Fun at the Barbados Food Wine and Rum Festival!
Arriving in Barbados for Food Wine Rum Festival 2012
Barbados Food Wine and Rum Festival 2013, here I come! But let’s back track a bit. I’m fresh off my trip to Barbados for the third annual Food, Wine and Rum Festival. I found out about the festivities via the ladies of Parlour Magazine who arranged a deal with the Barbados Tourism Authority for a discount on one of three luxury hotels, the Tamarind, Colony Club and the House. My girls and I set up shop at the Tamarind, which turned out to be the livest hotel because we stayed there with the Parlour crew. Some of the festival’s featured chefs like Paul Yellin, our boo, Mark McEwan (more on that later) and Anne Burrell also chose the Tamarind as their temporary home for the festivities.
I love to go over the highs, lows and lessons learned after every trip, so let’s focus on the good stuff today.
The ultimate high was bonding with my girlfriends. One was my best friend from college, who I hadn’t seen in a while and the other was a woman I knew from the NYC writers circuit. I always thought she was really cool and down-to-Earth but never got to know her. She found out that I was going on the trip via a tweet I put out and the rest is history.
Oistins Fish Fry
The Oistins Fish Fry isn’t exactly a festival event but it’s a must for visitors to Barbados. Most Caribbean islands have some sort of fish fry/block party tradition like this but it’s usually just locals that show up. Oistins was more of an international playground. People–including locals–from all walks of life came together to eat, drink and party. Local vendors showed off by grilling and frying typical island fare. Barbados is known as the “Culinary Capital of the Caribbean,” so they had a lot to prove. There were so many vendors to choose from but I went to Pat’s because I noticed that the line was really long compared to other places and there were a lot of locals lined up for a taste–no brainer. I made the right decision, by the way.
Not only was this cutie pie on the grill:
But I had the best macaroni pie and grilled marlin that I have ever tasted in life…actually, that was my first time eating marlin–my standards have been set high.
As you can see, my girls beasted on this macaroni pie (mac n’ cheese) when I offered them some after damn near passing out because it was so good.
Before departing Oistins for the night, I stopped by Legendary and had some delicious fish cakes that turned out to be the best fish cakes I have ever tasted thus far. I know it sounds cliche, but it’s the truth!
Oistins takes place on the island each and every Friday. Do yourself a favor and experience it for yourself whether you’re there for the festival or not.
See below for navigation to pages 1-4 (right under the “related posts” photos) for the next set of pics.
Category: Travel
About the Author (Author Profile)
Starrene Rhett Rocque is a recovering journalist who often fantasizes about becoming a shotgun-toting B-movie heroine.Subscribe
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