Want to try coffee-infused jerk chicken? Of course you do. So head to Jamaican Jerk Festival

Prepare to wave your flags, eat to your heart’s content and taste a slice of Jamaica at the 16th annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival.

 Caribbean culture is infectious. It makes you want to sing and dance, and the Jerk Festival, presented by Publix, has all of the right ingredients: live performances, cultural activities and chefs’ competitions.

Performing on the concert stage is reggae legacy with international headliners Morgan Heritage, Tarrus Riley, King Yellowman & the Sagittarius Band, Ken Boothe, Leon Coldero & Code 868 and Code Red Band.

And you can’t forget about the food. If you can eat it, chances are it can be jerked. Bring an appetite and then dance it out to the DJs’ beat in the Party Pavilion.

We talked to two of the competing chefs before the culinary gloves come off.

You recently released a coffee-centered cookbook with Rohan Marley. How did the collaboration come about?

Chef Max Hardy: I met Rohan, we started talking about coffee and his coffee company and that led to the idea for us to collaborate and bring coffee and food together with this cookbook. My favorite recipe in the cookbook is the coffee-infused Teriyaki Salmon and the coffee-infused jerk chicken.

You’re back this year to defend your title in the Celebrity Quick Fire Challenge against Donnie Dawson, Jamaica’s Interim Director of Tourism. Can you take him down?

Local10 Weekend News Anchor, Todd Tongen: Ever since moving to South Florida from Minnesota 28 years ago, I’ve had a love affair with Caribbean music, culture, and of course, the food. So I’ve been told that I am officially a ‘Jamaica-sotan’! My weekend morning co-anchor, Neki Mohan, is from Trinidad and has been an enabler in my jerk addiction. Needless to say, I’m ready to take down my competition and defending my title with Jerk seasoning and Peppa sauce!

Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival, 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. Nov. 12, Markham Park,

16001 W. State Rd 84, Sunrise; $30 in advance; kids 10 and under free; $140 VIP all-inclusive and can be purchased at JerkFestival.com/tickets.html

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 7:11 AM.