Although a Caribbean getaway may not be in the cards for many travelers due to the global pandemic, a group of talented Caribbean chefs will bring warmth and tropical flair virtually, to help spread cheer during the Yuletide season.
Travel Advisors Selling the Caribbean (TASC) a peer networking group of travel professionals, has mobilized talented Caribbean chefs based in North America as well as in the islands, to create this festive virtual affair, laden with enticing foods, exotic drinks, cooking tips and folklore. The 12 Days of Caribbean Cooking Festival will be staged during the period November 29 – December 11. This virtual culinary tour through the Caribbean, will unveil the magic of online cooking. It will feature popular Caribbean chefs, bakers and culinary artisans who will showcase the food, rums, desserts and diverse culinary traditions of the region.
This daily cooking series will feature 31 Caribbean chefs, 20 destinations in 15 on-line episodes. The chefs will share signature recipes which feature local rum, as one of the ingredients. Connecting via ZOOM, they will prepare a feast of Caribbean-inspired dishes from the destination that they represent. They will also demonstrate simple steps in making mouth watering dishes in 30 minutes of cooking time.
Although food traditions and cooking techniques in the Caribbean islands may be somewhat different, they often include many similar ingredients. A typical Christmas dinner features roasted ham, chicken or turkey and a pork dish prepared with indigenous spices, slow cooked “Caribbean style” on an open fire.
Participants in the 12 Days of Caribbean Cooking Festival will learn essential techniques, and some of the best-kept secrets about the preparation of traditional Caribbean dishes. There will be opportunities to ask questions and suggestions about how traditional ingredients or equipment can be substituted.
“This exciting online experience will elevate Caribbean cuisine and motivate potential visitors to create their own delicious memories at home. Our audience will learn how to create culinary experiences that are not bound by geographical constraints. We hope that these Caribbean-inspired dishes will help to promote the culinary traditions of the different destinations and facilitate greater inspiration to travel to the Caribbean once it is safer to do so,” said Derede Whitlock, TASC Senior Administrator.
Raise your Glasses!
Each island has its own traditional Christmas drink featuring local rums. It could be cremas (Haiti), rum-and-eggnog concoction called “rum popo” (Belize), Ponche de crema (a kind of eggnog with added rum (Trinidad & Tobago) and various recipes for rum punch — a Caribbean cocktail that includes the local rum, pineapple and orange juice, grenadine, Angostura bitters and nutmeg.
Leave Room for Dessert
Dessert in many of the islands is the famous black cake, made from a combination of fruits that have been soaked in wine and rum for several months. The popular cake Buche de Noel or “Christmas Log” is an extravagant dessert that is popular in the French speaking islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
History on a Plate
The culinary history of many Caribbean destinations is tied to a seafaring lifestyle, mired in the mystique of warring colonial powers and marauding pirates, who sailed between the islands to capture the fortunes on the seas. Many influences from this period will be woven into exciting stories and seafood recipes that will be shared by these Caribbean culinary artisans.
Caribbean Recipe e-Book
An e-book featuring the chefs and their recipes and culinary stories will be created by TASC and used as a resource by travel advisors to promote the Caribbean. It will also support the growth and development of culinary tourism by showcasing the diversity of Caribbean chefs, food, rums as well as the dining culture throughout the region.
Chefs Repping their Countries
Below is a list of the 20 Caribbean destinations that will be represented:
ANGUILLA
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
THE BAHAMAS
BARBADOS
BELIZE
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
CURAÇAO
DOMINICA
GRENADA
GUADELOUPE
GUYANA
HAITI
JAMAICA
MARTINIQUE
SAINT LUCIA
ST. KITTS AND NEVIS
ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES
TURKS & CAICOS
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS
