensuring every guest leaves understanding not just what they witnessed, but why it was significant.
The Championship takes place December 4–6, 2026, at The Cliff Hotel and Spa in Negril, Jamaica.
National in soul. International in stature.
Respect the Jerk.
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