Recommend April 2018 - 68

Mckenzie's Conch Shack at
Atlantis Paradise Island serves
authentic Bahamian food.

Grenada
On this island, "the spice of the
Caribbean," Grenada Culinary Tour
offers a Savor Cooking Class in a Grenadian
home. Participants learn how to make
an authentic meal, including dessert,
using local spices and other ingredients.
The package costs $100 pp, minimum four,
maximum 10. Commission for
travel agents: 15 percent.
grenadaculinarytour.com/savor-privacy

Jamaica
The Land of Alright has been such a
force in Caribbean culture, from reggae
to jerk to dreadlocks, that it's no wonder
so many tourism entities offer Jamaican
cultural experiences. The four Couples
Resorts showcase Jamaican cuisine in
various ways. 8 Rivers at Couples Tower
Isle serves "continental cuisine with a...
Caribbean flair," such as ackee-and-ricotta
ravioli. Couples Swept Away's Caribbean
Egg Benedictine features smoked marlin
and callaloo instead of ham and spinach.
Couples Negril serves beef, chicken, and
vegetable patties at its Beach Grill. Best
of all, Bella Vista beachfront restaurant
at Couples San Souci offers dishes like
West Indian curried chicken, Escovitch red
snapper, and jerk beef tenderloin. Couples
Sans Souci from $2,364. couples.com
Half Moon, which is open during a
$72 million renovation that will continue
through November, arranges Stush in the
Bush private excursions to a small farm
where crops are grown the traditional way.
The excursion includes a detailed look at
68 april 2018

Nigel Mitchell serves up dishes like sweet
potato soup, Caribbean lamb salad, and
plantain gratin with coconut rum sauce.
His team offers cooking demonstrations
and a market tour, too. Rates from $6,720.
Optional meal plans include full board
($130 pp) and all-inclusive ($180) plus 20
percent. ladera.com
what crops grow-and how-followed by
a Rastafarian-style lunch. The tour price
varies with the size of the group; rooms
start at $2,076. Travel agents get up to 15
percent commission and are also offered
rates up to 35 percent off with restrictions
and blackout periods. halfmoon.com
Moon Palace Jamaica Grande has put
in a jerk chicken shack and a live lobster
tank, the only one at a Caribbean resort.
These are local lobsters, not imports from
Maine. "We can cook lobster traditional
jerk, Jamaican style, with Jamaican spices:
pimento [aka allspice], Scotch Bonnet
pepper, and scallions," says executive
sous chef Emilio Benavides. From
$4,046, including a $1,500 resort credit.
moonpalace.com/jamaica/en-us
Nexus Tours' Zimbali Hiking and Lunch
package includes transportation from
Negril resorts into the mountains, where
a Rastafarian named Fire leads guests on
a hike, a farm tour to see how tropical
produce grows, and an Ital (vegetarian
Rasta) lunch cooked over a wood fire
($75). The Zimbali Overnight and Hike
includes a stay at Zimbali Retreats, a
hand-built, tradition-honoring, TV-free
lodge that serves authentic meals from
crops grown on the property ($500).
nexustours.com/jamaica/negril/tour/
zimbali-hiking-lunch-tour

Saint Lucia
Dasheene Restaurant at Ladera, famous for
its three-walled, luxury suites, predates the
hotel and has long made the case for fine
dining on Caribbean cuisine. Lucian chef

Multiple Islands
AMResorts operates so many properties -
and brands -that we can't cover them all,
so here's just a taste (ha!): Zoëtry Montego
Bay boasts a Jamaican jerk hut that serves
jerk chicken and pork with Jamaican Red
Stripe beer. In the Dominican Republic,
Zoëtry Agua Punta Cana's casual Piragua
restaurant offers international dishes
whose primary nationality is the DR:
e.g., Caribbean seafood chowder with
coriander. Secrets St. James Montego Bay
and Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay
give cooking classes at the Barefoot Grill,
a shared area for both resorts. The classes
teach guests how to prepare traditional jerk
dishes, and attendees get a recipe card so
they can bring some Jamaica home to their
own kitchens. Zoëtry Agua Punta Cana
from $3,787; Secrets Wild Orchid from
$4,130. amresorts.com

Sandals Resorts
An early proponent of jerk shacks,
Sandals Resorts now has seven: at Sandals
Montego Bay, Ochi, Royal Caribbean,
South Coast, Emerald Bay, Grande St.
Lucian, and Royal Barbados. Furthermore,
some of the Sandals have restaurants that
offer fine dining on authentic Caribbean
dishes such as Jamaican pepper pot and
curry goat. Top restaurants for this cuisine:
The Manor at Sandals Ochi, Spices at
Royal Bahamian, Oleander Room at
Montego Bay, and Eleanors at Grande
Antigua. Rooms at Sandals Ochi start at
about $3,600. sandals.com ■
recommend.com
http://www.ladera.com http://www.halfmoon.com http://www.grenadaculinarytour.com/savor-privacy http://www.moonpalace.com/jamaica/en-us http://www.amresorts.com http://www.nexustours.com/jamaica/negril/tour/ http://www.couples.com http://www.sandals.com http://www.recommend.com
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