It’s been a while — 10 months, to be exact — since Chef Brian Lumley left our shores for Doha, Qatar. He has, during this time, been in development mode for Aspire Katara Hospitality, under whose umbrella will fall a Caribbean-themed restaurant that will form part of the ‘Marina Project’ located at the most prominent location in Qatar, notably West Bay, overlooking the Pearl Island and The Persian Gulf, complete with eight over-the-water bungalows. The 200-seat restaurant slated for a summer 2017 opening will see Lumley as its consulting head chef. A typical day for Lumley commences at 11:00 am and ends at 9:00 pm. First order of business is meeting with management and colleagues, then on to a test kitchen where Caribbean and Latin American dishes are experimented with, in the hopes of creating something new and different.

Herein lies the pressure. “It’s a dry spot,” says Lumley, “so the food must wow.”

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To this end, hours are spent in the test kitchen, but this is a unique opportunity for Lumley to elevate Jamaican and, by extension, Caribbean cuisine. “Qataris follow the religion of Islam and shun alcohol and pork. They enjoy Indian, Turkish and Lebanese cuisine. Our food [Jamaican] is therefore familiar, as it is flavourful. What’s new and impresses their palates are our spices — our pimento, Scotch bonnet pepper, jerk — and ackee. I shipped some, but we also get supplies from the United Kingdom,” explains Lumley.

When asked about the pressure of coming up with innovative plates, Lumley’s response is, “I am under pressure but it’s the type of pressure I thrive on.”

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There was, thankfully, no pressure Monday afternoon at the Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies’ idyllic McCook’s Pen compound. Indeed, Lumley found the lush landscaped property, blue skies and mild temperature decidedly relaxing, and a welcome change from the arid Qatar landscape. It was inspiring enough for him to make the change from serving Qatar royalty to serving Christopher Levy, president and CEO of one of the most advanced and diversified agricultural producers in any developing nation today, and a few of his executives.

Lumley’s three-course lunch demonstrated just how much he has embraced the various cultures into which he has immersed himself. Cream of pumpkin and sweet potato chicken soup with garlic croutons was the first course. The hearty yet light starter raised expectations, which were not dashed with the entree — deboned chicken thighs stuffed with callaloo rice with a cilantro onion salad, green hummus and beetroot creamy potatoes.

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Here’s how Lumley described lunch. “Who doesn’t love pumpkin soup? Today’s is a balance of flavours. When the pumpkin was not where I wanted it I added a little bit of honey, then the sweet potato. There were no bones in your Best Dressed Chicken entree because the bones were used in the soup. Maximum use was made of each ingredient. Simple, but certainly not simplistic! A lot of work went on behind the scenes.

“The entree was the deboned Best Dressed Chicken thigh. I added Scotch bonnet pepper, cilantro and parsley to the hummus to increase the taste profile. Grapeseed oil is a neutral oil, unlike olive oil that adds a different taste to the palate. It’s light and refreshing, so I used it to blend before I separated the green oil and added the sediments. The sediments are what I used to add colour to the hummus, and here’s a great tip: blend it with ice and it comes out refreshingly smooth and full of flavour. It’s perfect with grilled meats!

“The jerk chicken was grilled, stuffed with callaloo rice and served with beetroot mash potatoes. Beetroot is consumed a lot in Qatar, so I incorporated it in the entrée as an homage of sorts to the Middle East. It’s my first time doing beetroot mash. I used two separate ones, so when combined in piping bags; they become a nice rich colour. Indeed, beetroot gives a beautiful colour when mixed with potatoes or anything white, plus it’s excellent for the blood.”

Lumley’s last words: “The experience that I’m gaining starting a kitchen from scratch, working with architects from Italy and interior designers from Switzerland, is invaluable. As is attending board meetings with different companies and being in a room with everyone hazarding a guess as to who this youngster is!”

Invaluable, indeed, we concur, in between mouthfuls of dessert — assorted macaroons with dulce de leche ice cream and exotic fruits.