-It's a cloudy Sunday afternoon at Windows on the Water in Morro Bay. FF chefs have been delayed almost a day in this exhibition due to a water main break, and most of the chefs at this point are pretty cranky.
However, the signature smile of Jerólde Jámes remains; he's happy just to be here in the first place. Jerólde Jámes (hair AWL day HAH mess) knows his newfound place here at Feast Fest, and he's planning to become one of the first ever chefs to fearlessly incorporate classic Spanish cuisine influences into Thanksgiving dinner.
Jámes cannot be called the first chef to have mastered Latin cuisine; many American chefs in FF have studied the vibrant gastronomic traditions of Spain, Mexico, and Latin America. Peter Dumas was raised in Latin hotbed Miami and has significant Spanish heritage on his mother's side.
What sets Jámes apart, however, is his distinction as the first ever chef to come straight from Mexico. Though officially an American citizen--he was born in 1983 in New York City--he spent most of his childhood in Monterrey.
"The culinary culture there was as vibrant as ever," says Jámes. "It's where most of my cooking influence comes from." A 2009 graduate of Cordon Bleu Schools Los Angeles, Latin cuisine was his undoubted forte.
His journey to Feast Fest began in 2010 during a "horizon-expanding" effort. "We had chefs representing nearly every type of cuisine in the world, but for the increasingly critical Hispanic patronage, we had next to nothing in terms of culinary expertise in that category," says Arthur Ayeiy, an advisor to Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt.
"So we looked to Mexico." What they found there was a land full of delicious foods, but what they needed was a chef who could incorporate Latin styles into the Thanksgiving meal perfectly without clouding its all-American air. "We've been able to achieve this with other international chefs," says Ayeiy. "We have had the ability to make the Feast Fest meal distinctly American while at the same time adding flavors from all around the world: Chinese, Japanese, French, Creole, Russian."
Jámes had known of Feast Fest since 2003, but thought little of joining until it embarked on its "flavor-expansion journey" from 2004 to 2009, which added such chefs as Lisa Choi, Jacqueline Pierce, the (Russian) Jones brothers, and Guilliame Jacquetaine to Feast Fest.
"I had already been deeply interested in the American holiday of Thanksgiving, what it meant and what it stood for." By 2007, Jámes was headcheffing La Comer Poco, a four-star in Puerto Vallarta. When FF swung through in 2010 on its attempt to add a Mexican chef, Jámes's interest was piqued; so were the scouters'.
"He added such vim and vigor to the kitchen atmosphere, we knew he would be a perfect fit," says Head Scouter Jim Dall.
In December 2010, Jerólde Jámes signed with Feast Fest. Already, he's had a positive impact on the floor at exhibitions.
"He moves so flawlessly on the floor, so quickly and fluidly," says Lynn Avi. "He has the best personality, always smiling, and those little Mexican gustatory touches of his really add a kick to the food. He's all in all a great addition to the team."
Jámes has an NCA rating of 83.1, meaning he'll sit only on the sixth line of power, but he doesn't mind. He's just happy he can finally share his culinary talents with the world on such a large and prominent stage.
"We'll get 100 this year," Jámes, one of the most optimistic chefs, exclaims. "We can't not get 100 this year. It's in the air," he continues, beaming.
And with the Rand McNally World Map of Feast Fest finally complete thanks to the rigors of Jerólde Jámes, he may must be right.
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