pomegranates and more. The terrain
demands terraced farming; barriers
of stone and aromatic couscous
grass fight soil erosion.
But that doesn’t stop Murdock from cultivating a dazzling
array of other crops on his 75-acre property. He has herbs: six
types of basil, cilantro, chives, lemongrass, tarragon (“my
favourite herb — I use it in everything,” he says). Vegetables, too:
arugula, pattypan squash, Oriental eggplant, heirloom tomatoes.
And microgreens, his flagship: from mint and carrot tops to red
cabbage and red amaranth.
He invites us to taste popcorn sprouts, which grow in the dark
to preserve their sweet corn flavour. He perches a fresh-picked
coconut on his tractor, hacks it open with a machete, and invites
us to savour the milk. He plucks a fig from a tree; its intense
freshness astonishes.
My wife Oxana and I are visiting Murdock because of dinner
the previous night. It was a Chef’s Showcase, scheduled five
nights a week at Negril’s Sunset at the Palms, a tranquil,
treehouse-style resort where we cossetted ourselves to renew
wedding vows. The dinner fired our senses: the beauty of
twinkling lights strung through a canopy of palm trees, the deep
chirp of tree frogs, the fragrance of frangipani and pink ginger,
the caress of a gentle Caribbean breeze.
And taste — oh, the tastes. From an outdoor cooking station
came a steady stream of magnificent dishes: perfectly seared
mahi-mahi with microgreens and risotto in orange butter sauce;
velvety pumpkin ginger bisque; a salad featuring roasted cherry
tomatoes in balsamic vinaigrette; a grilled lamb chop with
herbed potato mash and coffee sauce; a lemon-strawberry
gâteau stuffed with mascarpone and chocolate ganache.
The resort’s chef, Dwight Morris, called Murdock one of his
secret weapons. They met in 2012. Fascinated by the farmer’s
products, Morris started buying them the following year. “I didn’t
want regular stuff from commercial suppliers out there,” Chef
Morris said. “It takes so long to ship imported vegetables here
that they aren’t at their best. I was blown away when I visited the
farm with the variety of his crops and his knowledge and
passion.” Morris even persuaded Murdock to buy and sow seeds
just for Sunset at the Palms — among them seedless
watermelons, heirloom tomatoes, edible flowers and sweet corn.
That doesn’t come cheap, of course, but in 2017 the resort
doubled its daily per person food budget. That allowed Morris to
purchase from other local providers, too, visiting to see how they
produce things. “We want to be the food destination for Negril
and long-term for the Caribbean,” the chef said.OX
AN
A
SA
W
KA68 TAST E&^ TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL^ APRIL–JUNE 2019
DINING FARM-TO-TABLE
JA
M
A
IC
A