I admit, I ate far too much on my latest trip to the lush Caribbean island of St Lucia. Fresh seafood, freshly farmed vegetables and those saucy Creole flavours are hard to resist. As this trip was all about the food, I reckoned I had some unwritten permission to indulge.
Unfortunately, I arrived on the island late one Friday evening, too late for the Gros Islet “Jump Up” Street Party. Friday nights are about locals “liming” (hanging out) and eating a fish supper amid the winding streets around the marina. It’s about sashaying to Caribbean music following the aromas of BBQ or highly seasoned grilled fish to be downed with national local rum.
Happily, there was no shortage of alternative palate-tantalising opportunities. Ross Stevenson, the General Manager of the five-star luxurious hacienda-style Cap Maison Resort and Spa, averted any feelings of FOMO.
Cap Maison Resort – a culinary destination
The cliff-top Cap Maison on the island’s beautiful northern tip is a gorgeous hotel offering a range of luxurious self-catering villas, many with their own pools, surrounded by pleasing fauna and flora. Plus, Cap Maison is also a renowned foodie destination.
Hacienda style properties
Al fresco dining at the Cliff
Its al-fresco Cliff at Cap restaurant has a famous classically French-trained chef, Craig Jones at its gastronomic helm. His menu is a French-Caribbean fusion of dishes offering delicacies such as Ahi Tuna with a mango balsamic jus, Kurobuta pork belly with Razor Clams and squid served with coconut foam. I loved the compressed melon with Creole Vinaigrette, Jalapeño and doused in Feta cheese.
Compressed Melon at Cliff retaurant St Lucia
Day or night you get a superb sea view stretching out into a seemingly infinite distance with unobstructed views towards Martinique to the north and Pigeon Island to the West.
The resort has three other dining experiences; a casual dining offering at the Naked Fisherman restaurant located on Cap’s private beach, and a highly intimate space for two called Rock Maison where Champagne is delivered by zip line. The most fun though is a rum wine and food pairing experience in the intimate Cellar Maison led by sommelier Robbie.
Robbie made five incredible pairing choices, including matching seabream, spiny ravioli and a shellfish cappuccino with Beaune Premier Cru 2009. My favourite was Jerk pork belly, Mac and cheese, and roast corn paired with the divine honeysuckle and mandarin notes of Viognier, Salon Latag, 2023. Dessert was a chocolate peanut fondant paired with a Solera aged rum punch. There was no way we were ever likely to leave that cellar in the same state we arrived.
Eat like a local with Stacey Martin
The gastronomic “Eat Like A Local” experience with Stacy Martin the chef and owner of Cool Running Kitchen Truck in Rodney Bay is altogether more rustic and hands-on. A bit of a superwoman you’ll see Stacy dishing up her own style of fish from her truck at the Friday night parties in Gros Islet before heading to her evening shifts at Cap Maison. And during the day, she teaches groups of Creole cooking wannabes – like us.
A vibrant personality, Chef Stacey was firm “You cookin’ — all I doin’ is watchin’!” and swiftly delegated to us, her sous chefs. My role was to create the steamed fish dish on a bed of various chopped (by me) vegetables, doused in the local hot sauce for extra Creole flavour.
Another had to BBQ breadfruit – this starchy, mildly sweet fruit is a St Lucian staple. Stacy created a makeshift log fire which was fanned till it browned completely. Another made a ceviche salad and another the BBQ flavoured chicken dish.
This wonderful al fresco cookery course ended with us enjoying our dishes amid the sounds of the nearby ocean waves.
Bean to Bar Experience at Hotel Chocolat Plantation. (3hrs)
I’ve always had a penchant for Hotel Chocolat chocolates in the UK never giving much thought to the origins of the cocao beans. So it was a real treat to visit their 140-acre Rabat plantation just beyond the coastal village of Soufriere, which means sulphur in the air, known as the epicentre of volcanic activity. The town is located in the caldera of a dormant volcano and overlooked by the iconic Piton volcanic plugs.
Soufriere, in the caldera of a dormant volcano overlooked by Pitons.
The drive there was along the gorgeous West Coast Road, itself a revelation of natural beauty and lush banana plantations, flanking hilly, twisty roads, and sometimes ludicrously steep hills. There was the odd pothole and at times we were held up by road works aiming to repair damage from tropical storms that had previously torn through this tiny island.
Today the weather was calm, gloriously sunny and hot and we were ready for lunch when we arrived at Project Chocolat. The Bean-to-bar experience is slick, educational and highly immersive. We enjoyed a hearty lunch of cacao-imbued dishes such as white chocolate mash, cacao pumpkin chilli hummus and cacao nachos at Rabot Restaurant and pulled pork sliders. I thought these dishes would be sweet, but cacao often adds a touch of spicey flavours.
Sated, we then went on a 90-minute edu-tour of the plantation and learned that the cacao plants are of the Trinitario hybrid variety and that maturity from seed to pod takes around five years. Then we learned how to make chocolate. Pounding those cacao beans into a paste is no easy task, then mixing with butter and sugar to taste and later pouring it into a mould to set. It was so delicious I had fantasies of becoming a chocolatier.
Castries Market Tour and Cooking Class (2-5 hrs including cooking class)
In my humble opinion, the best way to deeply feel the vibe of any place is to venture into their local market. In St Lucia that place is in its port capital of Castries.
Entrance to Castries Market
Spiced rum maker in Castries market, St Lucia
Breadfruit at Castries
Spices of St Lucia
We followed one of Cap Maison’s chefs, Chef Sam, around Castries market devouring her thoughts and tips about Caribbean produce. Vendors were keen to share information about their spices and hot sauces, and how they spice their rum.
When we got thirsty we bought a freshly cut coconut and drank the juice. We watched as Sam inspected and finally chose the produce that she would teach us to cook in our villa at Cap Maison.
Helen’s Daughter Nature’s Way Tour
We made one final stop to Helen’s Daughters to join their Nature’s Way Tour of their farm in Castries. Helena’s story is inspirational and she talks about how their initiative empowers women in agriculture under the banner of “In the Eyes of a FarmHER”. Her farm has been supplying organic food to the island for some 40 years and we got to walk around the banana trees, herb plants, medicinal plants and a myriad of fruit and vegetable patches. It’s a fascinating tour and ends with a plate of fresh fruit salad picked from the land. You are likely to taste their produce at Castries market and in restaurants. This initiative has made its mark.
Fact file
Activities
- Castries Market and Cooking Experience Cap Maison The price per couple is £160. This includes exploring the indigenous products of the Caribbean under the expert guidance of one of the resort’s chefs. The chef will arrange a private cooking class for you, including a market tour of Saint Lucia when you and the chef will choose and haggle the price and bring home the ingredients for your menu.
- Project Chocolat Bean to Bar Experience – Prices from £52 per person
- Eat Like a local Experience – Stacey Martin and her ‘Cool Runnings Kitchen Truck’
- Wine Tasting Experience – Wine Pairing Dinner £210 per person, for an evening of delicious food and wine with special pairings and blind tastings. Casual Tutored Wine Tasting £95 per person, fun learning and inspiring Old World vs New World Wines Fine Wine Tastings £133 per person, prepared and conducted by the Sommelier.
- Helen’s Daugther Mother Natures Way Tour Prices from £19 per person
More info:
- Cap Maison Resort & Spa
Lead in price from £472 (approx) per night based on 2 adults sharing a Garden View room on a half board basis from in Summer Season (17th April -19th Dec) Cap it All Inclusive from Summer Season: £107 (approx.), each per adult daily (17 years plus). - British Airways Flights– Prices from £592 – LGW – Herowerra International return. Including 23k checked in baggage.
- Saint Lucia Tourism Authority