Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor

Ramon Vernon serves up some janga for his guests. - photos by Rosemary Parkinson

For those attending the Olympics, one can glimpse the offerings of grilled roadside kebabs by Googling: Beijing Fast Food. Scrolling down to: and now for something else - Archive - Beijing Fast Food.

Grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions, lizard legs, iguana tails, snake; there was even dog brain and horse and beef stew! I don't knock any of it, actually, having sampled a few weird things in my travels. I wonder however, if faced with these items I would be so brave with this fare, hmmm. One way of keeping the population of unwanted animals and creepy crawlies down, I guess.

For those who do not believe this particular website (as I did not at first), go to: Wikitravel Beijing for the name of the area where the snack street is - Wangfujing. It also contains some necessary information on the dos, don'ts while visiting this city. As I have always loved Chinese food, I think it would be my kinda town! If food is the thought of love, play on and just eat!

LOVE JAMAICA WILD

I do love when I get a call from Ramon Vernon in Montego Bay inviting me to a 'bush' cook-up. This time I had chef Robert Oliver from New Zealand with me. It was a small gathering of friends at a home set right on a little beach and bay overlooking the city with special guests - the Cuban ambassador's husband, Jorge Crespo and other Cubans living on the island including the owners of Compay Gallo - a Cuban restaurant on the Hip Strip.

Everything had been caught from river and sea or hunted during hunting season and frozen. To watch Ramon seasoning up his fare is something else. I swear no one I know can season like this man. He puts his heart and soul into it. There were; delightful janga, beautifully stewed wild duck, and 'nuff grilled fish of different types - all cooked on open wood fires that never cease to give that wonderful aroma to Jamaican food. Hope the day never comes that this way of cooking is lost, for that would be shamefully sad.

Agreeable fish

Now the piece de resistance that afternoon, was one river bass caught by Ramon - the most agreeable fish I have ever had. As I picked pieces of the plump soft meat from the bone, I just closed my eyes to savour the moment; the divine aroma of river, filled with green algae, seemingly embedded within the flavour itself. Oliver was able to extricate a few pieces from me and agreed that this had to be the most. Ramon says that he does not eat anything that's not wild, that he fishes almost daily for his meals and loves nothing better than good, clean meat.

While I do not propose that we should all be out there in the hot sun trying for hours to get a little something to bite our lines or that we should be running around in de bush looking for edibles; I would like to know that our beef, lamb, pork and chicken in the supermarkets and markets are 'organic'. That our river janga is not blown out of the waters with dynamite, and that our fish are not polluted by what we, ridiculously andfoolishly, throw on to our lands and into our seas.

And for those who are interested in learning about wines, here's some news. Paul Hanworth of 1876 Wines will on Friday May 30, hold a wine-tasting at the Art Centre Olympia Gallery on Old Hope Road, opposite UTech. Tickets are J$500 and proceeds are going to The Step Centre for children with multiple disabilities. The show is titled 'Young at Art' and everyone will find something to purchase for their walls. At the end of June, 1876 Wines will be offering Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Certificate courses that will include lectures, tasting and exams - if you want to receive your diploma. There's more information about WSET at: www.wset.co.uk. Or, contact Paul at wineguy@cwjamaica.com.

Organic farmers

Just two more reminders. First, when visiting Beijing, please be very careful about the Bai jiu - rice wine. I had some once and my face went numb! Secondly, if food is the thought of love, let us remember to eat with the organic farmers at Calabash Literary Festival this coming weekend and play on!

Art is not what we do, it is what we resist doing; especially to ourselves. Excerpt from I Just Want To Say, poem by Lennox Raphael from his poetry book, Word for Three Stories. Poems in Word & Yarn.

Rob, Ramon's hunting partner, chops up conch for the conch stew.

River and sea fish ready for cleaning and seasoning.