Three top chefs, three great recipes!
A way to a man’s heart may be through his stomach, but what ignites this passion in the first place? It has to be mom’s cooking, surely! That was certainly the case for these three chefs from St Vincent and The Grenadines, Barbados, and St Lucia. Judy Bastyra talks to these talented men whose vivid childhood experiences in their family kitchens have shaped their passion for cooking and influenced their choice of career. From the spicy aromas of a sweet potato pudding cooking in the drum oven, to helping mix the secret family seasoning, the memories of their mother’s loving hand has inspired them from a young age and still influences many of the dishes they cook today.
Christopher John, Executive Chef, Young Island Hotel, St Vincent and The Grenadines
“As a young boy I was the only child at home with my grandmother and mother, so I was really hands on around the house, but it was helping in the kitchen that I loved the most. I learnt to make bakes as a small child and because my hands were so small I would use spoons to shape them. We lived in the countryside and grew most of our provisions ourselves. Those days were fun, growing up with really fresh food: bay leaf tea, ginger, lemon grass tea – everything was growing around the house. On Fridays and Saturdays the vendors would come from the Stubbs area and sell fish and vegetables at the crossroad. During the week the fish vendors would come and blow their conch shells to let us know they had a plentiful catch of small local fish such as jacks or sprats. I learnt how to collect all the herbs and spices growing in our yard to use for the seasoning: chandon bene, fresh broad leaf thyme (also known as tikki thyme) and sive. Then I would pound them with a stone to make a paste, cut the skin of the fish and rub it all over and inside the belly as well. In those days we didn’t have a stove, so we used either a coal pot or a wood fire and three stones to place the pot on. I will always remember the sweet smell of spices as I was playing outside when my granny cooked ‘dough boy’ in the drum oven as a special treat. To this day fish is still my favourite. I really love cooking and my passion is baking. In fact, I am known as ‘the bread man’, as I always have six different types of bread on the menu each day.
Fillet of Mahi-Mahi with saffron & shrimp sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
2lbs mahi mahi fillet
1 tsp minced garlic
salt & black pepper to taste
juice of one lime
2 tbsp Caribbean green seasoning (chive, garlic and onion minced with vinegar)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp salted butter
4oz flour (for coating fish)
Method
1 Cut the fish into four serving pieces and place them in a bowl. Add the lime juice and season with salt, black pepper, garlic and the green seasoning, then cover the bowl with cling wrap.
2 Place it in the refrigerator and leave for 20 minutes to marinate. Remove from the refrigerator and take out fish from the marinade.
3 Drain off excess fluid from the fish and pat dry with a paper towel.
4 Place flour on a large plate and then pass fish in it, coating each side of the fillet. Melt butter in a frying pan and add the olive oil. Sauté for five minutes on each side.
Shrimp & saffron sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
6 medium size shrimp peeled and de-veined
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 tsp saffron powder
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
Method
1 Chop the shrimp finely and set aside. Melt the butter in a pan , add the onion and sauté for five minutes.
2 Stir in the chopped shrimp and white wine and cook for a further five minutes.
3 Add the cream and season to taste. Keep warm whilst you fry the fillets.
Kirk Kirton, Executive Chef at Treasure Beach Hotel, Barbados
“Curry Chicken, Shepherds Pie, Beef Stew, Breadfruit Chips and Scalloped Breadfruit were all dishes I grew up with. I can still remember the spicy flavour of the tender beef, the cheesy creamy savoury texture of the breadfruit, and the lovely smell of it all cooking in the oven. Mom spent a lot of time there, cooking not only for the family and the boys who were our neighbours, but also for the cricket club where my dad played, and for school fairs, cub scouts and many fund raisers. She made a lot of fudge, cookies and cakes. I’d often go into the kitchen to help – my speciality was chocolate oat delights.
I also loved to go shopping for food with her. We would go to Oistins fish market where she would buy dolphin, if it were in season, or flying fish. Then we’d pop into the bread shop on the way back from school – the smell was always so good. I now go shopping with my six-year-old daughter and our favourite thing to do is to go and dig sweet potatoes which are still sold by the road. This is the nearest thing we get to ‘pick your own’ in Barbados. A stick around 8-10ft long is laid along the plants in the ground and anything along the stick belongs to you. I want my children to know where food comes from. I did as a child and I want to instill a love of fresh healthy food – just like my mother did for me.
Mum always used the leftovers from a yam pie to make yam balls or pumpkin to make fritters or cornbeef to make fries. I would describe my childhood food as comfort food. My favourite food then was Shepherds Pie – she always made it when she felt that I needed a hug inside. We would also take a Pepper Pot on holiday with us when we went to Bath or Cattlewash. It would be started by my mother and then we would add different meat and it would run for a month or so.
When I was growing up, breadfruit was always around – we didn’t have a tree but usually got it from neighbours. We ‘d make all sorts of dishes with it and today it is still one of my favourite ingredients to feature on the menu.”
Poached shrimp and pickled breadfruit tian with spicy papaya dressing
Serves 6
Pickled breadfruit
Ingredients
1 medium breadfruit (firm)
1 scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded and finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
2 limes, juiced
1 tsp salt
1 small cucumber, seeded and finely diced
4 sprigs of parsley, chopped
Method
1 Peel the breadfruit and cut into quarters. Remove the fibrous hard centre.
2 Boil in salted water for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Strain and dice in 1/2in cubes while still warm.
3 In a bowl, combine the breadfruit with the rest of the ingredients and chill for at least 4-6 hours
Poached shrimp
Ingredients
18 peeled jumbo shrimp, split in half lengthwise
1 ltr seawater
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced
1 tbsp pickled cress
Method
1 Bring the water and aromatics to the boil, add the shrimp, bring back to the boil and remove from heat. Strain and chill the shrimp
Papaya sauce
Ingredients
4oz white wine vinegar
4oz brown sugar
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and very finely diced
1 small very ripe, soft papaya
Method
1 Bring the vinegar, sugar and hot pepper to the boil and allow to cool. Purée the vinegar mixture with the papaya in a blender and adjust seasoning to taste.
Assembly
Place the pickled breadfruit in a 4” ring and top with the poached shrimp and a little cress. Drizzle the sauce on the plate and over the shrimp.
Roy-Stan Antoine Sous Chef at Dasheene Restaurant, Ladera Hotel, St Lucia
The best dish that my mother used to make was without a doubt ‘bouillon’. I just loved the salty taste of the pigtail, and I enjoyed helping her prepare it in the kitchen. I could hardly wait for it to be cooked and by the time I sat down to a plate of it, I just couldn’t stop eating it.
The other vivid memory I have was of my mom’s sweet potato pie. The smell of it baking almost made me drool! I can’t say that I was a great cook as a child, but one thing I felt very confident creating was stewed chicken wing with a huge plate of ground provisions. Cooking for the family gave me a taste of what I wanted to do in the future and I have never looked back.
Mom’s seasoning was a little bit different to the usual green variety – she always added local basil, which made it very fragrant. I think that influence has always stayed with me. Now when I cook at Dasheene, I make sure that each dish is seasoned uniquely. The bouillon we feature at the restaurant has all the same flavourings as Mom’s, but the presentation has a contemporary twist.
One Pot Bouillon
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot , diced
1 medium tania , peeled and diced
1 small dasheen or yam, peeled and diced
1 medium green plantain, peeled and sliced
1/2 lb pumpkin, diced
4 cups vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
1/2 lb callaloo or spinach
salt & pepper, to taste
Seasonings
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 scotch bonnet peppers, chopped
handful of parsley, chopped
2 sprigs thyme, chopped
Method
1 Place the first six ingredients and vegetable stock in soup pot on medium heat and bring to the boil.
2 Add the seasonings and coconut milk and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the dasheen is tender.
3 Stir in the callalloo and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4 Continue to simmer for a further five minutes then remove from the heat and serve.
NOTE: if adding meat: marinate it for one hour with chopped seasonings, coconut oil, salt and pepper. Sear the meat in a hot skillet for five minutes each side then add to the pot with the coconut milk.
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