Jamaican festival is a sweet fried dough commonly served with ackee and saltfish or fried fish.
The dough is made from cornmeal, flour, sugar, and water or milk, then shaped into short cylinders and deep-fried. The result is crisp outside and soft inside, with a mild sweetness that contrasts with savory Jamaican dishes.
Festival became especially popular as a companion to fried fish and other coastal meals. Its cornmeal component links it to wider Caribbean traditions in which maize is used in breads, dumplings, and porridges.
Festival is sometimes mixed up with Jamaican bammy or the breads called bake. Bammy is made from cassava, while bake is generally a fried or baked bread; neither has festival’s characteristic cornmeal-sweetened dough.