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Dominica's Dining A personal look at Dominica's cuisine!
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While eating in an elegant hotel or continental restaurant may be perfectly acceptable to some Caribbean tourists, for the adventurous traveller Dominica offers many alternative opportunities to taste a wide variety of delicious tropical foods and drinks. Small family restaurants, local eateries and seaside cafes can often be the most authentic and satisfying way to sample the bounty of Dominican cuisine. In these humble places each meal should be lovingly created, carefully prepared and perfectly seasoned. As a bonus you'll often get a chance to chat with some very interesting folks - friendly chefs, owners and servers - and there is no extra charge for the useful information you'll pick up along the way!
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Wondering
what sort of culinary treat to expect? Well, be aware that most
local dishes are full of flavour and fire. Kitchens are filled with
the earthy aroma of curry. Somehow the blissful sting of Scotch
Bonnet peppers is artfully balanced with the smoothness of fresh
coconut milk.
Luckily Dominica is blessed with rich volcanic soil and adequate rainfall. It is quite possible to obtain planty of fresh fruits and vegetables right in the local marketplace. Here you can find traditional garden vegetables as well as root crops ('provisions') of dasheen, tannia and yams. Fresh greens include lettuce, spinnach, watercress and callalou. Truckloads of ripe and green bananas and plantains are everywhere. By the roadside trees are loaded with coconuts, breadfruit, avocados, soursop and guavas. Citrus crops include grapefruit, oranges, tangerines and limes. The Island also cultivates a variety of fresh herbs and spices such as thyme, parsley, celery, cive, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. In Dominica traditional fishing villages still exist and fish and shellfish are plentiful. Flying fish, dorado, kingfish and snapper as well as spiny lobsters and octupuses are available year-round. The clear mountain streams hold a seasonal treasure of river crayfish, and in the mountains land-crabs and the elusive Crapaud frog or 'mountain chicken' are available Sept. through March. As you can see, it is no wonder that with the help of all this natural goodness at hand, creative resident chefs are able to offer delicious and healthy menus fresh from the Nature Island of the Caribbean. Enjoy!!
Kris Simelda, originally from Ohio, is married
to a Dominican and has lived here for a number of years. Once
an active artist and horseback rider, she continues to maintain
her interest in arts and crafts. |
