Tobago / Special Interests / Food and Cooking

With its strong African heritage, Tobagonian cooking is fairly similar to that of the islands further north, but it has also been influenced by its sister Trinidad’s extraordinary racial mix. The result is in an interesting fusion, with considerable use of local produce, herbs and spices. The strongest influence outside Africa is probably India, as there is a huge Indian population in Trinidad. Restaurants are more varied of course, but there they add local spice to what are often fairly international menus elsewhere. See more information about the best island Food & Drink.

While you are in Tobago you should definitely try a roti. This is an extremely popular lunchtime takeaway, and it is so filling that it can keep you going for the rest of the day. Trinidad may be the official home of the roti, but you can find excellent ones in Tobago. It is basically a soft, tortilla-like wrap, filled with curried meat and potato, with fillings as varied as conch, duck, shrimp, goat, beef, chicken, chana, veg or simply potato on its own. Another version of the roti is called “Buss-up-shut”, in which paratha bread is torn into pieces and served with the curry filling on the side, sometimes with homemade mango chutney. It gets its name from the fact that the paratha bread looks a bit like khaki-coloured material, literally “bust (torn) up shirt”.

Bake ‘n’ shark is famous beach fare from Trinidad’s Maracas Bay, but is also available at Store Bay in Tobago, where there are a number of stalls selling local food. The “bake” is a large, flatish, deep-fried doughnut (with no hole and minus the sugar), which tastes a bit like Yorkshire pudding. Served hot, it is split and filled with salad and a chunk of deep fried shark seasoned with local herbs. Add a dash of hot pepper sauce for extra bite. Crab ‘n’ dumplin’, is another local favourite. Whole blue land crabs are boiled in a well-seasoned coconut and curry sauce and served with plain flat (water, flour and salt) dumplings. It can be messy to eat.

For an all-in-one rice dish there is chicken pelau, which incorporates sugar-browned chicken (they use natural cane sugar) which gives the dish it’s unique flavour, and pigeon peas, carrots, coconut milk, herbs, hot pepper, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Other popular dishes include callaloo soup, a rich, thick and highly seasoned affair made with dasheen leaves (like spinach), okra and crab (sometimes) or salt pork. There is also oil down, a hearty mixture of breadfruit cooked in coconut milk with salted pig tail, and seasoned with garlic, chives and hot pepper, plus accras, which are deep-fried fish cakes made from salted cod, herbs and hot pepper.

Naturally fresh fish features on most menus. It is usually highly seasoned and can be served steamed, baked, fried, grilled or in a broth. Chicken is another important ingredient and on Sundays a typical lunch would include either baked or stewed chicken with rice, red beans, macaroni pie and callaloo/dasheen.

If you are particularly interested in local cooking, then you might be interested to try the following restaurants:

Blue Crab - Modern West Indian setting on a terrace in town. Good honest West Indian fare, callaloo soup and coal-pot chicken, great lunch.

Jemma’s Sea View Kitchen, Speysde - Classic West Indian setting on the waterfront, on raised decks among the tree branches, classic West Indian fare.

Supermarkets

The main supermarket in Tobago is Penny Savers. There is one on Milford Road on the way/to from the airport and another near Lambeau/Mt Irvine. Also in the Mt Irvine area is R T Morshead, on Buccoo Road which sells deli items, open Monday-Friday from 8am-6pm, Saturday from 8am-6pm and Sunday  from 8am-12 noon. In the same area is Marie’s Place, a conveniently located grocery store in Grafton, open Monday-Saturday from 8am-9pm and Sunday from 9am-5pm. There is a mini mart in Black Rock called the Courland Superette and another near Crown Point called Francis Supermarket, open Monday- Friday from  9am-5pm, Saturday from  9am-12 midday.

Contributors: James Henderson (editor)