When you think of the Caribbean Island of St Lucia, images of sandy white beaches and glorious golden sunsets usually spring to mind, but this vibrant Creole culture offers more than just a postcard-perfect Caribbean escape; it’s a playground for lovers of food and dining, where every dish tells a story of culture, creativity, and community.
Food is an integral part of many cultures worldwide. It gives individuality and identity to different nations, developing cooking techniques that make the most of what they have — and St Lucians do it in style. Whether at a five-star restaurant or a roadside stall, the flavours are fabulous, crafted with a heady mix of spices and fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
Fine Dining at Cap Maison
We began our food odyssey at the luxurious Cap Maison Resort & Spa
in Gros Islet, one of the island’s most exclusive areas. This beautiful boutique property boasts incredible dining locations overseen by award-winning chef Craig Jones, who has been delighting diners since the hotel opened in 2008.
The Cliff at Cap
The Cliff at Cap was our first dining experience at Cap Maison, and what a wonderful experience it was. Having arrived after dark, we didn’t get to take in the magnificent ocean views — a treat saved for breakfast the following day — but the sound of the lashing waves was hypnotic.
The delicious menu created by Jones snapped my tired brain out of the trance. He showcases local produce and Caribbean flair with a hint of French influence, brought about by training in European Michelin-starred restaurants before finding his home in St Lucia and Cap Maison.
It was almost impossible to choose, with dishes including anise-cured big-eye tuna with compressed watermelon and Creole vinaigrette and BBQ jerk shrimp with coconut panna cotta and tomato raisins — and that was just the starters.
The one dish that stood out was the braised Kobe short rib with celery root and cinnamon carrots. The meat was so tender and flavoursome that each mouthful was a joy. Having started with a beautifully creamy risotto with a parmesan crisp, this rich dish was the perfect pairing.
Breakfast with a View
Breakfast at The Cliff is a wonderfully civilised way to start the day. The clear blue sky and calm sea made the perfect backdrop — now that we could see them in all their splendour. From our corner table, we could even see Martinique in the distance.
Breakfast itself was a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. The fresh fruit cones were juicy and delicious, and there was a selection of pastries to share. For larger appetites, there is a hot food menu with dishes including avocado or mushrooms on toast, fluffy banana and caramel pancakes, and omelettes, to name just a few.
Casual Dining at The Naked Fisherman
The Naked Fisherman, the resort’s second restaurant, is nestled on the shoreline of Smuggler’s Cove, just below Cap Maison. It’s a reasonably steep stepped climb to get up and down, but there’s a bench halfway where you can take a breath and admire the view.
The menu at The Naked Fisherman is just as varied as at The Cliff but has a more relaxed feel. Choices range from freshly caught fish and chips to sticky jerk chicken satays, burgers and steaks. For those wanting a seafood dish with real St Lucian flavours, the Creole fish stew with curry was the dish that kept on giving. It was packed with fabulous fresh seafood, including huge, juicy shrimp, and was enough to sate even the largest of appetites.
I opted to try the Kobe burger, which was juicy and flavoursome and packed with salad, cheese and bacon. It was a little messy to eat, with the bun struggling to contain the generous fillings, but that didn’t affect the fantastic flavours.
Learn to Cook Like a Local
If just eating the food at Cap Maison isn’t enough, you can learn a few things about the local cuisine under the tutelage of one of the resort chefs with cooking classes at Cap Maison.
Castries Market and Cooking Experience
The Castries Market and Cooking Experience begins with a tour of the bustling market, where you will help to pick out the produce that the chef will use in your private cooking demonstration to create beautifully crafted dishes.
Our guide was Sam, one of Cap Maison’s chefs, a familiar face to many of the traders at the market, as she heads there several times a week to gather produce for the resort kitchens. She introduced us to different herbs, spices, and vegetables that are grown locally, and we watched as she haggled for the best prices.
Having gathered everything we needed, we headed back to the resort, ready to learn how to put the fresh ingredients to good use. Assistant chef Edith took the reins and expertly whipped up a Mari ceviche, pan-fried red snapper, and pumpkin curry.
She was a terrific teacher, answering our questions as she cooked. I must confess that I was too busy admiring her skills to note down the recipes, but those who are more diligent would have been able to recreate something similar at home to wow dinner party guests.
Eat Like a Local with Stacey Martin
If you’re keen to get your hands dirty, the Eat Like a Local experience is a must. You will learn how to prepare and cook a handful of dishes with Stacey Martin, who not only works at Cap Maison during the evening but also runs her own business — Cool Runnings Kitchen Truck — during the day. In there somewhere, she also makes time to share her skills, recipes, and tips with guests, teaching them how to make great St Lucian dishes.
Stacey is a larger-than-life character who will have you baking breadfruit over an open fire, pan-frying fresh fish, or expertly chopping vegetables in no time at all. Her laid-back teaching style and sense of humour make it a joyful experience from start to finish.
We laughed a lot and worked hard. Stacey certainly knows how to get the most from her sous chefs. We ate a lot, too, and it was delicious — even if I say so myself.
A Match Made in Heaven: Wining and Dining in St Lucia
Not only does Cap Maison have mouthwatering food, but it also has a remarkable cellar, so it seemed only right that we should give them both a good test with the Wine Pairing Experience.
The house sommelier, Robbie, presented us with a five-course tasting menu. Each course was perfectly paired with a wine from the well-stocked cellar.
We learned a little about each wine and the reason it had been matched with the food, from pork belly with mac and cheese to octopus plancha with avocado and chorizo. Our dessert course was paired with a Solera-aged Rum Punch to end the evening in style.
It was a hugely entertaining evening, with great food, fabulous wine, and just a smidge of learning thrown in for good measure.
A Sweet Treat at Project Chocolat
Of course, no trip to St Lucia is complete without indulging in its most famous export: chocolate. The island is the home of Hotel Chocolat, so we had to travel down the west coast to the Project Chocolat experience. The site is on the sprawling Rabot Estate, the oldest cacao farm in St Lucia, which was bought by Hotel Chocolat in 2006.
Not only does the estate sustainably produce cacao across the 140-acre site, but at Project Chocolat, visitors can get involved with the Bean to Bar Experience, learning a little about how cacao is grown before creating their very own chocolate bar.
It sounds very decadent, but let me tell you, it’s hard, hot work—but worth it. Grinding the cacao nibs in the heated pestle and mortar took some doing, creating a paste that is the basis of the chocolate. Once the rest of the ingredients were added and suitably pummelled, the smell of the molten chocolate was just too tempting not to taste!
The result was aching arms, a handmade chocolate bar, and unending respect for those early chocolate producers.
St Lucia doesn’t just feed your appetite — on the basis of my experience, it feeds the soul, offering a culinary journey as vibrant and unforgettable as the island itself.
