" Sumting Sweet Ta Eat"

Peter Edey: Well known Barbadian Chef

It's a fact that whenever in the kitchen Barbadians LOVE to 'season de pot'. Spices, seasoning, fresh thyme, parsley or sweet basil and of course your flour, sugar , salt and a Cou-Cou stick are all part of a true 'Bajan' kitchen. Certainly, a buck pot or grater cannot be forgotten!

What's so special about these things? They help to make some of the sweetest, tastiest meals that come from a Barbadian kitchen of course!

Sugar Cakes

Take for example the Barbadian delight, sugar cakes. This treat can come in all colours and mainly four  flavours; normal, ginger, molasses and bay-leaf. They're simple AND delicious! Just throw in some sugar and a little water in a hot pan, let the sugar melt, then add your grated coconut, choice of flavouring and stir! When all mixed and smelling nice, use a spoon to lay them out and leave them to cool and harden. In no time you can have the perfect tit-bit to satisfy your sweet tooth! (Who needs lollipops and nut crackers?)  
 
Then there's always the Saturday favorite, Pudding and Souse. This dish is done in a variety of ways and is basically steamed sweet potato(pudding) and pickled pork(souse). It's an absolute haven! I have fond memories of my mother, up early on Saturday mornings paying special attention to the buck pot filled with sweet potato on the stove, forever stirring and tasting just to make sure it comes out right. Many people pickle other boiled meat instead of boiled pork but it's delicious none the less! Pickle is an interesting combination of cucumbers, lime juice and salt.....YUM!

Another interesting combination found on the island is the simple mixture of flour, water, 'spice', baking powder and sugar. These ingredients are mixed together to make...a type of  bread or pastry locally known as bakes. Ironically enough, bakes aren't baked at all! In fact they're fried! Bakes are great for breakfast or maybe even an in between snack and go perfectly with cheese or bacon.

Cou-Cou and Flying Fish

On the topic of who goes well with what, nothing fits together more perfectly than the components of our national dish: Cou-cou and Flying Fish. Cou-cou is steamed corn meal and okras with just a dash (and only a dash) of salt. This thick and creamy mixture can be quite...challenging to eat on its own so many Barbadians love their cou-cou "swimming in gravy". The gravy is a collaboration of seasoning, fresh herbs and spices and of course, Flying Fish.

Another fishy friend of ours is Salt Fish and it's biggest role is to be the main ingredient in our specialty, fish cakes. Fish cakes are also another Saturday lover, however many people do chose to have them for breakfast....or lunch during the week. No fish cakes aren't actually cakes. They're....well honestly I don't quite know what they are but I can surely tell you they are divine! Other than salt fish, fish cakes consists of flour, baking powder, water, seasoning and salt and are fried until golden.

Now, I'm not a big lover of cliches but the phrase 'mouth watering' is the perfect description of Barbadian Cuisine. This is fact I'm sure that top chef Peter Edey (seen in first picture) agrees with completely. Our list of amasing dishes and treats goes on and on. We have Sweet Bread, Cassava Pone, Lead Pipes, Jug Jug and Chicken or Split Pea Soup just to name a few.

We also make our dishes come alive with all sorts of spices and herbs and of course our "Bajan" seasoning. There's no doubt that we can produce food like no other. After all we are the Gem of the Caribbean and we are great at who we are.