Dominica / Special Interests / Food and Cooking

Food and the growing of it is an intrinsic part of Dominica’s culture and people are blessed with a cornucopia of natural ingredients to excite the palate. A far wider variety of fruit and vegetables gives an extra dimension to local cooking which is Creole-based and centred on chicken and fish with root provisions. Plantain is plentiful, which is always a good thing. Visitors are certain to taste something they never have before here (no, not the mountain chicken) – and it won’t be unpleasant. Soup variations are especially memorable, pumpkin and callaloo de rigeur; the crayfish-infused ones in Carib Territory are worth travelling for; the goat water and octopus variation possibly not.

Fresh juices come with many different tastes and hues – try gooseberry, tamarind and golden apple or do a mix-and-mash with a dash of rum or bitters. Grapefruit with ginger is another delicious favourite. Savour the sorrel, barbadine punch and carambola, all guaranteed to enliven any jaded tastebuds. The permutations are endless, unlike in many other countries, though dependent on what is ripe and the season. Many people swear by coconut water, the juice from unripe jelly nuts, as a panacea for various ailments or digestive problems, but beware the laxative factor if you over-indulge; also avoid spilling juice on clothing (easily done when drinking straight from the shell) because no removal agent known to man will ever erase the stain.

Yes, Dominicans like eating, and who can blame them. Vegetarians think they’ve died and gone to heaven. “Food is your medicine and using Raw Foods is the best way to achieve wellness and vitality” affirms Barbadian Chantel Selman, who delivers wonderful sermons on raw dish preparation at the annual Health and Wellness Expo in May. Food here tastes like it hasn’t travelled far and where the term organic is actually justifiable. Breakfast is no small consequence either, and bakes (fried bread stuffed with fish or cheese) are taken on the hoof at places like Pearl’s or the Mouse Hole in Roseau. Lunchtime, however, is always a serious, sit-down affair, for the working man at least. Braf is an old-time popular dish, basically an all-in stew or broth finished off with hot pepper sauce, but a word of warning: avoid this (the sauce) if of a sensitive disposition or susceptible to hot flushes.

Other local dishes in Dominica include:

Pelau - Strongly seasoned rice-based dish with beans, normally served with chicken – beware the bones if so.

Curried Goat - Served with rice or a salad, ditto above re bones.

Roti - The Caribbean staple of curried vegetables, chicken, fish or meat, any combination, rolled into a flat bread.

The Bakery - These proliferate in almost every town and village, just follow your nose in the country; try the crisp snacks made from plantain, breadfruit and green banana.

Crab Backs - Or stuffed crab backs to the uninitiated, whether land or sea variety are an unalloyed delight. The flesh is suffused with herbs and spices then replaced in the shell and baked; best ordered in pairs, you’ll never resist another after the first.

Mountain Chicken - Currently off the menu owing to an epidemic. The distinctive large crapaud (frog - leptodactylus fallax) has been devastated by a global fungus and is no longer hunted for the plate.

Diet and longevity are closely linked and Dominica has more than 20 centenarians at any one time, way in excess of the mean per capita in the Western Hemisphere’s developed countries, and testament to the range and purity of foodstuff and lifestyles. When Ma Pampo from Glanvillia near Portsmouth celebrated her 125th birthday in January 2000 she became the oldest woman in the world, a national treasure, and paid due deference to her lifelong diet. “Eat dumpling, lots of crab and drink a bush tea” she said. (Read Definitive Caribbean’s blogspot on Ma Pampo)

There is no restaurant culture as such, but there are still some very good dining rooms scattered around the country. Roseau has numerous local snackettes and eating houses, quirky little bars and ital juice shops. There are some good restaurants serving decent organic fusion food and those in hotels like Fort Young, Jungle Bay, Papillote, Zandoli Inn or Red Rock Haven (see Food & Drink). Interest in food, nutrition and different approaches to cooking are evolving as part of agricultural diversification and organics, and a groundswell of change and awareness in sustainable community farming.