Savoring new cuisine is one of the joys of travel, and in the Caribbean, travelers will find mouthwatering opportunities from both tour operators and hoteliers.
In Nevis, visitors can sample traditional dishes when they explore with Nevis Sun Tours. The company’s Village Food Tour includes tastings and a tour of the picturesque town of Barnes Ghaut, while the Cooking With Ras Iroy tour features a visit to a Rastafarian farm to harvest ingredients to prepare in clay pots.
In neighboring St. Kitts, meanwhile, the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & The Royal Beach Casino partners with Sunlinc to offer a variety of tours, including a Sugar Heritage and Culture tour that treats participants to a range of local snacks while taking them to old sugar mills and the historic Brimstone Hill Fortress.
Walking tours are a wonderful way to get to know the local food scene at Nassau Paradise Island, where the Bites of Nassau Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour takes participants on a journey through the city of Nassau with stops for six food and drink tastings.
Another walking tour option is the Taste of Barbados Tour from Tours by Locals in Bridgetown. This excursion includes samples of local favorites, such as roast breadfruit, and the option to stop at Chattel Village, a collection of small shops, for a traditional Bajan lunch.
The Rum Vault at the Colony Club by Elegant Hotels offers rum and chocolate pairings.
Credit: 2022 Colony Club by Elegant HotelsTravelers with a sweet tooth, meanwhile, may want to consider a visit to the Dominican Republic, where the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel and Casino Santo Domingo and the Courtyard by Marriott Santo Domingo offer curated chocolate activities in partnership with the Kahkow Experience. This tour operator organizes Dominican chocolate tastings and even teaches participants how to create their own chocolate bar.
Cuisine and spirit pairings are also the focus of theme dinners at the Colony Club by Elegant Hotels in Barbados. The dining events created by chef Wayne Maynard at the Rum Vault feature rum and chocolate pairings.
In Grenada, visitors can delight their taste buds with Savor the Spice, a tour company with a wide range of programs. Its Savor the Town itinerary provides an introduction to the island’s cuisine through tastings in the capital of St. George’s, while Savor the Country and Falls features a six-hour tour through the rainforest with visits to estates and gardens for spice tastings, as well as a cooking class.
Travelers headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands will find multiple tour operators with a culinary focus. Flavors Food Tours St. Thomas, for example, offers a three-hour Flavors of St. Thomas Food Tour that includes tastings of local dishes, such as creole fungi and fried plantains. Virgin Islands Food Tours, meanwhile, offers a Taste of Twin City Food Tour in St. Croix with stops at six locations.
And finally, if mixing cuisine with a bit of Hollywood glamour sounds enticing, consider a stay at The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas. The hotel’s 007 Secret Menu Experience, created to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the resort and the first James Bond film, features a seven-course dinner, inspired by and named for a different Bond film. It’s an elegant way to enjoy a vacation — shaken, not stirred.
