GRAND CAYMAN
Conch fritters, guava juice and turtle stew
Good food is not hard to find on Grand Cayman, the largest of the three Cayman Islands at 35km long and 13km wide. But while it is home to hundreds of restaurants, tracking down traditional Caymanian offerings can require more effort. Ditch the world-famous Seven Mile Beach and venture into quiet corners where sleepy villages nurture exciting artisan producers and top-quality restaurants are housed in humble shacks.
For centuries, queen conch have been plucked from the sandy shallows that served as the local larder. They’re simply scooped out, rinsed in lime juice, sliced then eaten raw. Now there’s an annual closed season from 1 May to October 31 and a strict quota operates for the rest of the year. The best conch fritters can be found on the North Side. Try Wreck Bar at Rum Point, an idyllic cove where shells stud the sand and chef Desmond Marshall’s deep-fried balls of ground conch flavoured with thyme and chillies are the stuff of legend.
Vivine’s Kitchen is famed for honest home cooking. Tables are laid with wipe-clean tablecloths and well-used bottles of pepper sauce, while Gospel FM preaches from above. Orders are placed through a hatch direct to Miss Vivine and her helpers in the trinket-lined kitchen where pots of turtle flesh, conch and lobster bubble away. Gulps of guava juice (milky, musky, grainy and sweet) will help wash down mountains of rice and beans, fried plantain and cinnamon cornbread.
Looking for a mean lunch in the capital of George Town? Keep an eye out for a broken sign on North Sound Road that points the way to Welly’s Cool Spot, a hard-to-find joint but worth seeking out. Don’t miss the goat curry that’s on offer here; the meat melts away from neatly cleaved disks of bone.
Despite the lack of space and fertile soil, you’ll be surprised by the number of small food producers on the island. Petrol station attendants sell squares of their auntie’s heavy cakes, while upstairs in the Royal Watler Cruise terminal, Lindsay and Andrea Bodden sell their Caymanian Traditions ice cream. Tropical flavours include soursop, guava and coconut.
To meet more of the island’s most resilient food producers, head to Camana Bay farmers’ market, held every Saturday. Carl Brown rebuilt his farm after Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004 only to be ‘mashed’ by two more in 2008. You’ll spot him by his flashing gold tooth and mountains of coconut oil.