Tobago Blue Food 2015

Why go all the way to Bloody Bay on a Sunday afternoon, in the hot sun behind massive traffic blockades? Why to Blue Food 2015 of course! What other reason could there be other than the lure of delicious cuisine and the promise of a good lime before the hectic work week starts again!

Traditionally Blue Food is held every year by the THA to commemorate the iconic 'blue' dasheen which is special to this island. Normally when cooked, dasheen can range from a flat gun metal grey to a much rarer smoky grey-blue. This rarer form of the dasheen colouring is what essentially defines this festival and  makes it so special.

This year was very well attended, with hundreds flocking to the many white tents. Blue Food has 3 main purposes: 

1. Firstly to provide an opportunity for local cooks to show how creative and innovative they can be using dasheen.
2. Offer up a sales aspect to sell 'blue' food.
3. Bring people from in and around the island to a more remote part of Tobago with the lure of an awesome lime.

Of course you know i had to take this opportunity to find some good crab and dumpling to go along with that dasheen! I'm most definitely not the provision loving type, but everything tastes better with some crab sauce over it! Although I wouldn't knock the merits of a good stewed rabbit either! As you can tell, I had a full plate with macaroni pie, stewed rabbit, breadfruit pie and callalloo. Trust me when i say it's the atmosphere or the different location or maybe these chefs put more effort at these times because buying 'local' food on a regular weekend- the food just cannot compare.


Needless to say, I believe festivals like Blue Food and the upcoming World Food Day give us the opportunities to step outside our boring chicken and fish lives (Not that there's anything wrong with chicken and fish) and range a little further in our culinary aspirations.

This festival is a wonderful opportunity for our local talent to step outside their usual repertoire of pie and baked chicken, with the most adventurous option being pork. No offense to a good macaroni pie but this type of food shouldn't just be served in this particular forum alone. We should celebrate this 'blue food' every chance we get.

There are so many business and marketing opportunities to be had from local production. If the recipes for sweets are standardized by the THA and packaged as a local treat for international flights that would be amazing. Or even at the port for THA holiday or Blue Food weekend. The possibilities abound with dasheen. It's versatility for both savoury and sweet treats is not something that should only be delegated for one weekend a year.

A great reference book to look at is A Taste of Tobago Blue Food by author Yzanne Williams-Chance. this recipe book carries many iconic 'blue' dishes with easy to read steps and appetizing imagery. It can be found at Nigel Khan bookstores nationwide. It even carries alcoholic drink options as well as dessert- and of course who can resist ice cream in any form or fashion!




You can check out a little snippet of Blue Food here at Liz Williams FB Page:  https://www.facebook.com/liznwill/videos/10153137146766120/

You can look forward to more local flavours for this week as I head to World Food Day 2015!