Trinidad / Special Interests / Food and Cooking

The polyglot nature of Trinidad’s society and culture has influenced its cuisine accordingly and it is probably indisputable that devotion to food and good cooking is greater here than anywhere else in the Caribbean. So many styles and ingredients have infused its development, it is easy to understand why, and the unique melange of Indian, Chinese, African, European (French and Portuguese) and Latin nourishment is central to everyday living. Even street fare, food on the run, can be memorable with patrons often travelling miles for that special roti or other delicacy (barbecued halal meats in San Fernando for example) and any social event, lime or gathering will usually involve an eating interlude somewhere along the way. Quite simply, food is important, dining is seen as one of life’s pleasures to be regularly indulged and for the visitor this quickly becomes apparent – for anyone who enjoys titillating their tastebuds there’s no finer place around the islands than Trinidad. No other country has as many “national” dishes either.

Seasoning is critical to most meals but Trinidadian fare is not as reliant on hot peppers as you might expect, though the fiery Amerindian variety can certainly sometimes take you by surprise if overdone. Herbs like thyme, chives, coriander and the similar chadon beni are favoured and curry is an obvious staple (especially duck) and not just with the East Indian fraternity. More recent Middle Eastern ideas from Lebanon and Syria introduced beets and carrots to potato salad and spread the use of vermicelli. Trinidad could have invented “fusion cuisine”, such is the blurring of the boundaries across the nations. Jamaica’s jerk chicken and pork for instance has become a firm favourite among Trinis.

Port of Spain now has some top quality eateries of every cultural persuasion in the Ariapita Avenue area; fine dining in international-class hotels; and, “finger food” for the road from hygiene-regulated vendors that’s well nigh unsurpassable, particularly in St James. These are very much meals in themselves on occasion.

French Creole and Indian is the bedrock of Trinidadian fare but occasionally you’ll see signs which may not initially register. Ital Food refers to the Rastafarian-inspired fresh vegetables, pulses and fruits presented without additives or salt which has gained wide acceptance among the health-conscious and “veggies”, though Trinis generally find it difficult to dispense with salt and lashings of condiments on anything. Blue Food (the moniker too of the famous Queens Park Oval conch shell blower) is ground provisions, root vegetables like yam, eddoe, cassava and sweet potatoes, normally fundamental to any Creole dish. Tree Oysters are smaller and more succulent than the sea variety, culled from mangrove roots in swampland and said to aid libido (what sustenance doesn’t in Trinidad ?!). They are served with peppered tomato sauce from cups by Savannah and Eastern Main Road vendors primarily. Chain food, obtained in a rash of international fast food outlets like Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC, is everywhere too.

Some of the favourite Trinidadian dishes you will come across include:

Roti - the birthplace, Caribbean-wise, of that hardy West Indian perennial of Indian provenance which every traveller must sample at some stage. Curried shrimp, meat, chicken or goat with potato and chickpea furled (sometimes) neatly into a soft dough roti skin wrapping – beware the bony bits, try to locate a non bony roti man or go to a specialist shop. They’re never too hard to find.

Bake ‘n’ Shark – fried bread roll, slightly crisp on the outside, stuffed with chunks of fried shark, doused with hot pepper and taken with a Carib beer. Famed at Maracas Bay but can turn up anywhere. Probably the best sandwich you’ll ever taste.

Doubles – popular lunch substitute, curried chick pea with kuchela mango chutney between two lightly flavoured soft fried breads called baras. Indian vendors also sell aloo (potato) pies, saheena (ground channa and dasheen leaf fritter)and pholourie (seasoned flour fritters with mango or tamarind sauces).

Callaloo – a soup made from pureed okra, spinach or dasheen leaves with coconut milk, pumpkin or salted meat or crab additives. There are several variations on the theme in the Caribbean, but Trinidad’s always seems to have that something extra.

Pelau – like callaloo this is another classic Creole staple of rice and pigeon peas with chicken, using a “browning down” process of caramelising meat in almost burnt brown sugar, then with garlic, onions and vegetables added and reduced down in coconut milk.

Pastelles – Spanish derived cornmeal wraps filled with beef, pork, olives, capers and raisins steamed in banana leaves, popular at Christmas. Arepas are a close cousin, spiced patties with chicken, both with less of an olive oil flavour than their Latin counterparts.

Places to Stay and Specialist Restaurants

No one has to stray far to access good food in Trinidad but it pays sometimes to have insider knowledge (also, see Food & Drink section). If you don’t like travelling around in the evenings and gourmet fare is your preference then a good place to stay would be the Coblentz Inn with its Battimamzelle Restaurant, an elegant hideaway in the Cascade foothills serving international Creole fusion cuisine.

Veni Mangé, Port of Spain - An institution as much as a high-class Creole restaurant and featured in 1000 places to visit (and eat in!) before you die. Great Caribbean ambience and artwork, run by sisters Rosemary Hezekiah and Alyyson Hennessy, a Cordon Bleu chef, with a varied daily menu. Consistency in quality and value for money are the watchwords here with stewed oxtail and firm dumplings a perennial favourite among a host of other local dishes. Natural juices and vegetarian options also available.

Ylang Ylang Sea Terrace, Grande Riviere -  This is a little bit further afield, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Port of Spain in the wonderful beachside setting at Grande Riviere in the Mount Plaisir Estate Hotel, but some would say worth the trip for the fresh seafood plates alone. Local Creole food is the mainstay, but with Indian and Italian alternatives and an excellent wine list.