2011 Barbados Food & Wine And Rum Festival

Last year's first Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival featured celebrity chefs (Tom Colicchio, Fergus Henderson, Tim Love, Marcus Samuelsson, and Ming Tsai); wine experts like Anthony Giglio; travel and food media mavens like Travel + Leisure's Niloufar Motamed, Ed Kelly of the American Express Publishing Corporation, and Christina Grdovic, publisher of Food & Wine; and, of course, plenty of great Bajan food. The Daily Meal is back on the scene to talk to some great chefs, scope out things we may have missed last year, and most definitely to eat one of the best sandwiches anywhere, the cheese and blue marlin cutter at Cuz's Fish Stand.

This year's coverage kicks off with an interview with Barbados' Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy, who discussed the 2010 festival and what can be expected this weekend and in years to come.

Jump into the Barbados festival Twitter game with @Barbados and #FoodWineRum, or follow @Arthur_Bovino to find out where we're eating fish cakes with Scotch bonnet sauce, roti, and cutters. Check in here for updates on demos, chef sightings, notes, photos, and more.

FRIDAY (11/18)

3 p.m. OK! After a very early flight arrived at about 1 p.m., that familiar blast of hot Barabados air welcomes you at the door of the plane, immediately setting the stage for a cold rum punch — there go the jackets and scarves. Good AMEX folk on the plane, as well as Red Rooster chef Marcus Samuelsson in first class. On to Colony Club, a luxury resort in Porters, St. James, Barbados. A beautiful beach, swimming-pool canals that connect the cabanas, a swim-up pool bar, and a rum punch waiting for you at check-in — now that's the life. But the festival starts in just a few hours, and there's no time to waste! First stop has to be the blue marlin cutter at Cuz's Fish Stand that became such an addiction at last year's inaugural Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival. It was even recently featured on The Today Show by Matt Lauer and Niloufar Motamed.

Cuz's fried egg and cheese sandwich.

4:30 p.m. Sometimes things just aren't meant to be. So it was with getting a blue marlin cutter today. St. James is on the west coast of Barbados, north of Bridgetown and Needham's Point, where Cuz's stand is on the beach near the Hilton. It's a little bit of a trek, but when you've craved something for a year, sometimes you can't see anything else save your objective (even though you start seeing new little places everywhere that would definitely be worth stopping for).

"Rush hour" in Barbados on Friday means you're not getting anywhere fast if you have to head through Bridgetown, where and when, the taxi driver noted, "Everyone is rushing around doing the last things they need to do before the weekend." Trucks are stalled, cars crawl, people cross the street every which way, and there's little movement on the roads. That meant pulling up to Cuz's Fish Stand to see a bunch of people eating blue marlin cutters, but only to be told that they were out of fish.

No blue marlin, no tomato, no pickle. And while it's just not the same, you can't make that kind of trip and leave with an empty belly. And the fried egg and cheese, while not as revelatory, certainly has key elements to get you ready for the local cuisine. New Zealand Cheddar, rolls with great ply, and, of course, Barbados' signature Scotch bonnet sauce. Mmm, tasty.

There's always the return trip to the airport for another attempt at Cuz's, and coming up empty-handed means even more incentive to ask about other places where you can get great local food. Stay tuned for those.

5:30 p.m. Tonight's kickoff is at the Limegrove Lifestyle Centre, a new, 10-acre "mixed-use lifestyle centre" in Holetown that includes about 85,000 square feet of high-end retail space. Think you can expect rum?

9:30 p.m. The festival officially began in the open air, under tents on the roof of the Limegrove Lifestyle Center. Things started in high style, with rum punch cocktails waiting for attendees on the ground floor — something to sip on while waiting for the elevator, or to quench your thirst while climbing the stairs. Speaking of which, upstairs a DJ rocked some Caribbean beats; there were bites of ceviche, lamb kebab, and crab cakes; and the hosts declared the second annual Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival officially open for business. The Daily Meal caught up with chef Mark McEwan, chef and owner of several restaurants in Toronto, host of Food Network Canada's program The Heat with Mark McEwan, and more recently the host of Top Chef Canada. Stay tuned for the write-up.

Late Night at the Beach House is the next festival party, but there's a lull in the action, and an opportunity to sneak off to Oistins Fish Market on the south coast of Barbados. It's a real fishing village, of course, but on Friday and Saturday nights, it becomes one of the island's culinary epicenters and also, one of its biggest parties.

Last year, attending chef Marcus Samuelsson visited Oistins and it made so much of an impression on him, that you'd hear him talking about it at events the rest of the year. Friday is supposedly the key night, when the energy level is said to hit its true peak, and so a visit between events had to happen tonight.

There are about two blocks of stand after stand serving excellent fresh grilled and fried fish like mahimahi, blue marlin, and swordfish, as well as other types of seafood specialties and local cuisine. Macaroni pie, fish cakes, flying fish, Banks beer, fresh coconut water — Oistins has it all — along with music, dancing, and enough people-watching to inspire a daytime soap.

Grilled blue marlin at Shirley's Food Hut at Oistins fish fry.

The visit did not disappoint. Pat's Place, regarded by some as the best spot, was packed, and while it provided an excellent swordfish steak last year, it had to be eschewed for new fare. Hot Legendary Fish Cakes' namesake dish was delicious. At Shirley's Food Hut the blackened mahimahi was flavorful, if not as moist and juicy as the grilled blue marlin with macaroni pie, one of the best dishes eaten this weekend. Fresh coconut water to wash it down, a walk past a heated dominoes game, and it's time to head over to the Beach House for the next party.

SATURDAY (11/19)

1:00 p.m. There's some time between events. There's a press lunch, but The Daily Meal is running out of space on the SD card, and thus is Bridgetown-bound.

Chicken and potato roti at Chefette in Bridgetown.

3:00 p.m. OK, by now every sandwich lover visiting Barbados knows about Cuz's Fish Stand. So what other cutters are there to be had on the island? Two taxi drivers from the previous night (to Oistins and back from it) noted Mustor's on Broad Street in Bridgetown as a must-visit for good sandwiches. Here's the thing though: In Barbados, you'll often find yourself in the predicament that you're there when the places you want to go to aren't open. So it is with Oistins (open only on Friday and Saturday, and at a much higher energy level Friday), and similarly, Baxter's Road (another roadside fish-fry), Jus Grilled (only supposedly open until 8 p.m.), and also... Mustor's, only open Monday through Friday (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).

So there will be no visit to Mustor's today. Apropos, a local sandwich place advertises roti and Subway-inspired sandwiches, but it's the kind of place that when you order a lamb roti, it includes bones in the wrap. There's a place for bones. That doesn't include being featured in a sandwich. And questions about where you can find other great cutters (sandwiches) asked of numerous locals brought few leads, which meant it was time to revisit a Bridgetown institution: Chefette.

For the unititated, Chefette is essentially the McDonald's of Barbados. Incidentally, McDonald's opened a branch in Barbados some time ago and had to close it soon after. Apparently, they hadn't done research — Bajans don't eat that much beef. Lamb, chicken, fish, yes — beef not so much. (If you've seen recent McRib commercials on TV where the guy about to go on his honeymoon in Barbados talks about how he's going to miss the special McRib offering, it makes sense that Barbados is the destination.)

Chefette serves pizza, wings, fries, and "broasted" chicken (pressure cooked and deep-fried), but the thing to get is the roti. You can choose from combinations of chicken, beef, potato, chicken and potato, or beef and potato. It's about as big as your palm, warm and thickly packed with meat and curry. Be sure to ask for some Bajan hot sauce at the counter (it's typically a three hot sauce container sandwich). Employees' yellow, pink , and blue uniforms are neither attractive nor comfortable, and you daren't venture past the roti, but you're always well-served by that dish. Curried, portable, and satisfying – you can't go wrong with it.

A Maxidog at a church Harvest party in Bridgetown.

The Ambrosia II Tasting at the Lion's Castle Polo Grounds starts soon, but you can't help but look for new good food finds in town when given the chance. This afternoon's amblings revealed that the hot dog is alive and well in Barbados. At a church just off one of Bridgetown's central arteries was a courtyard filled with food booths, a band, and a choir, there to celebrate the harvest, an occasion you can liken to a Bajan Thanksgiving. On the menu: fish cakes, barbecue chicken, samosas, and Maxidogs on Purity Rolls (a very soft, pliable local bread with big textural personality).

So what goes on a Bajan Maxidog when the local church ladies make them? An odd mix. There's mayonnaise, ketchup (don't breath a word of this to your friends from Chicago), mustard, Parmesan (yes, the Kraft-style, store-bought stuff), and best of all, Bajan Scotch bonnet sauce. Any self-respecting hot dog lover, would declare the best combination to be the dog with the sauce. But you have to try it the way it's served, right? Same pliable roll you've gotten used to in Barbados, vinegary tang from the mustard, indulgence from the mayo, zest from the hot sauce, and truth be told, you don't really notice the ketchup or Parmesan that much. Not a hot dog that's going to set the world on fire, but one that any hot dog aficionado will find well worth checking off the list. Time to hit the Ambrosia II Grand Tasting event.

9:30 p.m. Last year's Ambrosia  tasting at the Lions Castle Polo Grounds was one of the festival's best events, despite some heavy rain. Fergus Henderson served tongue, Tim Love served an amazing lamb sandwich, and local chefs did a great job of offering tastes of Barbados, all under a huge tent on a vast, dark, stretch of the club's grounds, which obviously includes its polo grounds.

There was no rain this year, and Tim Love and Fergus Henderson weren't part of the lineup, but the event was still great fun. Paul Yellin served a delicious rendition of pepperpot accompanied by a strong rum punch, and there were certainly other great tastes to be had, including offerings from chefs Marcus Samuelsson, Ming Tsai, and Mark McEwan. But the event's two biggest draws had to be the "rum shop" built into the tent, an open-roof, four-walled bar serving rum drinks, and a stand that had perhaps the longest line of the night: an homage to Oistins fish market. There were fried and grilled fishes, and white sweet potatoes. No fish cakes or macaroni pie, alas, but the moist, juicy fish was a great addition to the event, enough to make you think maybe one of the events next year should be held at the actual market.

SUNDAY (11/20)

7:22 p.m. After a brief dip in the moonlit ocean, ghost crabs scurrying out from underfoot as you approach the water, it's about time to head over to Colicchio at The Cliff, a sit-down dinner orchestrated by the chef at one of the island's premier restaurants and one that's said to have one of Barbados' most beautiful views.

11:00 p.m. There was a buzz at The Cliff where chef Tom Colicchio and his sous chefs from Craft, Craft Bar, and Colicchio & Sons, had taken over chef Paul Owens' kitchen for the night. The much-ballyhooed view did not disappoint. Upstairs, festival talent, AMEX representatives, and those responsible for making the festival happen, sipped drinks and mingled, catching up, joking, and taking a moment to enjoy the festival's final event, and to breath deeply and freely, knowing besides a few speeches, "work" was mostly over and time left on the island was largely for having fun and getting home. Indeed, dinner at The Cliff seemed to be, for the most part, a press-free event.

Looking down from the covered outdoor patio wrapping along the back of the restaurant, you could see well-dressed tables set on the tiki torch-lit patio below. Beyond that, the crystal clear ocean was illuminated by flood lights on the beach. "Last year you could see stingrays swimming up to the restaurant down there," someone could be heard saying. There were no rays, but there were stars, rum punches, and many more drinks to be had before everyone was shepherded downstairs to assigned seats.

The five-course menu prepared by chef Tom Colicchio and his team of sous chefs was paired with wines by sommelier Anthony Giglio, one of the festival's featured panel members. The menu included:

Wild Bajan whaoo, conch, lemon purée, and aleppo
Henri Bourgeois "Les Baronnes," Sancerre, 2010

Tomato tarte tatin, seared tuna, basil, and olives
JJ Vincent Morgan "Les Charme" 2009

Braised pork belly with octopus, white bean agnolotti, and lardo
Bouchard Pere & Fils Morey, Sanit Denis, 2009

Roasted saddle of lamb with Swiss chard
Luca Malbec, Mondoza, 2008

Mount Gay Rum Baba
Mount Gay 1703 Rum

After eating some wonderful, albeit festival-sized, small bites and sampling food from stations and buffets throughout the weekend, dinner at The Cliff was particularly enjoyable — the wahoo sashimi brought alive by its lemon mousse, the tender octopus made unctuous with pork belly, and moist black-footed lamb roulade ending the savory dishes. It was announced that a contract had been signed to bring the Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival back again for 2012, rum was poured, the humidor was opened and cigars were lit, and... well, the party continued into the night.