The Queen’s Park playing field was encircled by booths preparing mouth-watering dishes as the Barbados Food & Wine And Rum Festival’s Sizzle Street got under way yesterday afternoon.
Locals and tourists sampled the foods on offer. Some sat at tables while others were on the grass, enjoying the outdoor dining experience.
Pulled pork, bacon cakes, pork kebabs, barbecued ribs, breadfruit fish cakes, pudding and souse and macaroni pie were among the offerings.
Britain’s Lily-May Price, who has visited Barbados eight times, said she had never seen an event like it.
“I found it absolutely amazing,” she told the SUNDAY?SUN.
“The rum cake is absolutely wonderful and the breadfruit cakes are to die for. Everything I have tasted here I have really enjoyed.”
Barbadian Denise Walrond, who described herself as a “foodie”, said: “I wanted to attend this to learn some innovative ways of cooking Bajan foods and see how I can try at home. I am impressed with the breadfruit fish cakes; it is a whole new way of enjoying breadfruit.”
Chef Paul Norville, owner of the Smoke Pit, prepared barbecued pork and ribs. He said what Barbadians sometimes called barbecuing was actually grilling.
“Authentic barbecue is a long, slow process of cooking food through the use of hot smoke, using flavoured wood,” he said.
Norville and his team served pulled pork – which went quickly – as well as ribs and chicken.
“People are exposed to this type of cooking through Food Network and it sparks their interest so they come out and want to try it,” Norville said.
Exhibitor Patricia McClean, managing director of Caribbean Passion, said she had made contact with two people interested in having her line of marinades and sauces sold overseas.
She called the event a great exposure tool.
“It is a great opportunity to sell and market the product, also to interact with people from outside to create export opportunities,” she declared.
Sizzle Street – one highlight of the four-day festival – also drew team members from Germany’s Cooking Cup who had a close look at local foods and the style of preparation ahead of their competition finals on Tuesday.
One of the finalists, Peter Oberschelp, said: “The food is completely different to our food in Germany and it is very interesting. I tried the fish cakes, flying fish and other specialties. I enjoyed it very much,” he said.
Five teams from Germany are in Barbados to participate in competition which has the theme Caribbean Kitchen. Oberschelp said the competition would give them some leeway for interpretation.
“I know how to cook the sweet potatoes and green bananas but [I am] not familiar with cassava or most of the Caribbean foods, so it will be a fusion kitchen because we will create European-influenced foods using Caribbean products,” he said.
Sizzle Street, a new addition to the festival calendar, had an emphasis on “street cuisine”.
