Now that he has retired as a professional sprinter, Usain Bolt—who has eight more Olympic gold medals than you and I do—wants to spread his love of Jamaican cooking to the world. In the long and sordid history of famous people leveraging their celebrity for financial gain, we welcome Bolt’s endeavor, because have you ever tried jerk pork with Red Stripe?
Bolt is the face behind Tracks & Records, a restaurant with an eclectic array of menu offerings from pizzas and pastas to sandwiches, anchored with Jamaican favorites like curried mutton, jerk pork with hardo bread, and saltfish tostonis. Diners will also find a “Burger a la Usain,” featuring onion rings, bacon, and cheese. There are currently two Tracks & Records locations in Jamaica, but now comes news from The Sun that Bolt is planning to expand to the U.K., opening up to 15 stores over the next five years.
Let this news be an excuse to profess our love for jerk pork and chicken, marinated in a pungent rub of Scotch bonnet peppers and allspice, and grilled over charcoal. Of the many pleasures of traveling in Jamaica, one of the most satisfying is stopping along roadside jerk shacks, hunched over styrofoam containers of jerk meats.