The Essence of.....St Lucia An exploration of the world through food and drink

Essence -ial Information UK Tourist Office Lower Ground Floor 1 Collingham Gardens London SW5 0SW Currency  East Caribbean Dollar Capital Castries Language English Main Airlines British Airways, Virgin Flying Time from UK 8 hours Visa No

PROFILE The cuisine of Saint Lucia is a combination of French and British dishes. Before colonization, the Caribs and the Arawaks occupied the island, surviving on its various natural fruits and vegetables like mangoes, oranges, tangerines, avocados, and breadfruits. St Lucia is known for its famous dish banana and salt fish; breadfruit and salt fish is also popular. One famous dish, bouyon, can be cooked with fish, chicken, meat, plantains, bananas, dasheen, ground yams and dumplings. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, St. Lucia was first sighted by European explorers and only after more that a hundred years, a French colony was established on the island. 1979 represents an important phase of St. Lucia’s history as it represents the year when it became independent. Throughout the history, St. Lucia’s cuisine has been influenced by French, West Indian and Creole food, and its most popular dishes are pepper pot stew, callaloo and fried jackfish. Shellfish and fish are a daily dish, as well as vegetables like cassava, dasheen or taro, and sweet potatoes. As far as fruits are concerned, this category includes coconuts, bananas, mangoes, papayas, pineapples, guavas, passion fruit, and soursop. As for alcoholic drinks, St. Lucian people usually have beer and rum.