Walkerswood Jerk Festival raises funds for community projects

The Walkerswood Community Centre in St Ann was transformed into a showcase of Jamaican cuisine and community spirit as more than 1,000 people attended the annual Walkerswood Jerk Festival, supported by CB Chicken.

The festival featured 30 local vendors, including 12 jerk vendors and competition entrants, alongside family-oriented attractions such as a Kiddies’ Corner, games, live entertainment and crowd favourites including the Strong Woman and Strong Man Challenge.

Beyond celebrating Jamaica’s culinary traditions, the community-led event serves as a fundraiser for projects supporting the Walkerswood Basic School, Community Centre and Post Office. This year’s staging carried added significance as the community continued recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa.

The event also underscored the longstanding relationship between CB Chicken and Walkerswood, which serves as the official seasoning sponsor of the CB Foods PAN Competition. Both brands said the partnership reflects a shared commitment to promoting Jamaican flavours and supporting the vendors, chefs and entrepreneurs who sustain the country’s vibrant food culture.

“Partnerships aren’t just about working together; they’re about showing up for each other,” said Samantha Fisher, assistant brand manager at CB Foods. “Walkerswood has been a longstanding PAN partner, so supporting the Jerk Festival in their community was an easy decision. It allowed us to celebrate Jamaican food, invest in local talent and strengthen the communities we both serve.”

At the centre of the festival was a collaboration built around authentic Jamaican jerk. Walkerswood’s ready-to-use jerk seasoning was paired with CB Chicken products, providing vendors and competitors with a foundation on which to create their own interpretations of the popular local dish.

CB Chicken supplied 12 cases of chicken to vendors and entrants in the Walkerswood Jerk Competition, helping to keep grills busy throughout the day. Competitors presented a range of jerk offerings, with Andrew Reid of Nonsuch taking top honours and Troy Clarke of Troy’s Mobile Jerk Hut placing second.

Head judge Chef Mark Cole, executive chef at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel and a resident PAN judge, said participants had struck a balance between innovation and tradition.

“Jerk is one of Jamaica’s greatest culinary traditions. The passion and skill on display made selecting a winner incredibly difficult,” said Cole.

Festival organisers credited CB Chicken with helping to establish and sustain the event over the past four years.

“CB Chicken has supported the festival from its inception four years ago, and it has been a truly fruitful partnership,” said Wendy Laws, committee secretary of the Walkerswood Community Development Committee. “We’re excited to continue growing that relationship and exploring even greater opportunities together.”

The company’s contribution will extend beyond the festival itself. CB Chicken has pledged to donate deep freezers to Walkerswood Basic School and Walkerswood Academy, a move intended to improve food-storage capacity for students and staff.

For Fisher, however, the festival’s greatest achievement lay in its impact on the wider community.

“The most meaningful part of the festival was seeing what food can do beyond the plate,” Fisher said. “It brought the community together, supported local entrepreneurs and showcased incredible culinary talent. That’s what our mantra Eat. Live. Love. Do Better. means to us – using food to bring people together, create opportunities and strengthen the communities we serve.”

The partnership between Walkerswood and CB Chicken is expected to continue through future initiatives, including the upcoming ‘Fulla Vibes, Fulla Flava’ promotion, which will pair CB Chicken tray packs with Walkerswood’s ready-to-use jerk seasoning for consumers seeking to recreate authentic jerk dishes at home.