There is a pace to life in the Caribbean which is indescribable. Many have quite wrongly intimated that the approach to life here is the result of the inhabitants being lazy or laid back. For me, life here is all about living in harmony with nature.
The pace is infectious, a brief period in the region will result in and individual being seduced by the un-stated philosophy, of Living in Harmony with Nature. You will find yourself being held firmly in its grasp. It is questionable, if those captured souls are ever fully able to return to a disjointed existence out side of the region.
This openly embraced consensus philosophy, is omnipresent in the lives of the people, and is most evident in the food of the region, where the practice is to use of as few process products as possible.
The cuisine of the Caribbean is the result of the harmonious mixing of some of the world’s greatest cuisines. On each of the islands of the archipelago there is an amalgamation of African cuisine and with the cuisine one or two other continents.
As you work your way through this book you will very easily identify the points where Indian, Chinese, English, French, Dutch, Scandinavian, Irish, Spanish, Portuguese and even Scottish cuisine have had a profound effect on the `African culinary body’. An influence which has resulted in the production of meals, which often defies description.
This heady mix of culinary styles is the result of the very distinct history of the region. A history which has resulted in the population living in a space that is blessed not only with fertile soil which produce bountiful harvests, but also with some of the finest universal approaches to the cooking and presentation of food.