Jerk and festivals: what’s on a Caribbean Friday plate
Festivals are sweet fried cornmeal dumplings from Jamaica, made to go with jerk. What jerk is, how to eat the two together, and a recipe to try.
The short answer
Festivals are a Jamaican side: a lightly sweetened cornmeal-and-flour dough, rolled into fingers and fried golden, crisp outside and soft inside. Jerk is Jamaica’s way of seasoning meat with allspice (pimento) and Scotch bonnet peppers and cooking it slowly over heat and smoke. Eat them together: a bite of jerk, a bite of festival, and the sweetness cools the heat.
On Caribbean Fridays our smoker serves jerk chicken, jerk pork or BBQ chicken with Jamaican festivals, hot and ready around noon. If you didn’t grow up with this food, here’s what’s on the plate.
What is jerk?
Jerk is Jamaica’s best-known way of seasoning and cooking meat. The marinade is built on two things: allspice, which Jamaicans call pimento, and Scotch bonnet peppers. Most cooks add green onions, thyme, garlic and ginger, and some add a little brown sugar or soy sauce. Then the meat cooks slowly over heat and smoke, traditionally over pimento wood.
The tradition goes back centuries, to Jamaica’s Indigenous Taíno people and to the Maroons, Africans who escaped slavery and made their homes in the island’s mountains. Today you’ll find jerk all over Jamaica, from roadside drum pans to family cookouts, and in Caribbean kitchens across Ontario.
Good jerk tastes smoky first, then warm, with heat that builds as you eat. The allspice brings the warmth: think clove, cinnamon and nutmeg in one berry.
What are festivals?
Festivals are fried dumplings made from cornmeal and flour, lightly sweetened and often with a touch of vanilla. They’re rolled into fingers and fried golden: crisp outside, soft and a little cakey inside. In Jamaica they’re a classic partner for jerk and for fried fish. At Dar’s, they come with every Caribbean Friday plate.
How to eat them together
There are no rules, but here’s how most people do it. Tear off a piece of festival, take a bite of jerk, then a bite of festival. The sweetness and the cornmeal take the edge off the Scotch bonnet. Some people split a festival open and stuff it with jerk chicken. Nobody’s going to stop you.
How hot is it?
Scotch bonnets are serious peppers, so jerk has real heat. How much depends on the cook and the recipe. If you’re heat-shy, BBQ chicken is on the same Friday menu and comes with festivals too.
What to drink and serve alongside
- To drink: a cold ginger beer, a grapefruit soda or a crisp lager. Sorrel, if it’s Christmas.
- On the side at home: rice and peas, fried sweet plantain, a crunchy slaw or a squeeze of lime.
Reheating jerk and festivals
Get leftovers into the fridge within two hours and eat them within 2 to 3 days. To reheat jerk chicken, cover it and warm it in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15 to 25 minutes, until the thickest piece reads 74°C (165°F). That’s Health Canada’s number for reheating leftovers. Uncover it for the last few minutes to crisp the skin. Jerk pork is the same, with a splash of water under the foil.
Festivals want 3 to 5 minutes in a toaster oven or air fryer at 350°F (175°C). Skip the microwave unless you like them chewy.
Try festivals at home
They’re easier than they look, and the recipe card is below. Fry them just before you eat. Festivals are at their best warm.
RECIPE CARD · 12 FESTIVALS
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (150 g) fine yellow cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons (40 g) sugar, white or brown
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- ¾ to 1 cup (175 to 250 mL) water or milk
- Vegetable or canola oil, for frying
Method
- Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
- Add the vanilla and ¾ cup (175 mL) of the water or milk and mix into a dough. Add more liquid a spoonful at a time until it holds together. It should be soft and smooth, not sticky.
- Knead for a minute or two, then cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Heat about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of oil in a heavy pot or deep frying pan to 350°F (175°C).
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll each one into a finger about 5 inches (12 cm) long, a little thicker in the middle, and flatten it slightly.
- Fry a few at a time, turning often, for 4 to 6 minutes, until deep golden all over. Break the first one open to make sure the middle isn’t doughy, and turn the heat down if the outside browns too fast.
- Drain on a wire rack or paper towel and eat them warm.
Questions
What are Jamaican festivals?
Sweet fried dumplings made from cornmeal and flour, rolled into fingers and fried golden. In Jamaica they’re a classic side with jerk and fried fish.
What’s the difference between festivals and fried dumplings?
Both are Jamaican and both are fried. Fried dumplings, also called Johnny cakes, are mostly flour, aren’t sweet and are usually round. Festivals have cornmeal and sugar and are rolled into fingers.
Is jerk chicken very spicy?
It has real heat from Scotch bonnet peppers, and how much depends on the recipe. If you’d rather skip the heat, our Caribbean Friday menu has BBQ chicken with festivals too.
When can I get jerk at Dar’s?
Fridays. Jerk chicken, jerk pork or BBQ chicken with festivals is $13.99 (September 2026 menu), hot and ready around noon. We make limited quantities, so call 519-846-8600 or DM us on Instagram to pre-order.
Food-safety temperatures: source 1, source 2 (Health Canada).