The Food of Barbados is Dead!

[ShawtyCat]

The food of Barbados has officially died......buggered and hacked to pieces by her very decendants. Barbados is now more like another borough in New York....full of "ethnic" restaurants and nary a one from the host country. (okay so that may be a bit of an exaggeration regarding New York but I needed an example ). May her soul rest in peace. Sigh.... Ah well, at least I still have US Southern Fare to enjoy.. ..very close to Barbados' old food.

Can't believe I'm now a gal without a native food.... Think I'll just cook it at home.

Edit: This is just my opinion!....Although I am sure that many a tourist can agree with me.

[magnolia]

Close to US Southern fare..hmmm... I've heard traditional US Southern fare is also on the wane.

What is real Barbadian (or is it Bajan? I've heard both used) food ? What has been done to it ? To what extent do you think it has changed bedause chefs in Barbados now try to cater to a more 'worldly' Barbados-born traveler, who comes back and wants some of the foods she's had while away - rather than the homesick native (which it sounds like you may be) who's looking for the comfort food of childhood?

[ShawtyCat]

True Bajan food was fresh food. Fresh everything.......fresh fish straight from the fishing boats, fresh picked peas from your yard, fresh vegetables from your garden. Now its canned and processed food like vienna weiners and eggs for breakfast and pizza for dinner. Everyone is gettin fat or obese and you can't find a decent Bajan meal these days.

Some of the recipes ive given in previous posts are from recent times. It's kinda embarrassing but that IS Bajan food now.

[Ed Hamilton]

Guess you haven't been to Oistins Beach on Friday night or any night for that matter, everything is fresh and grilled. Sure tourism is changing the island, like everywhere else but Bajans still take pride in what they serve.

[ShawtyCat]

Oh, Ive been to Oistins...what Bajan hasnt. I think that's the only place you can go to get REAL Bajan food. Im sure you've visited Bim Mr. Hamilton, but you have no idea what the "home" food was like. It's nothing like that now. Everyone these days wants hamburgers and pizza. No one wants to have Sunday dinner anymore, where the family sits down to dinner and you can get freshly picked lettuce from the Rastaman. Or fresh Goats milk, or Fresh Coconut water. Whatever happened to having Pone at Christmas or growing and roasting your own peanuts?? The little basic things. Like having a garden and cooking from it. Or making Passion Fruit Punch with Passion Fruit picked fresh from the vine??

Im not sure who's to blame for it......or even IF there IS someone to blame. I know the government is fighting to keep anymore American companies out so that the local businesses can have a chance to prosper. But the US is still trying to petition the UN to MAKE Bim let them in so they can open McDonalds. Now you tell me, do we LOOK like we NEED a McDonalds in Bim??? I mean, really!

[Suvir Saran]

Reading your post, I thinkof the sad demise of most all cuisines in that respect. But that is the price one pays as we develop into a world that is more developed, complex, borderless (almost) and has even greater cross cultural trade. It has both good and bad effects...But I think many a culture are realizing the downfalls of economic success and so making an effort to preserve what they can of their own culture. But again, I maybe too Pollyannaish and looking at the brighter side.

But I know what you mean.. and have seen many a cutsom get lost very quickly as the world becomes almost one big village. It is sad in some ways.. exciting in others and even more sad when one sees the universally existing divide between the haves and have nots.

[ShawtyCat]

Reading your post, I thinkof the sad demise of most all cuisines in that respect.  But that is the price one pays as we develop into a world that is more developed, complex, borderless (almost) and has even greater cross cultural trade.  It has both good and bad effects...But I think many a culture are realizing the downfalls of economic success and so making an effort to preserve what they can of their own culture.  But again, I maybe too Pollyannaish and looking at the brighter side.

But I know what you mean.. and have seen many a cutsom get lost very quickly as the world becomes almost one big village.  It is sad in some ways.. exciting in others and even more sad when one sees the universally existing divide between the haves and have nots.

Ah yes, Economic Success. But the things we have to sacrifice to achieve such a thing. Our dollar is one of the strongest in the West Indies but yet our people are paying $300 for One bag of groceries and $200 for an outfit for a child . Sad...very sad. Economic Success?? I am not too sure of this.

Well, I guess I will be a good Bajan and buck up. There is always a rainy season coming after the dry months. It might take a little while, but it always comes. Que sera sera.

[Suvir Saran]

It always does...

Look.. we have curry steak.. coco-choco-curry... and so many other marvelous ways in which curry is being used..

What was once authentic may change, but it finds new utterance.

[ShawtyCat]

I understand but it still feels as if a relative has died.

[Suvir Saran]

I understand but it still feels as if a relative has died.

I agree. In fact I mourn the death of curry every day.

Curry I grew up eating was savory... spicy, garlicky... saucy... runny at times.... lagee liptee (thick sauce that clings to meat/fish/vegetables), peppery, cilantro-ey, mint flavored, dill flavored, spinach flavored... But always savory, bold, mild, subtle, fiery, sour, sweet and sour, sometimes bitter, other times creamy, other times tangy. But today, curry has taken new and credible forms...

I too mourn the death of curry as I knew it.. But I can still find it in many places... I can cook it... friends can too... and restaurants around the world serve it. It may not be exciting or cutting edge, but it still has a place at tables.. Some may call those homes where these things of the past are served funeral homes.. But they exist... I am sure you can find what you are looking for... Do not lose hope...

It is natural for things to evolve.. and some things change more than others. Some fads are exciting in their early youth, and dead before middle age and even sooner, long forgotten... But what we mourn and miss as it changes, has been changing for ages and so will never be totally lost....Do not lose hope... You will find it close to you when you least expect it.. You will find it inspiring others in ways unknown... And you will see it find a grand revival when time is ripe for it. Some things may be neglected and forgotten for a period of time, but they have it in them to never be irrelevant. Those things are classics that come back in a cycle.

Did I make enough of my Pollyanna speech?

[Miguel Gierbolini]

I thought this was a thread about Celia Cruz . . .