Culinary diversity offers opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago's tourism

Trinidad and Tobago’s unique cultural heritage has given rise to a vibrant culinary tradition. The twin-island nation was colonised by the Spanish, French and British, with each power leaving an indelible legacy on the nation’s food culture. Moreover, roughly 80% of the population is of either African or Indian descent, with the remaining share being either mixed, or of European, Chinese or Middle Eastern extraction – all adding distinctive elements to the country’s cuisine. Trinbagonians even use food as a metaphor for their national identity, referring to T&T as a “tossed salad” nation.

Bihari Island

The lion’s share of indentured Indians who arrived and settled between 1838 and 1917 came from the modern-day states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These migrants brought elements of their language, culture and, more importantly, their love for food from the subcontinent. As such, T&T’s cuisine is heavily influenced by Bihari-inspired dishes, particularly its distinctive curries.

Doubles

A distant relative of Bangladeshi fuchkas (panipuri) doubles are an inexpensive, vegan street food that is omnipresent on the islands. This curried channa (chickpea) snack is also a breakfast delicacy and is served with several sauces and chutneys, between two baras (fried flatbread) and topped with hot pepper sauce. In addition to very hot peppers, green sauce – a blend of chives, culantro, garlic, onion, celery, pimento and thyme – are ubiquitous in the nation’s food offering. In addition to doubles, baigan choka (roasted eggplant), damadol choka (mashed roasted tomatoes), pakora (fritter), and aloo pie (fried dumpling), and kachourie (chickpea fritter) are all popular delicacies in T&T.

Restaurants, cafes, street stalls and vendors cover the island, presenting a veritable banquet of different culinary choices. Notable hotspots for street food include the Western Main Road in Saint James and the south-eastern corner of Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain. In addition, Store Bay in Tobago and the town of Debe in Trinidad also offer memorably culinary experiences.

Fried Chicken

Trinbagonians’ passion for quickly prepared delicious dishes extends beyond eclectic domestic street food traditions to include the Southern US’s most famous culinary export: fried chicken. In particular the US-based international fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken is extremely popular on the islands. Indeed, T&T provides the restaurant chain with its highest grossing overseas market per capita, with over 50 outlets.

Furthermore, T&T boasts its own version of the American franchise – Royal Castle. The local outlet, founded in 1968 in downtown Port of Spain, provides the US multinational with robust competition. In addition to fried chicken, the domestic chain offers fried fish, potato salad and hot pepper sauce.

Culinary Capital

This broad array of influences combine to make the twin-island nation a leading destination for food enthusiasts, not only regionally, but around the world. This position was affirmed in June 2018, when the T&T national team was the overall winner of the Taste of the Caribbean Awards – organised by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association – for the seventh consecutive year. “T&T is blessed with a diversity of culinary options that are the envy of most developed markets,” Janelle Commissiong, chairman of Tourism Trinidad Destination Management Company, told OBG. International visitors make a considerable contribution to the nation’s economy. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council the direct contribution of travel and tourism in 2017 was TT$5bn ($741.6m), or 2.8% of GDP. The rising international prestige of the nation’s cuisine presents an opportunity to expand this contribution further. Fully leveraging the country’s unique culinary tradition provides a major opportunity to encourage and achieve economic diversification.