On the 1st of May. A day around the fish on the Cul de Sac bay. Cooking show and tastings, exhibitions of fruits and country vegetables.

Cooking Caribbean

Caribbean cooking is a culinary melting pot. Cultures from around the world influenced the kitchens of the Caribbean. Indigenous people, European colonizers, imported slaves, indentured workers from India and China, and more recently middle easterners all lend their own culinary customs that have now blended into a delicate and exciting gastronomic delight.

Traditionally, Caribbean women did not have a wide variety of food and cooked what was available, using numerous island spices and herbs to create tasty meals. On all the islands, Caribbean cooking always starts with the local staples - fresh fish, vegetables, local fruits, and chicken. But it is the creative use of island spices and herbs – use of coconut milk in particular – to prepare these fresh local foods that is the essence of Caribbean cooking.

The creativity in the kitchen is also what distinguishes the dishes of any one island. Each island has its very own unique style, culture and cooking techniques: Conch from The Bahamas; Black Beans & Rice from Cuba; Curry recipes from Trinidad; Barbados’ Flying Fish & Cou Cou; Jamaican Jerk seasonings and cooking; Chicken & Rice from Puerto Rico and the creole dishes of French St. Marten and Martinique.

Banana Rum Puffs

Ingredients

For dough

4 sticks (2 cups) cold unsalted butter

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

For filling

2 large firm-ripe bananas

12 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons rum

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

Make dough: Cut butter into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender blend together flour, salt, and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size lumps of butter. Stir in sour cream with a fork until incorporated and form dough into a ball.

Divide dough into 6 portions and form each piece into a 5-inch square. Chill dough, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours, and up to 3 days, or freeze, wrapped well, up to 1 month.

Make filling: Mash enough of bananas to measure 1 cup and in a bowl stir together with remaining filling ingredients until smooth.

On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 dough square (keep remaining dough chilled or frozen) into a 15- by 6-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). With a sharp knife and a ruler cut rectangle into ten 3-inch squares. Lay squares over ungreased mini-muffin cups (2 cups will remain empty) and drop 1 heaping teaspoon filling onto center of squares. Bring all four corners of squares together and press gently to seal (filling will not be completely enclosed; this process will ease filled pastries into muffin cups). Chill filled pastries 30 minutes. Make more pastries in same manner.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake pastries in batches in lower third of oven until pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool pastries in pans on racks 10 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely. Pastries keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in airtight containers, and frozen, 2 weeks. Before serving, thaw puffs and reheat in one layer on a baking sheet in a 325°F oven 7 to 10 minutes. Cool puffs on a rack. Dust puffs with confectioners’ sugar before serving. Yield: about 60 puffs

Papaya Salad

Ingredients

4 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 cups peeled, seeded, and grated green papayas

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions

Prepare the vinaigrette in a small bowl by combining the oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, garlic, salt, and pepper. Combine the papaya and vinaigrette in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and lime juice. Yield: 6 servings

Apricot Fritters Recipe

Ingredients

12 small apricots OR 6 large apricots, halved

12 whole almonds

2 Tbsp white rum

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup water plus 1 Tbsp water

3 Tbsp melted butter

1-1/2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

Rinse the apricots, slit the sides and remove the pits with a small spoon, leaving the apricots intact. Replace each pit with an almond. Place the apricots in a bowl and sprinkle the slit sides with the rum. For the batter, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk in the water, then the melted butter. Pour the oil into a 4-quart pan and heat it to 350 degrees F.

With a fork, dip the apricots into the batter and add to the hot oil 3 or 4 at a time, frying them about 6 or 7 minutes, until the batter is a deep golden and the apricots are cooked, but still firm. Drain the fritters on absorbent paper as they are fried and keep them warm in a 300-degree F oven. To serve, sprinkle the fritters generously with confectioners’ sugar. Yield: 8 servings

Monohull and multihull boats race around the island.

The Captain Oliver’s Carib Beer Regatta returned for its second edition over the weekend of May 20/21 with the pundits primed in anticipation. Last year’s event burst onto the sporting world like a young Mike Tyson - pummeling, jabbing and gnawing at the ear of a local sailing establishment unaccustomed to racing out of Oyster Pond and sumptuous post-race buffets.

Would the second regatta consolidate the good parts and eliminate the erreurs de jeunesse in order to lay the foundations for a regular event, or would it come back like a one-hit-wonder boy band – unprepared, already peaked, and bereft of new steps?

First of all, top marks to the organizing committee for tweaking the format. Out went the race round the north of the island, to be replaced by a 30NM slog to St Barths and back on Saturday and some round the rocks fun south to Proselyte Reef on the Sunday. The round the buoys series off Crystal Mountain for the Racing Class was included once again, although with only four boats competing in this class, numbers were down on last year. The St Barths 7.50 Monotypes that caused such a stir last year were unable rather than unwilling to come out and play.

Otherwise, a total of 31 boats competed in five classes, including seven Multihulls and four Beach Cats. The tightest competition was in the Cruising Class, which included Sir Bobby Velasquez’s L’Esperance, Philippe Herve’s Vanille, Jan Vanden Eynde’s Soca For Sale, and a boat each from Sunsail and The Moorings, who both have bases in Oyster Pond.

With the wind gusting to 20 knots on Saturday, the fleet set off to St Barths pounding the water like the whales that are often spotted in this area. First back was Vincent Jordil in the Beach Cat Class, aboard his Prindle 19 Latitudes. His time of four hours forty nine minutes wasn’t enough to take first place on corrected time, but it was an awesome performance. Pat Turner’s Tryst in Multihull also impressed, back in five hours forty and first on corrected time, too. Among the monohulls, Frits Bus’s Melges 24 Carib Natufit put in a typically imperious time of five hours eighteen, while L’Esperance, a Beneteau 45, thundered back in after five hours forty six minutes. However, it was rival boat Vanille, a Beneteau First 300 which won on corrected time.

As the afternoon progressed, the winds died, leaving nine boats bobbing back to Oyster Pond as a DNF. Too late for Happy Hour, but in perfect time for that evening’s party at Captain Oliver’s, where crews, press and local dignitaries gathered for another legendary soiree hosted by Oyster Pond’s very own Great Gatsby. While the Captain is not one to move anonymously through the glitterati who flock to nibble his hors d’oeuvres, these evenings nevertheless belong to a bygone age.

On Sunday morning, competitors breathed a sigh of relief that last year’s windless conditions had not returned. Out on the water, Bus again dominated the racing class, winning all three of his 20-minute races, although pushed all the way by Didier Rouault on Sam Jang. In Cruising, Philippe Herve did everything right to take first place yet again, edging out L’Esperance by less than a minute on corrected time. “We enjoyed a reaching course,” said Herve. “In heavier seas, he [Bobby] has more inertia.”

Vanille’s crew worked extra hard for this victory, and were rewarded with the overall Challenge Cup at the evening’s prize ceremony, where competitors were bombarded with gift certificates, free flights and beautiful model boats. Other class winners were Frits Bus in Racing, Palm Palm in Multihull, Eric Pagos and Ronan Guerin in Beach Cats and Soca Girl in Cool Class.

Overall, Captain Oliver’s Carib Regatta has found its formula. “The level is not too high and not too low,” said Philippe Herve, who comes, like many others, for the evening entertainment and change of scenery.

There were gripes. Not all competitors were enamoured of the St Barths race’s length and the starts and finishes still need work. One competitor in the Beach Cat class pointed out that Gallic appeals to have briefings in French fell on deaf ears, and that the Beach Cats have yet to be given the attention of the other classes.

Next year, Sunsail and The Moorings will join as partners, which should boost the bareboat entry, while the Tourist Offices on both sides of the island will return to guarantee that the regatta remains, in the words of Herve Harel, ‘Un weekend fun’.

On the 15 th of May. Family day and valorization of the culinary specialities.

Crispy Lobster & Vegetable Spring Roll with Soya Lobster Dressing

4 Persons

2 Leek,

4 Carrot,

5 oz Snow peas

6 Sheet filo dough

Mixed green salad

2 Lobster tail 5 oz,

Lobster oil

Sesame seed

Soya sauce

Black ground pepper

Chives

No salt

Preparation:

Clean and make an julienne with the vegetables, sautéed them with some lobster oil, chopped chives, roasted sesame seed and ground black pepper.

Boiled 8 minutes the lobster tails (with the shell)

In an salted water with ground black pepper

Shredded them, added to the sautéed Vegetables and mixed everything’s well.

Laid done 1 sheet of filo dough brush some lobster oil on it before to added the other one on a top, install the mixture above from right to left and rolled down to the bottom And cut in half, half again to have 8 pieces.

Brush the top with some lobster oil, added some row Sesame seed on it and cook it 10 minutes at 400*

Soya lobster dressing:

Mixed some mustard With red vinegar, soya sauce 5 drops or more of Tabasco and whipped with the lobster oil to make this dressing.

Presentation:

Place some mixed salad on the plate with the dressing and place the six spring rolls around.

Et voila Bonne Appetite

Mixed Julienne Vegetable Salad

with Roasted Lobster

and Balsamic Lobster Dressing

For 4 persons

4 Lobster tail (5 oz each)

1 Bunch of chives

2 Shallots,

2 Leek

8 Tbsp lobster oil,

4 Mushrooms,

2 oz of Snow peas,

2 Carrots,

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar,

2 Tomatoes,

Mesclum salad,

Ground black pepper,

Salad, mustard,

Tabasco,

Chives

Preparation:

Julienne the vegetables and to preserve their crunchiness keep them in cold water for 1 hour

Chop the shallots, tomatoes and mushrooms in little dices.

For vinaigrette whip the mustard with the Balsamic vinegar and add the lobster oil slowly.

Pan sear the lobster tails 1 minute on both sides and finish them in the oven 350* F 4 minutes.

Presentation:

Season the mesclum with the vinaigrette and arrange on the plate, top with the julienne vegetables julienne then sprinkle the tomatoes and mushrooms around the plate. Place the roasted lobster on top and finish with the chopped chives.

Et voila Bonne appetite.

Festivities celebrating of the 159th anniversary of slave abolition. Animations between on the 21 and the 27 of May. Commemoration of the abolition on the 27 of May. Official ceremonies all this day and great exhibition on the ocean front at Marigot since 18h30.

1804–93, French humanitarian and statesman. Long involved in the abolition movement, he presided (1848) over a commission that secured the abolition of slavery in French territory. He opposed the coup of Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III) of Dec., 1851, and was forced into exile in England until Napoleon’s fall in 1870. Elected to the national assembly, he sat with the extreme left. He became senator for life in 1875.

Victor Schoelcher (22 July 1804, Paris - 25 December 1893, Houilles) was a French abolitionist writer in the 1800’s and the main spokesman for a group from Paris who worked for the abolition of slavery, and formed an abolition society in 1834. He worked especially hard for the abolition of slavery on the Caribbean islands.

Schoelcher was born in Paris but was sent to visit America from 1829-1830. While in America he visited Mexico, Cuba, and some of the southern states of the U.S. While on this trip Schoelcher learned a lot about slavery and began his career as an abolitionist writer.

He was responsible for the publication of many articles regarding slavery between 1833 and 1847 in which he focused on positive aspects of abolishing slavery. Schoelcher was also intent on social, economic, and political changes being made in the Caribbean colonies. He thought that the production of sugar should continue in the colonies but large central factories should be constructed rather than using slave labor.

After Haiti gained independence Schoelcher was the first European abolitionist to visit the country and had a large influence on the abolitionist movements in all of the French Caribbean islands. He became the president of the commission for the abolition of slavery and on April 27 1848 the French government decreed that slavery was abolished in all of its colonies.

Schoelcher was the most well informed Frenchman on the Caribbean colonies and after 1871 developed a group of correspondents between the Caribbean, Great Britain and the United States. He continued to express his political ideas and on December 2 1851 went into exile in Belgium and London until 1870 after disagreeing with the writings of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s coup d’etat. Schoelcher was elected senator for life in 1875.

Schoelcher published his last writings in 1889. After fighting for and writing for the abolition of slavery and French colonialism in the Caribbean for a large portion of the 1800’s Schoelcher died in 1893.

On May 20 1949 Schoelcher’s remains were transferred to the Panthéon, where great French men and women are buried.

Bibliography

Jan Rogozinski - A Brief History Of The Caribbean (New York: Plume, 2000)

James Chastain - Victor Schoelcher. Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions 2004 James Chastain.