A staple food in St. Barth has always been "fangui," a cornmeal dish similar to polenta. On holidays it is served with blaff - a fish court-bouillon - or goat colombo, a West Indian curry.
Raising goat here is traditional. The meat is dried or sometimes smoked over a wood fire. The liver and lungs are used in "fressure" and served with vegetables and little dumplings called "dombrés." The tripe is also made into a highly-prized dish.
After Mass on Sunday, well-behaved children are given their treats: barley sugar candies made from white sugar and "pomme raquette" which gives them a nice red color. After first communion masses, guests are treated to "chaudeau," a kind of frothy lime-based eggnog.
But on this tiny speck of land in the Caribbean, the French influence is still omnipresent. If you take the road to Toiny, you'll discover authentic Breton women in traditional headdresses picking thyme in their garden to make cotriade, a traditional fish soup from Brittany. Here, more cosmopolitan aromas waft among the beefwood trees and coconut palms, reflecting a culinary nostalgia for France, while at the same time merging with some sunnier tropical influences.
