Enjoy a fun and delicious journey through the Caribbean in this vibrant collection of gourmet and home-style recipes. Hugh Sinclair and Cynthia Verna, known as "Chef Irie" and "Chef Thia" on their television show Taste the Islands, introduce ingredients and flavors that open windows into the region's many cultures. Sinclair and Verna share their own recipes as well as traditional island favorites. Starting with "stop gap" snacks like fritters made from malanga root and continuing through desserts and cocktails, they include refreshing salads like pineapple pepper slaw, soups with "a healthy dose of soul" made with bases such as calabaza pumpkin or black beans, and main dishes such as curried goat or mussels chorizo in mango coconut sauce. From the authors' home nations of Jamaica and Haiti to St. Lucia, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, the communities represented in these dishes have deep histories. The recipes feature both native and colonial food traditions that have been passed down for generations and showcase African, European, Middle Eastern, and Asian influences. Sinclair and Verna also incorporate tastes and techniques from their international travels, capturing the eclectic variety of Caribbean cuisine today. Filled with colorful photographs and infused with the joy of two expert chefs celebrating the foods that are closest to their hearts, Taste the Islands brings the places, histories, and rhythms of the Caribbean into your home kitchen.
Hugh Sinclair ("Chef Irie") is a Jamaican-born chef who enjoys sharing his knowledge and love of island food with television and live audiences. Cynthia Verna ("Chef Thia") is a Haitian-born chef and the author of 50 Favorite Haitian Recipes: Taste the Islands Essentials. Sinclair and Verna are co-hosts of the show Taste the Islands, which airs on PBS and Create TV. Calibe Thompson, a Jamaican-American entrepreneur, is creative director at Island Syndicate, a media, design, and entertainment agency based in South Florida. She is the creator and executive producer of Taste the Islands.
Introduction 1. Appetizers 2. Salads and Dressings 3. Soups and Sauce 4. Seafood 5. Poultry and Meat 6. Sides 7. Desserts 8. Drinks Acknowledgments Producer's Message Substitutions Glossary Index
"The authors incorporate their knowledge of the region's history, noting native traditions and colonial influences, as well as the variety present in today's Caribbean cuisine, influenced as it has been by the international nature of the contemporary culinary scene. This perspective results in a nuanced approach which is enriched by the joy the chefs clearly find in their work."-Booklist "[A] flavor-packed collection of zesty island favorites. . . . Will easily appeal to fans of Caribbean cuisine as well as those yearning for island life."-Publishers Weekly
