Saint Lucian food: Creole cooking, street food and Friday nights

About Saint Lucian food: Creole cooking, street food and Friday nights

By the ULTIMATE St Lucia Editorial Team

Saint Lucian cooking is Creole: African, French, British and Caribbean influences in one pot, built on local fish, root crops, cocoa and spice. Here is what to try, and where.

The national dish

Green fig and saltfish is the national dish: green bananas, which Saint Lucians call figs, with seasoned salt cod. You will find it at markets, community gatherings and food stalls, and the tourism authority says it is at its best early in the morning at Castries Market, where the breakfast stalls open around six.

Street food

Bakes are golden rounds of fried dough (despite the name, they are not baked), eaten with saltfish, cheese, jam or smoked herring. Accra are crisp saltfish fritters with herbs and peppers. As the sun goes down, roadside grills sell roasted corn, grilled fish and barbecued meat. Carry small notes in EC dollars, and follow the queue of locals.

Every village adds its own touch.

Cocoa tea and cacao cuisine

Cocoa tea, made with local cocoa and spices, is a traditional breakfast drink; Helen’s Daughters runs a cocoa tea experience in Castries. Hotel Chocolat’s Rabot Restaurant near Soufrière cooks with cacao in savoury dishes, and small makers such as Cacoa Sainte Lucie in Canaries and Noble Tree in Micoud sell their own chocolate.

Friday night in Gros Islet

The Gros Islet street party has run every Friday for more than 50 years, come rain or shine. From sunset the old fishing village fills with sound systems and grills, chicken, pork and seafood from conch to lobster, and locals and visitors dance until the early hours. Go by taxi, and keep an eye on your belongings in the crowd.

Anse La Raye’s fish fry

On Friday evenings in Anse La Raye, the catch of the day goes onto coal pots and grills along the beachfront: snapper, tuna, dorado, barracuda, Spanish mackerel, lobster and crab, with breadfruit, rice and fried plantain. The tourism authority says the big Fish Fry is on the last Friday of every month, so check locally before you drive down.

Saturday in Dennery

Halfway down the Atlantic coast, Dennery’s beachside becomes a community lime on Saturday nights, with vendors beside the rum shops: a favourite with locals from the south.

Restaurants to know

For a special dinner, book Dasheene at Ladera, Orlando’s in Soufrière or The Cliff at Cap on Cap Estate. In Rodney Bay, Jacques serves French-Caribbean food on the water, and the village has steakhouses, Indian, Italian and Japanese restaurants. In Marigot Bay, Chateau Mygo cooks family recipes by the water.

Cooking it yourself

The tourism authority lists Creole cooking classes, including a Castries market and cooking tour and a farm-to-table class in Soufrière where you harvest ingredients with local chefs.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Saint Lucian food: Creole cooking, street food and Friday nights before you go.