An Island for All Tastes Barbados is especially appealing to a growing band of gastronomes, who have learned that great restaurants alone, whether beach shacks or more sophisticated dining is sufficient reason to keep on visiting Barbados! From fine dining in a spectacular beachfront restaurant to the sizzling delights of a street-side fish fry at Oistins, the island will never cease to surprise. Bajan street food comes highly recommended. When internationally renowned American chef, Marcus Samuelson describes a lowly fish sandwich from Cuz, (a tiny fish shack on the south coast), as “King of all fish burgers,” its praise indeed! Barbados has a vibrant food scene with many restaurants having contemporary menus based on local produce and freshly caught local fish with an emphasis on fresh and quality ingredients. There have been other ethnic influences resulting in some of the best sushi at Nishi in historic Holetown and excellent curries drawing from the West Indian heritage with other influences from all over the world utilising a roll call of enticing ingredients. The climax for Bajan gastronomic calendar takes place in November with the Barbados Food and Rum Festival, involving the best local chefs and also featuring guest chefs from around the world. ...no wonder people want to come back What is most enduring about Barbados is the loyalty of its visitors, many of whom return year after year to their favourite haunts, some of which we feature in the course of this special feature. Colourful legacy of the plantations Outside Bridgetown, the island is dotted with sleepy villages and some beautiful botanical gardens as well as the plantation houses of the centuries old sugar cane industry. The pretty chattel houses, which originated on the many plantations across the island, have become an architectural feature, strikingly painted in primary colours and pastel shades, with intricate fretwork around the windows. An island for sports and outdoor activities Barbados is sports mad. From January to March and again in October and November, there is high-class cricket to watch. Golf is popular and keen players will be drawn to prestigious courses like Sandy Lane, Royal Westmoreland or Apes Hill. The best horseback-riding is across the central highlands and down to the east coast, and as you would expect, there’s a wide array of water sports to enjoy including paddle surfing on the west, kite surfing on the south and surfing on the wild rollers that sweep onto the rugged, east coast. A people who like to party There is a vibrant year-round festival calendar celebrating food, the island’s favourite beverage “Rum”, agriculture, surfing, music, golf, car racing, and culture. The Crop Over Festival from late June to early August is notably one of the biggest Caribbean festivals. Four spectacular sundrenched weeks filled with exciting events, dancing, live music, and of course, legendary Barbadian rum! For the people of Barbados, it’s a cultural celebration that has hallmarked the end of the sugar cane growing season for over 300 years. For visitors, it’s a unique opportunity to become truly immersed in the dynamic culture of the island culminating in carnival style Kadooment on the Monday at the end of July/beginning of August. Festival time A tall tail at the Fish Pot restaurant 24
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