Your humble servant has just had an article published in the latest edition of Time Out magazine, London’s listings bible. It’s amazing to see your name in print but more amazing when it’s in such an esteemed publication!
The story begins thus: “If you hear a Trinidadian call you a ’saltfish’, don’t take offence. Saltfish or dried and salted cod (also known as bacalao to the Spanish and bacalhau to the Portuguese), has been a staple of Trinidadian cuisine since the days of slavery. It’s a relatively cheap source of protein and a very versatile ingredient. It’s such a big favourite that calypso legend the Mighty Sparrow sang its praises in a classic song where he gloriously proclaims, ‘All saltfish sweet’. And if a ‘Trini’ refers to someone as a saltfish, it means they’re well liked and universally popular.”
Click here to read my entire Time Out article.

I’ve spent the last few days reading a super-duper book on African cuisine. When I first saw The Soul Of A New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavours of Africa, I was struck by the life story of author, Ethiopian-born chef Marcus Samuelsson, brought up by a Swedish family who adopted him and his sister after their mother died in a tuberculosis epidemic.
His love for food was fostered by his grandmother where he spent lots of time learning about Swedish food. “I spent many weekends at her side, learning about food from start to finish: picking apples, making jams, hunting for mushrooms, pickling our garden harvest, and more. She passed her love of food to me and because of her teachings, every job I have ever had has had some connection to food.”
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What do you get when you mix reggae and pepper sauce? Reggae Reggae Sauce of course!
This pepper sauce made waves on British TV a few days ago when Levi Roots, a Jamaican-born brother from Brixton, south London clinched £50,000 to help him develop his unique brand of pepper sauce.
Roots captivated five hard-nosed business gurus on the popular show, Dragons’ Den with his singing skills and his unique take on marketing a product that many Caribbean people take for granted.
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Tomorrow is the much-anticipated start of the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean. The CWC is the biggest sporting event to be staged in the Caribbean and the region is pulling out all the stops to make it a truly memorable event.
If you know anything about the Caribbean, you’ll know that there’s always a fantastic party atmosphere at international cricket matches. At Sabina Park in Jamaica, you’ll find the Red Stripe mound complete with a pool and sexy girls in bikinis, at the Trini Posse stand in Port of Spain the Carib Beer girls usually provide eye candy while soca stars provide lunchtime entertainment. I’ve been to cricket in St Vincent where there’s an all day barbecue behind the ‘party stand’ and the atmosphere is quite amazing.
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All Caribbean folks and honorary Caribs, I’m on the look out for Cookbooks from ALL over the region. Please send some suggestions! I am particularly looking for older books in the vein of the old Sylvia Hunt cookbooks, not the simplistic guides to Caribbean food or guide books with recipes like Pirate Chicken and Calypso Rice.
I want to learn more about food from places like Suriname, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and our Francophone cousins. In the case of the French Caribbean, I prefer if the books are in English, since my French is a bit rusty.
I would be especially happy if someone can say where I can get a reasonably priced copy of Culinaria Caribbean. I’m looking forward to your shoutouts!