ST LUCIA
Emerging like a volcanic fang from the glittering Caribbean, St Lucia and her Pitons are the poster girls for the ultimate West Indian paradise. Indigenous birds flit through the cool depths of rolling rainforests that cover much of the island, occasionally opening into mango and papaya orchards.
It was ruled by the British from 1814 to 1979 but the French legacy makes itself felt in the lyrical creole dialect and dishes such as macaroni pie and roast pumpkin soup. However, nothing says St Lucia like salt fish bake. It’s a crunchy savoury doughnut packed with spicy salt fish, Scotch bonnets, pepper salad and shredded cucumber. The best place to track it down it is at Castries Market on a Saturday morning. Head to Peynier Street and you’ll discover more than 300 stalls with crowds queuing for soul food. Expect to see pepper pot (a bubbling richness of garlic, fish, spring onions, hot peppers and sweet potatoes), black pudding and stews cooked in traditional coal pots.
One of the best places to experience inexpensive, authentic St Lucian food is Flavours of the Grill, a beach house restaurant painted in candy colours. Chef-owner O’Nell Daly does a mean steak with bone marrow and his green fig pie is legendary. Confusingly, these figs are green bananas (the island’s biggest export) and are also often served with salt fish.
Pirate captain François le Clerc was renowned for his wooden leg and fearsome temper, yet his namesake restaurant, Jambe de Bois, is so laid back it’s practically horizontal. Sit on rustic furniture carved out of driftwood and feast on seafood lasagne and fresh kingfish. At weekends, live jazz will keep you lingering long after you’ve scraped your plate clean.
Interestingly, because of its associations with slavery, farming here is looked down upon and lots of restaurants import food. To be certain to taste the island’s bounty, pull up a chair at Orlando’s Restaurant. There’s a choice of two five-course menus made entirely with local produce. Think chilled pea and mint soup, beef seasoned with cacao and mahi-mahi on cabbage.