Around St Lucia with 80 rums!

That’s what it felt like at this year’s spectacular Food & Rum Festival held in Rodney Bay, St Lucia.

The festival proved to be one of the most (if not THE most) significant culinary festivals in the region, attracting gastronomic stars such as Art Smith, Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef and owner of Table Fifty-Two restaurant in Chicago; Doran Payne, executive chef of Rhapsody, also from Chicago; world-renowned lecturer and author Jessica Harris from New Orleans; and the brilliant Iron Chef mixologist star Tony Abou Ganim, from Las Vegas.

The festival started on a Thursday with boat cruises sponsored by two major rum players, Appleton from Jamaica and a boutique rum from the UK called Element 8. Each boat cruise made a lunch stop at Tikaye and Ladera, and guests were rummed and dined by each hotel till the Caribbean sun started to set. Each night, there were also numerous dinners cooked by the international chefs. Conrad St Marthe, a native of St Lucia but known in the United States as the “chef to the stars,’’ had three sold-out dinners complemented by a number of rums from St Lucia Distillers. Competing fiercely with the visiting chefs were the participating local chef celebrities such as Bobo Bergstrom from The Edge restaurant and the wonderful Richardson Skinner from Café Creole at the Coco Palm Hotel. Both presented spectacular menus using participating rums in their dishes and to complement them.

On Saturday and Sunday, The Rum Village opened in Rodney Bay. There were live cooking demonstrations in the Scavolini Tent where guests had a chance to get up close and personal with their favourite guest chefs; lectures on rum and on the history of Caribbean food; and tastings of over 100 rums, all topped with live music.

There were boutique rums not retailed but available for sampling, a range of exquisite rums from Haiti and Bois Bandé rum from Dominica; TOZ rum from St Lucia was actually launched at the festival, and patrons were the first in the world to sample the new taste. Angostura, from the island of Trinidad, also launched Angostura Orange Bitters which simply stole the show. Chefs used this aromatic twist in main courses, desserts and soups, and mixologists on site used it in almost every rum concoction. Trinidadian- born sommelier Duane Dove was at the festival for the second time with sold-out shows. Dove pairs artisan chocolates with barrel-aged rums for an enlightening taste sensation.

After the village closed, the festival organisers threw a street party with live bands, street food and, of course, lots of rum cocktails which only added to the already electrifying vibe.

All dinners were sold out before the festival officially started. So check out the website www.foodandrumfestival.com early and book your dinner.

Participating rums:

• Angostura, Trinidad
• Appleton, Jamaica
• El Dorado, Guyana
• Berling S.A., Haiti
• RHUM BARBANCOURT, Haiti
• Belfast Estate, Dominica
• Element 8, UK
• St Lucia Distillers, St Lucia
• Tortuga Rum Company Ltd, Grand Cayman

Where to stay
Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort is set on a crescent-shaped, white-sand beach with stunningly designed and appointed villas spread among 60 exotic and flowering acres on the verdant Caribbean island of St Lucia—the perfect retreat for families, couples and anyone seeking top-level service and amenities.

Guests who stay a minimum of five nights at the award-winning Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort can enjoy the resort’s new Sun Dollars value-added promotion that provides up to 30 per cent in credits toward a plethora of activities and amenities the resort offers both on and off property.

Sun Dollar credits, which are not refundable or redeemable for cash, are credited to the guests’ bills upon check-in and can be applied toward purchases made at the resort, such as:

Food and beverages at the resort’s four ˛˛restaurants and its mini market
Tours and taxi transfers around St ˛˛Lucia
Serenity Spa treatments ˛˛
Scuba diving ˛˛
Jacquot Fun Club (Kids’ Club) off-prop
˛˛erty excursions
Upgrades, if available, upon arrival˛˛

Sun Dollar credits range from 10 to 30 per cent depending on the season as follows: 10 per cent from December 21 to March 31; 15 per cent from April to August and November through December 20; 30 per cent from September to October.

The Sun Dollars programme cannot be combined with other discounts and is available only to customers who book through the resort either directly or through a retail travel agent at the tariff/rack rate.