With its tropical climate and white sand beaches you would think that Grenada's all about relaxing. But the Caribbean island is a foodie's paradise with a heritage of spices, lobster and rum, discovers Les Dunn.
Nutmeg syrup, nutmeg wine, nutmeg jam, Nut-Med (an ointment for aches and pains)… As I amble through the banter-lively spice market in Grenada’s busy capital, St George’s, it becomes clear Grenadians know how to make the most of their signature crop.
That’s not to say nutmeg is the only thing on offer: it’s fighting for space with cinnamon, allspice, cloves – the stuff that gives Grenada its fridge-magnet moniker: Spice Isle of the Caribbean. I taste some home-made hot pepper sauce. It makes me pant like a dog. It’s the real deal.
A man calling himself Sunshine tries to sell my wife a necklace made of dried spices. We make our excuses, but pounce on fragrant bay leaves, and lemongrass so aromatic you can smell it through the packet. And, of course, we buy nutmeg.
Nutmeg from the market
We’ve already caught wind of this national obsession at breakfast in our hotel, the aptly named Spice Island. After drinking in the view of the famous Grand Anse beach, we scoff tree-fresh tropical fruit with wonderful nutmeg yogurt, made from the nut’s fleshy yellow pericarp.
Grenada is the lushest place I’ve ever seen, and it brims over with fresh produce. Later, travelling with our guide, Roger, up the winding west coast road, we’re treated to widescreen views of a turquoise sea, dotted with little boats hunting kingfish, yellowfin tuna and snapper. Inland, there’s all kinds of produce growing wild or on small plots of land: mango, papaya, breadfruit, banana, coconut, avocado… “It’s the volcanic soil,” says Roger, when we stop to examine roadside callaloo (the big-leafed, spinach-like plant). “It’s the richest in the world.” Little wonder, then, that from the 17th century, Grenada became a target for colonial exploitation, the subject of a fierce tug-of-war between the French and British.
Feast on local seafood at the Carenage
Harvest for the world
Europe’s Christmas tables wouldn’t be the same without the island’s traditional cash crops: sugar cane (and the rum made from it), cocoa and nutmeg. Before 2004, when 80 per cent of its nutmeg trees were, to use the local term, ‘Ivan-ised’ by one of the most intense hurricanes ever recorded, Grenada was the world’s second-biggest producer of the spice – quite an achievement, considering it’s just 12 miles wide and 21 miles long.
The nutmeg station in the rough ’n’ ready fishing village of Gouyave is now the island’s only one in operation (there were three, pre-Hurricane Ivan), but its vast racks of drying nutmegs are still an impressive sight. On what is probably the world’s best-smelling factory tour, we see the process that ends up with nutmegs being grated over Christmas eggnogs the world over.
Leaving the factory in the late afternoon sun, we bowl up at a rum shop, a nameless joint a few doors down. The owner is a 70-year-old former fisherman, Aaron Fereira. He says he has high blood pressure, but he looks pretty fit to me; this island lifestyle must be good for you. As we sit slugging Carib beer (another local product), people come and go, exchanging quips, telling stories. It’s like a very entertaining play – though a patois glossary would help.
Relax with a Carib beer in a rum shop
It’s a fine appetite-whetter for Gouyave’s big weekly event, Fish Friday. We join locals and tourists grazing at lamp-lit street stalls, enticed by smoky fragrances, fuelled by more cold Caribs and a booming sound system. Grilled marlin, shrimp kebabs, and crab claws with callaloo are among the winners, and there are chips on the side. Not potato, though – big chunky breadfruit.
A chocolate revolution
The decline of Grenada’s nutmeg industry may be a sad tale, but the story of the Grenada Chocolate Company would make an inspiring movie. Operating from a tiny converted house, using only Grenadian cocoa, employing local people and keeping the profits on the island, former cocoa hobbyist Mott Green has created a barnstorming success story. More importantly, his organic chocolate, available island-wide and, back home, in Waitrose, is fantastic.
Grenadian cocoa has long been renowned for its fruity, spicy quality, but production was largely abandoned in favour of nutmeg in the mid-19th century. Seeing that hundreds of trees still thrived, even post-Ivan, Mr Green had a eureka moment. His chocolate has won international awards.
Award-winning Grenada chocolate
Sadly, the company no longer runs tours (visitors’ perfumes interfere with the flavours, apparently), but you can try its drinking chocolate and bonbons at another of the island’s agri-tourism enterprises, the Belmont Estate, which grows cocoa for the company.
As hummingbirds flit among the flowers and monkeys chatter in the trees, we wander the historic plantation and gardens. Visitors can see the harvested beans fermenting in huge boxes, a process that neutralises bitterness and improves the flavour, then drying in the sun afterward. Belmont has an open-air restaurant, too, with valley views, offering local specialities such as plantation beef stew and side orders of fried cou-cou, a cornmeal-and-coconut staple.
From raw cane to rocket fuel
Near Belmont is the cutely ramshackle River Antoine rum distillery. The rum that plays such a big part in any decent Christmas pud (and Caribbean Christmas cake, or ‘black cake’, which is soaked in the strong stuff for days) is, of course, the Caribbean’s top tipple. The island has three distilleries, but for sheer spectacle, nothing beats this place, in continuous operation since 1785.
We watch them crushing sugar cane using a huge, medieval-looking waterwheel. Inside are fermenting pools of gloop, heated, like the old copper stills, by a log-fired furnace.
We try the results: two mind-clearingly strong white rums. “They creep up on you – give you a kick!” laughs guide Patsy. Take some home and you’ll never struggle to light your Christmas pud again – although, sadly, you can’t take the 75-per-center on a plane (presumably it counts as explosive).
75% proof Grenadian rum
As we travel back down the east coast, a recipe for cassava cheese balls, gravely dictated, comes on the radio. It’s further proof, if any were needed, that this is an island that takes its food very seriously indeed. If you thought the Caribbean was about all-inclusive, gated tourist compounds and imported produce, think again. Grenada may not be the agricultural powerhouse it once was, but it’s definitely the right island for real food lovers.
Your essential Grenada guide
£ = cheap and cheerful
££ = mid-range
£££ = splash out
Eating and drinking
With its rich history of great produce, it’s not surprising that Grenada has such a thriving restaurant scene.
Eat elegant, delicious meals at Oliver's restaurant
B’s Hot Spot Roti Shop, Carenage, St George’s (+1 473 440 6438) $
A roti is a large, thin flatbread wrapped around spiced potato and meat or fish. Lambie (conch) is a local favourite and the one served at this friendly café on the Carenage is world-beating, as are the home-made hot sauce and tamarind relish.
Coconut Beach, Grand Anse, St George’s (+1 473 444 4644) $$
Go for one of the lobster specialities (the local specimens are whoppers!) or catch of the day in Creole sauce at this popular, toes-in-the-sand eatery on the island’s three-kilometre beach.
The Aquarium, Magazine Beach, St George’s (+1 473 444 1410) $$$
Down at Magazine Beach, beneath Maca Bana Villas and under the same ownership, this romantic spot serves a fabulous callaloo soup and offers inventive seafood dishes. The Sunday barbecue with live music is popular.
Oliver’s, Spice Island Beach Resort (see Where to Stay) $$$
Fine-dining joint producing elegant, delicious, nightly changing menus.
Rhodes Restaurant, The Calabash, l’Anse aux Epines, St George’s (+1 473 444 4334) $$$
Gary Rhodes’ restaurant offers starched-tablecloth dining, with chic twists on Caribbean classics.
Le Phare Bleu, Petite Calivigny Bay, St George’s (+1 473 443 3443) $$$
This unusual restaurant on an elegant converted Swedish lightship serves a contemporary take on island cuisine.
Foodie things to see and do
Laura Herb and Spice Garden, Laura Lands, St David’s (+1 473 443 2604). Open 8am-4pm weekdays. Tours cost EC$5pp. Tour this fascinating place to see, touch and smell the many herbs, spices and fruits that thrive on the island.
Dougaldston Estate, Gouyave, St John. Entrance free. At this living museum, formerly a vast plantation, you can marvel at seriously antique machinery and watch the processing of cocoa beans and spices.
Belmont Estate, Belmont, St Patrick (+1 473 442 9524). Open 8am-4pm Sunday to Friday. Entrance free.
Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station, Gouyave (+1 473 444 8337). Open 8am-4pm weekdays. Tours cost EC$2.70pp.
River Antoine (Rivers) Rum Factory, St Patrick. Tours cost EC$5 with a tasting.
Where to stay
Spice Island Beach Resort (+1 473 444 4258) The island’s top hotel, right on superb Grand Anse Beach, with an excellent restaurant (see Eating and Drinking) and spa. Seven nights’ half board with flights cost from £1,969pp with British Airways (0844 493 0758; ba.com/grenada).
Mount Cinnamon (0808 234 2497) There’s a fun, laid-back, colourful vibe at Peter de Savary’s hotel – but it’s still a quality operation. Doubles from US$390 B&B (children share for free).
Maca Bana Villas A collection of seven handsome, well-equipped villas overlooking breathtaking Magazine Beach, near the airport. Just Grenada (01373 814214) offers a week in a two-person villa with flights and jeep hire from £1,355pp.
Petite Anse (+1 473 442 5252) Owned by a charming English couple and occupying its own tiny bay, this is the best option if you want to spend a few days in the wild north of the island (most other places are in the southwest). Doubles from US$125 B&B.
Getting there
Monarch (0871 423 8642) flies on Wednesdays, from £400. British Airways (0844 493 0787) flies on Tuesdays and Sundays, from £661. Virgin Atlantic (0844 209 2770) flies on Thursdays, from £648.80. All flights depart from Gatwick.
More information
US$1 = EC$2.7 (fixed).
To find a guide or car rental company, or to get more information on the island, visit the Grenada Board of Tourism.