Asian curry may be Britain’s favourite dish, but Caribbean food is fast becoming a favourite. I hazard a guess that if Caribbean food was more widely available, our curry would be giving the Asian variety a run for its money! The big difference is that Caribbean restaurants are rare in comparison to Asian ones, or any other kind of cuisine for that matter. That’s one of the reasons why I created Amirage Caribbean Cuisine – a personal chef service that serves up exquisite Caribbean food for people who want a different kind of gastronomic experience.
I’ll be sharing recipes and tips on Caribbean food and cooking. My tips will be based on real questions I’ve been asked by clients, journalists and friends over the years. In fact, my best friend who is a fabulous cook, but unfamiliar with Caribbean cooking, has given me quite challenging list to get cracking on! This will range from how to use various ingredients such as coconut cream and coconut milk to where to buy pimento berries and whether you should eat them (don’t!).
Over the years I’ve served Caribbean dishes to non-Caribbean friends at dinner parties and have been chuffed that the food has gone down so well and with their eagerness to know more about the food and how it’s prepared.
Caribbean cuisine conjures up ‘the exotic’ and in many people’s minds that equals complicated cooking, but that couldn’t be further from the truth – having cooked dishes from countries around the globe, I can honestly say that Caribbean cooking is one of the easier ones. It’s not a restrictive form of cooking – you can use your creative flair to adapt recipes to your taste. Each Caribbean island cooks dishes of the same name in different ways and they all taste divine.
I’ve been cooking Caribbean food since I was a youngster (observing my parents cooking, was all it took to learn – my mother still does the best Macaroni Cheese; a big favourite of Caribbeans). Since becoming a personal chef, I’ve learned to adapt my menu to the English palate. It’s a myth that English people don’t like spicy food – they certainly do – but there are definitely preferred dishes, for example, Escoveitch Fish, Coconut Prawns, Ackee Fried Rice, Ackee & Salt Fish Vole-au-Vents. My menu is constantly being refined to reflect these tastes. I’ll be sharing these favourite recipes and look forward to hearing your experiences with Caribbean food.
