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The Telegraph
[post_ads]It’s not just the sea, sand, sunshine and music that draws me to the Caribbean – the food also keeps me coming back. Caribbean cuisine is significantly under-represented in the UK: I have a hunch it is something that, like the drinks – the cherry-topped pina coladas, daiquiris and fruity rum punches – is best enjoyed in situ. Spices are spicier, fresher and full of sunshine piquancy that pales at home.
Culinary competence shines through in everything from smoky spit-and-sawdust roadside jerk-chicken shacks to starched-tablecloth dining rooms. It’s no wonder those who have never before been to the Caribbean are often pleasantly surprised by how rich the pickings are.
On my recent visit I sailed on P&O Cruises’ Britannia from the Caribbean island of St Lucia and set about tasting the region’s cuisine. Here’s what I found.
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[post_ads]Wherever there are tourists in the Caribbean you will find restaurants serving filets mignons, but the roadside shacks and market stalls where the locals eat are often just as good. They’re not selling you a view or silver service. They’re selling you food, pure and simple, and it’s a very hearty, reassuring way to eat. The best places – and it’s often by the roadside that you find them – tend to do just one thing.
En route from the airport to the ship, which was docked in St Lucia, we stopped at a dusty shack between the side of the road and the banana plantations for a cold beer in the sunshine. A toned chef, topless from the waist up, was dispatching a fresh batch of jerk pork with a vast machete. There were huge clouds of smoke and a crowd of people tucking in.
The jerk pork – dispensed into takeaway tubs and served with sing-song swagger from the cook – was a knockout. The scene had a glamour all its own.
At a glance | Alex James's spicy chicken recipe
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- Take a whole chicken and using a big sharp knife – or for added Caribbean authenticity, a huge cleaver – chop down between the breasts.
- Then remove the string that was used to truss the chicken and wrench the cavity open, spatchcock style.
- Pull the legs and wings out so that you have a star-shaped bird, then flip the whole thing over, breasts up again, and whack it pancake-flat using any large, heavy object. This step should be approached with great gusto, and ideally while singing.
- Place on a barbecue or on some foil under a really hot grill. Treat it like a big floppy burger, occasionally flipping carefully until it’s cooked through.
- The marrow released from the bones by the whacking keeps the meat really moist and adds flavour. I tend to season and marinate grilled meats after cooking them.
- Take the chicken off the grill, cover it in salt and dunk it around in the sauce while it’s piping hot. It will suck up a surprising amount of juice.
- A good place to start for a spicy marinade would be a whole bottle of your favourite hot sauce. I wash this dish down with an ice-cold beer, straight out of the can.
Food for billionaires
Our first port of call was Grenada, also known as the Spice Island. You’re never more than two metres from something utterly delicious to eat here, and I didn’t have to walk very far from the ship to find BB’s Crabback. From the outside this restaurant looks like an unfinished underground car park, but inside it’s another story.
The dining room opens on to the bay, with sea, sky and mountains providing the backdrop. A sharing feast is my favourite way to eat on holiday and our group (we had pre-booked) arrived to find bowls of chunky plantain crisps with zingy guacamole waiting on the table. The hot sauce was a knockout. “Bill Gates was here last week,” said Brian, the owner.
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An epic goat stew
The wonderful thing about the Carribean is its variety. Arriving in Martinique is a bit like being in France which, technically, you are. The island is a French department, number 972, and is governed from Paris. It is home to 400,000 people, an active volcano, pretty hummingbirds and a few snakes and spiders.
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Good honest food in a stunning location.
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[post_ads]En route to Dickenson Bay, 10 minutes by taxi from the port in Antigua, I nearly asked the driver to pull in at a sign advertising “bull-foot soup”. I was glad I hadn’t when, minutes later, we arrived in paradise. Located on an endless beach, Ana’s had all you need within a few metres of the table – sand, sea and service – plus a guy selling pineapples from the boot of his car.
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A 14-night Caribbean fly-cruise on Britannia, a round trip from St Lucia departing January 12, 2019, costs from £1,859 per person (0345 355 5111; pocruises.com).
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