They’ve hosted royals, elevated island flavors, and now they’re letting you in on one of their signature dishes.
For Jamaican chefs Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau, food, quite literally, is in their DNA. The sisters cherish memories of being five years old, mixing soaked fruit, flour, and eggs in a large wash tub for the family’s cherished Christmas pudding and getting to lick the tub as a reward. Their mother was a skilled cook and frequently hosted dinner parties. Their great-grandmother, known for her criss-cross patties, owned Kingston’s Royal Café dating back to the 1920s.
As teenagers, Michelle and Suzanne cooked dinner for friends and continued the tradition when they were art majors in college. Still, “We had no intention of going into the culinary field,” Suzanne shares. “We fell into it.” As young adults, their mother turned over grocery shopping and cooking duties to them. They did such a good job that when their aunt decided not to open a café in their mother’s retail space in Kingston, their mom suggested they open one themselves. Café Bella opened in 1996. Then in their 20s, and determined to be different, the outdoor, 20-table, European-style café served pastas, salads, bruschetta and featured jazz music. “There was nothing like it in Kingston,” says Suzanne.
They broke norms and have for the last 30 years. Their mission, according to Michelle, is “to elevate Jamaican cuisine and how it is perceived outside this country — for it to be seen in a bigger way.” says Michelle. One way they do so is by calling out the misappropriation of jerk. “It’s not a seasoning to be sold on a store shelf, but a method of cooking,” Michelle notes. “It’s an adjective, noun, a verb. So much about Jamaica has been narrowed down to jerk, but Jamaica’s food culture is vast, undiscovered.”
That’s why the sisters, both in their 50s now, won’t take off their chef hats anytime soon. Their latest endeavor launched this summer. Two Sisters offers bespoke experiences on the historic Rockfield estate. Take cooking and mixology classes, a walk in the hills with a traditional Jamaican breakfast afterwards, enjoy alfresco dining with rural Jamaican cuisine cooked over a live fire on a 300-year-old pimento BBQ, or explore the history and techniques of jerk, among other elevated offerings.
The culinary rock stars’ successes include restaurants, boutiques, award-winning cookbooks, including Caribbean Potluck and Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking, as well as the TV series they produced and starred in, Two Sisters and a Meal. They’ve done events for crowds of 5,000 and fêtes like the official dinner honoring Prince Charles in 2008. To say their journey has been interesting is an understatement. While they took several courses from the Culinary Institute of America, in New Hyde Park, New York, they’ve learned best by getting in the kitchen.
“There were so many challenges, being young females in a third world country — from things like power outages, water being cut off, extra costs for generators and assisting with transportation for employees, to getting funding, as the early 90s were a difficult time financially in Jamaica. We started our business with debt, taught ourselves accounting and created our own standards and methods of doing business,” says Michelle.
“The food service space is divided, with the professional chefs in their jackets and domestics. Some people looked down on us, couldn’t understand why after going to university we would go into the food space,” Michelle adds. “We were going against the grain.” What people didn’t get, explains Suzanne, is “service isn’t servitude.” Their parents’ encouragement helped drown out the naysayers.
Now though, the buzz is about the path they’ve carved. “We are known to be style makers, for delivering classy, elegant weddings and corporate events,” says Michelle. Their signature is that they celebrate Caribbean life and culture by elevating simple foods, be it herring, salt fish, yams, grilled meat, and other local fare. Expect layers of flavors, fresh herbs, vinegar, and more. Their former restaurant, Summerhouse, in Harmony Hall’s Great House near Ocho Rios, was legendary for its brunch. Favorites included the innovative Scotch Bonnet cornbread with charred tomato butter, and fish cakes with plantain salsa.
“Food speaks to me. I look at what I have and create. I love cooking over a fire. It’s a past life thing. I don’t know how the hell I knew how to cook over fire,” says Michelle. “We keep things simple, like country life — something that takes three or four steps to make, and not too fancy,” she adds. Suzanne is the salad and sauce guru. Setting the table elegantly with flowers and antiques, creating a beautiful atmosphere is her specialty.
Joy is seen as a sign of a successful night. “When people are getting a bit rowdy, when you hear the sounds of people having a good time, you know memories are being made,” says Michelle.
They’re excited about the Two Sisters experience, a project three years in the making. They competed for and got a grant to help with funding. They hope the variety of activities add to the Jamaica story. Through food, says Michelle, “We want elevated country hospitality to show people a side of Jamaica they might never see. There’s more to Jamaica than sun, surf and an all-inclusive resort.”
Grilled Chicken With Spicy West Indian Salsa Verde
(Yields 8 to 10 servings)
4 pounds mixed chicken parts, cleaned
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch of scallions
8 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh cilantro
½ Scotch Bonnet pepper
¼ cup fresh lime juice (from about six limes)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds mixed chicken parts, cleaned
For the Spicy West Indian Salsa Verde
(Makes about 2 ½ cups)
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh chadon beni (culantro) or cilantro
1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
½ cup chopped scallions
1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped
1½ cup olive oil
½ cup water
6 tablespoons lime juice (from about eight limes)
1 Scotch Bonnet, cut in half without seeds
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon peeled and chopped ginger
In a blender, combine the oil, scallion, garlic, ginger, thyme, cilantro, scotch bonnet, lime juice, salt and pepper and purée. Transfer to a baking dish or resealable plastic bag and add the chicken, tossing to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the spicy West Indian Salsa Verde, in a food processor or blender, combine the parsley, chadon beni, garlic, scallions, thyme, olive oil, water, lime juice, lime zest, scotch bonnet, salt and ginger, and blend well.
Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes per side, turning once until the outside is charred. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and toss with some of the Salsa Verde, saving the remainder for garnish. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F. Transfer the chicken into a platter. Drizzle with more Salsa Verde and serve.
