St. Croix Festival Shows Off Island's Dynamic Culinary Scene

After touring St. Croix's historic Christiansted site with its stunning views of the ocean and learning more about the work the nonprofit St. Croix Foundation (the benefactor of the funds raised during the St. Croix Food and Wine Experience) in the morning, a handful of travel writers and I sampled tasty delights and dove further into the islands' diverse culinary scene. Highlights of my second day on the island appear below.

Noon: We had lunch at the charming local spot Café Christine. It's nestled off the main drag in Christiansted and occupies its own little slice of island paradise. Sitting on the patio surrounded by shade-providing trees, our group enjoyed French provincial fare from this quaint restaurant. The menu, written on a chalkboard, changes daily and featured items ranging from a vegetarian platter to a duck pate. Highlights here included the spicy and smooth pate, my salmon salad topped with lentils and a light, sparkling dressing that covered my entire plate without smothering it. Pies are fresh baked daily (and delicious) here too. My personal favorite was the hearty, straight-out-of-grandma's-kitchen chocolate and pear combination, but the grape slice got extra points for originality. Café Christine also has a truly undeniable farm-to-table appeal — roosters just inches away from diners were crowing all throughout our meal.

3 p.m.: Following lunch, my group took a van ride up some winding and steep roads with dramatic seaside views to tour Frederiksted's Cruzan Rum Distillery — the only historic distillery still producing rum on St. Croix. Karen Low, the manager of guest relations, led us around the distillery, discussed how rum is made on the property, and showed us the seemingly endless collection of charred Jim Beam bourbon barrels that Cruzan's rum is aged in. The original sugar mill is still intact too.

Following the tour of the plant, currently not in production since the distillery is making repairs and upgrades, the group headed back to a tasting room and bar. Low then explained that Cruzan's most popular offerings are the company's 14 flavored rums — with peach being the company's latest offering. And next came every distillery tour-takers favorite part of the experience: the tasting. We started off with a thimble-size glass of Velvet Cinn over ice. The cheekily named concoction is one of the company's flavored cream rums that went down smooth (almost too smooth) and tasted like a liquid cinnamon bun. Low then poured samples of the company's original rums — going from lightest to hardest or clear to darkest — to showcase Cruzan's recipes that have remained unchanged for decades. The bartender even whipped up a delightful concoction of Velvet Cinn, banana rum, cream of coconut and a dash of Coco Lopez that tasted just like a banana split. All in all, it's pretty incredible to think that this one local spot is responsible for one of world's best-known rum manufacturers. Rum fans will want to make a point of visiting Cruzan's distillery.

5:30 p.m. Our next stop was the "Food Fight on the Beach" held at the beach-side Cane Bay restaurant. As the sun was setting and casting a breathtaking pink glow over the sand and sea, Facebook chefs Dean Spinks and Billy DeSimone worked right on the beach alongside culinary students to prepare a small dish using a handful of select ingredients a la the Food Network's Chopped program.

"This year's theme is culinary futures and we tried to incorporate kids," says event organizer Katherine Pugliese. "Get them engaged. And hopefully, one day they'll be our future chefs."

7 p.m. We capped off our evening at the Galleon Wine Dinner. A local chef created a five-course meal paired with wines from California's Michael David Winery. Servers passed out small bites like the warm-crusted crab cake topped with a dollop of sauce (I'm a crab cake fanatic and this was one tasty, fresh morsel) and served alongside a smooth Incognito White wine. Next up were shrimp served on top of crostini that had been covered in a cream sauce and a small sampling of arugula topped with a light dressing. The third-course featured a stragoloni Bolognese pasta dish that tasted homemade and was served alongside Incognito Rouge — a red with subtle oak notes and a dry finish. Diners were then treated to tender and smooth braised local oxtail draped over a creamy Gorgonzola polenta that had just a hint of the strong cheese notes without ever being overpowering paired with Inkblot cabernet franc. The last and my favorite plate of the night was the truly decadent chocolate ganache torte that came complete with a buttery, flaky crust and was topped off with a rich and creamy, sweet-yet-bitter sea salt truffle. This dish earned extra points for its presentation (the best of the night) which included small, shaved white chocolate curls sprinkled over the plate in addition to a caramel cream sauce the torte was on top off. A sweet and light Lust zinfandel accompanied this dessert.

I've only been on the island for two days, but St. Croix has surprised me with its colorful food scene so far. I can't wait to see what unfolds at the week goes by.

Teresa K. Tobat is a writer and editor based out of the Washington, D.C. area. View her website at teresaktobat.com. Follow her tweets @ttobat88