OCTOBER 26, 2006 saw an unprecedented move
by Neysha Sooden (MACO editor in chief) and
Alan Chastanet (the brain behind the St Lucia
Jazz Festival) when gates opened and the first
St Lucia/MACO Food and Rum Festival was
baptized. Together with Judy Bastyra (food
writer), I hosted the festival with much pride.
For years I’d been convinced that we in the
islands were not doing enough to give the world
a peek into the joy of our grandmother’s kitchen
secrets, that we seemed to refuse to show off
our diverse cuisine influenced by a past that
encompasses Europe, Africa, India, China and
the Middle East, and mostly, that we seemed
intent on placing before visitors only food from
their own countries.
When in 1995 I was told by German
publishers that the Caribbean had nothing
to offer food-wise, I gave them Culinaria: The Caribbean – a 460-page hard-cover, full-colour
book in eight languages that placed all the islands
between North and South America on the food
map. Interest was peaked. Newspaper reviews
and being placed on the December 5 New York
Times list in 1999 allowed Culinaria to show the
world that our cuisine was indeed diverse and
interesting. Caribbean cookbooks, whether from
the islands or not, suddenly were worthy of note,
finding themselves on the shelves of discerning
bookstores worldwide.
Meanwhile, Jamaican Chef Norma Shirley
was quietly putting the culinary arts of the
Caribbean on the “foodie’’ map, first in the US
and then back home. MACO magazine was born
in Trinidad, devoting many pages to Caribbean
cuisine and selling throughout the region before
going international. American/Jamaican Chef
Cindy Hutson’s success story with her island fusion Cuisine of the Sun brought delighted critics
to their toes. The domino effect had started in
earnest. Before one could count to May 2006,
Bon Appetit’s issue for that month highlighted
Caribbean cuisine only. Food Network’s Emeril
suddenly cooked Jamaican oxtail and beans, with
Rachael Ray backing that up with rice and peas.
All the way in Spain, the god of sci-fi food, Ferran
Adria of El Bulli, began using Jamaican ackee in
his experiments.
Today, Caribbean gastronomy is on the radar.
From small towns in Kentucky to New York City,
from Toronto to London and back, our food is
being hailed as the new “in’’ cuisine with chefs
screaming for Caribbean ingredients. Not to be
left out, our rums are being imbibed worldwide
by connoisseurs with as much gusto as good
cognac. Marrying island food with rum under
one roof for three days has indeed started what is already being described as one of the best food
festivals in the Caribbean. With BET coming on
board for 2007, the BET St Lucia/MACO Food
and Rum Festival, come November, has a lot to
build on. To whet your appetites, forcing a packyour-
bags-we-are-going-to-the-Helen-of-the-West-
Indies experience, I give you the 2006 version.
Three days of cooking demonstrations, rum “tastings,’’ musical entertainment, Travel Channel,
independent producers, magazine editors, writers
and patrons of all ages translated into a whirlwind
of excitement– all within a huge air-conditioned
tent. Friday and Saturday evening brought
Jamaica’s reggae stars Third World and Montserrat
calypsonian Arrow---allowing those who had put
on inches to “wine’’ them away.
On Thursday’s opening night, Carl Stevenson,
together with St Lucia Distillers (of Bounty and
Chairman’s Reserve fame) launched the excellent
new St Lucian rum – Elements 8 – causing a
sensation among lovers of our elixir. Other rums
making the limelight were Trinidad’s Angostura 1919 and 1824, Barbadian Foursquare Spice rum
from R. L. Seale and award-winning Mount Gay.
Suriname’s Borgoe 82 was an incredible surprise,
with Antigua’s Pyrat and El Dorado from Guyana
catching my rum-jumbie taste instantly.
Mixologists from England threw bottles in the
air and their bar showmanship made cocktails with
Caribbean rum taste sweeter than ever. Author
Ian Williams expounded on the delights of rum,
while signing his book, Rum, A Social and Sociable
History. That night, Jamaican Monty Alexander
and his faithful group made dancing easy. The
difficulty was hoisting heads off pillows very early
the next morning for “work’’.
From Friday to Sunday, international and
local chefs celebrated under the big tent and in
restaurants scattered around the Rodney Bay area.
They included Robert Oliver (Kut De Ta), Bobo
Bergstrom (St Lucia’s The Edge), Barbadians Jason
Inniss (Amuse Bouche, Toronto) and Paul Yellin
(Infusion cookbook author), Jamaican Virginia
Burke (Walkerswood products, Eat Caribbeanauthor), Orlando Stachell (St Lucia’s Dasheene
restaurant), Andrew Rose (England’s La Floridita
restaurant), Craig Jones (Royal St Lucian’s Chic
restaurant), Richardson Skinner (St Lucia’s Coco
Palm Hotel’s Ti Banane).
Creative dishes such as Orange-Glazed Duck
Comfit with Papaya and Avocado Salsa a la
Balsamic, Seventh Heaven Upside Down Mahi
Mahi on Pumpkin Risotto with Ginger Fruit
Salsa, Langousta “Thermidor’’ Spiny Lobster
Gratin served with Moros y Cristianos (Cuban
black beans and rice) proved that rum can replace
wine in gourmet cuisine.
Just a touch of fine light spice rum was all that
was needed in Rum Spice Pumpkin and Ginger
Soup with Green Herbs and Goat Cheese Mousse,
so as not to interfere with the sweet, delicate taste
of pumpkin, already vying for position with the
tangy sharpness of ginger. The richness of foie
gras was enhanced by an aged rum, touched by
the sweetness of the pineapple and potency of
star anis, in Pan Seared Foie Gras with Grilled
Pineapple Salsa and Star Anis Jus. In Rum-Jerk
Glazed Rabbit with a deep-fried fruit muesli roll,
the chef chose a slightly younger dark rum to go
with the peppery sharp taste of jerk seasoning to
just touch the wildness of rabbit meat, enhancing
it rather than devouring it. And Chef Bobo’s now
famous St Lucia Cocoa-rolled Baked Tenderloin
(on the nightly menu at The Edge) proves rum
and chocolate to be a mix superior in taste to
wine and chocolate. |
