With Carnival now in our rearview mirror, I regret not taking full advantage of my opportunity and heading there for some jerk chicken. Jerk is pretty easy to find all over London, but there’s one place that takes jerk and other Jamaican recipes and puts a spin on them with a bit of fusion.
The store in question is Twerk’N’Jerk, the owner of which I have had the privilege of chatting with in the past. Tyron spoke at length and with great passion about how he makes his food and what goes into it, so I had to taste it myself.
I believed the hype before I went, not only because of Tyrone’s passion for its food but because it has received loads of praise online, winning its way onto Sage’s Small Business Xl scheme. After going I don’t think they got enough hype.
Tyrone is of mixed heritage, Jamaican and Cypriot. This has melded into his cooking to create a restaurant that incorporates both, bringing something new to the jerk game.
When I went along, I was at first in awe of where their new booth was. I hadn’t heard of the Mercato Metropolitano before, and for those who aren’t aware, it’s a huge food hall and community marker in what was once a disused parking lot.
It has a beautiful wooden interior, with long aisles of food shops. I found Twerk’N’Jerk and Tyron behind the counter talking to a customer. What was lovely to see is that Tyron was fully engaged, talking about shared experiences and laughing. His good nature and easy-going manner are absolutely contagious, and it really shows in the way he gets to know customers as he serves them.
As I was ordering, another happy customer asked Tyron if they could take some sauce home, and he was happy to oblige.
The meal was really delicious. The chicken was tender and flavorful, well paired with the other components. The rice was so much better than many I’ve had, and the mango salad – mango, cucumber and tomato – was a perfect bit of extra sweetness to the meal. Tyron told me this was the fusion part of the meal, taking a traditional Turkish salad and adding mango to combine his heritage.
The part of the meal I raved about the most was the spicy slaw. Really amazing and just so simple. The crunch, freshness and taste was a 10 out of 10 supplement, and something I want to try to make myself.
Tempura Plantain was just as good as it sounded, soft and sweet plantain in a delicious batter with a jerk aioli on top. Sublime. The jerky was £12, with plantains £5 and both had me full for breakfast the next day even after eating them at lunchtime.
I cannot recommend Twerk’N’Jerk enough, and I will tell anyone who will listen how great it is.
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