Restaurants
Book Restaurants Online
Cafes & Coffee Shops
Caterers
Chinese & Japanese
Indian & Balti
Italian
Middle Eastern, African and Caribbean
Modern & European
Other Cuisines
Take Away
Thai & South East Asian
Vegetarian
Sponsored Links
+ Website Designers
+ Bed and Breakfasts

Offers & Deals
Book a Hotel

Hot Links
London Recycling:
60% more could be recycled. No time to waste. It's time for action. www.recycleforlondon.com
Competition
Win a Luxury Ski Holiday in France ...
Caribbean Food

feature

The Caribbean’s status as the crossroads of the world has made sure that its cuisine is as eclectic as it is delicious, although the reputation of the food you might find whilst holidaying on the islands has only recently improved. Much of the local cuisine is unexpectedly heavy, made up of stews and starchy vegetables as well as the locally caught fish that you might expect on a tropical island.

The first inhabitants of the islands, the Arawak, Carib and Taino Indians, ate native fruits and vegetables such as the paw paw, yams and guava. Each group then added something to the cuisine – the Taino began cooking fish and meat in clay pots while the Arawaks created the earliest form of barbeque and Caribs began adding spices and peppers to their foods, even making the first pepper pot stews.

When Europeans came to the Caribbean they brought with them African slaves who introduced new recipes and styles of cooking to the islands – fish cakes, ackee, okra and spicy meats slow cooked over a flame (now known as jerk). In addition the Spanish introduced many aspects of their own cuisine when passing through including plantains, ginger and oranges. Later breadfruit was introduced by Polynesians and corn, beans and chilli by Americans.

The sugarcane which was also introduced by Spanish explorers is now a staple of the Caribbean diets and in most homes you will find that desserts are incorporated in to most meals with cakes, pies and dumplings as important as a hot main meal.

When slavery was abolished on the islands, slave owners had to find help from overseas and so Indian and Chinese workers arrived bringing with them rice and new spices, introducing among other things curried goat – a now famous Caribbean dish.

Although there have been Caribbean links with Britain for hundreds of years it was only after world war two that a significant number of immigrants made their way in to the country, bringing with them the style of cooking which is now so popular in cities around the UK and particularly in London where many establishments serve up popular dishes such as jerk chicken, rice and peas and ackee and saltfish.


Laura Heaps, MyVillage 25th October




Whats on in Kensington
Dec 2006
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
     12
3456789
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Archive features Archive features
Book Chinese & Japanese Restaurants
Mr Wing

Book Indian Restaurants
Zaika
Khan's of Kensington
Shezan Restaurant
Little India
Memories of India
Noor Jahan
The Delhi Brasserie
Kare Kare

Book Italian Restaurants
Papa Luigi's Restaurant
The Ark
Sopranos
Caffe Uno
Strada - Kensington
Locanda Ottomemezzo
Timo Restaurant
Fratelli

Book Modern & European Restaurants
Plum Bar & Grill
The Tenth
Kensington Roof Gardens
190 Queens Gate
Gardens Restaurant @ The Holiday Inn
Kensington Place
Peridot
Restaurant At NH Herrington Hall

Book Other Cuisines
Dione
Ten Tables
Piano
Ten Tables
Slice
Lessandro

Book Thai Restaurants
Blue Lagoon
Thai Square: South Kensington
Thai Origin

Featured Businesses
Feng Sushi
Malabar
Xiong Mao

Features
Singapore food festival
Special chef evenings
Wodka
190 Queens Gate
Eating in Knightbridge
Buy His Lunch!

Restaurant Reader Reviews
Orsini Ristorante-Bar-Caffe'
Moti Mahal Restaurant
The Blythe Road Restaurant
Raison D'etre
Mohsen
Lorenzos
Mediterranean Kitchen
Hare and Tortoise
Jacobs
Scoffs Eating House
 Buy Books with Amazon
Cook with Jamie - Jamie Oliver
Humble Pie - Gordon Ramsay
Delia's Vegetarian Collection - Delia Smith
more books

Food News & Features
Chestnuts herald the festive season
BBC Good Food Show
Autumn Eating
Organic Fortnight
A dish best served cold
Al Fresco Dining
The all-round summer superfood
Pour over the balsamic

Healthy Eating
Saving on Organics
Nuts about nuts
How much salt is too much?
Healthy lunch at the office
Five unusual things to do with an avocado
Asparagus: nature's Viagra

Wine & Drinks
Autumn wines for seasonal roasts
Are you a Coffee Addict?
All about espresso machines
Raise a glass to English wines
Salute Italia!

Cuisines
British food
Caribbean Food
Chinese food
French food
Indian food
Italian food
Thai food

Celebrity Chefs
Gordon Ramsay
Jamie Oliver
Nigella Lawson

Competitions
Win a Harrods wine hamper
Win a Luxury Ski Holiday
Win a Xbox 360
Win an iPod Nano
Win a ghd travel bag
Win Lancome products
Win a Sony Vaio laptop