Sainte-Marie Gourmet Food Festival in Martinique

What’s better than gourmet food? Gourmet food in the Caribbean. If you’re headed to Martinique between May 13 and May 20, 2007, you can (and should) take a little time to enjoy the Annual Gourmet Food Festival in Sainte-Marie. Or this may be another good way to get rid of some of those extra airline miles you’re carrying around.

Each year, the small northern coastal town of Sainte-Marie holds a culinary festival celebrating the unique heritage and traditions of the island. The main event of the festival each year is a cooking competition in which several local food products are chosen for competing chefs to use as the centerpiece of their culinary offering. This years products include “fruit à pain” (bread fruit) and “christophines” (chayote). Chefs compete, as well as share cooking secrets and preparation methods.

According to the press release,

Cooking in Martinique is an art. Here, wizardly chefs routinely take something unexpected, such as spiny sea urchins, and create a soufflé that is positively spellbinding. Traditional French cuisine is widely available throughout the island and rivals that found in any Parisian eatery. But what really sets Martinique apart is its Creole flair. A sublime blend of African, Indian, European and Caribbean flavors, Martinique’s Creole culinary creations keep visitors coming back again and again.

There you have it. Know what else? Martinique has the monicker of “The Rum Capitol of the World.” Why don’t I know this? Why have I never been there? Just another reason to go…