The Essence of.....Antigua & Barbuda An exploration of the world through food and drink

www.antigua-barbuda.com Essence -ial Information UK Tourist Office 2nd floor, 45 Crawford Place, London W1H 4LP Currency East Caribbean Dollar Capital St John's/Codrington Language English Main Airlines British Airways, Virgin Flying Time from UK 8hrs 40mins Visa No

PROFILE Antigua and Barbuda is a state made of 2 separate islands, situated in the Insular Central America. There can be found numerous exotic plants on these territories, which are intensively used in the authentic Antiguan and Barbuda dishes: banana trees, sugar cane, pineapple trees, coffee and coconut trees and citrus fruits. All these aliments are the staples of a very light and exotic cuisine, which resembles to other culinary habits of the surrounding islands. The Antiguan and Barbuda cuisine resembles to the general Caribbean one, as it includes a wide range of light meats, like fish, seafood and Chicken, which are mostly grilled or roasted. Being a fusion of numerous cultures, like Spanish, French, African, Indian and Amerindian, the Caribbean cuisine is very unique, yet complex. Some of the most famous dishes in the capital are the local and traditional desserts, which include a variety of tropical ice-creams and mousses or fruit tarts. Among these, there is the key lime mousse or the creole coconut tart and the chocolate torte, with an intense flavor of the local cocoa. The national dish of Antigua and Barbuda is fungie (pronounced "foon-jee") and pepper pot. Fungie is a dish very similar to the Italian Polenta, and is almost completely made from cornmeal. Other local dishes include ducana, season rice, Saltfish and lobster (from Barbuda). There are also local confectionaries which include: sugarcake, fudge, raspberry and tamarind stew and peanut brittle.