Locals and visitors alike looking for an adventure in flavour are invited to tickle their taste buds during Tobago's 12th annual Blue Food Festival on October 16. Through inspired culinary creations, the event, spearheaded by the Tobago House of Assembly's Division of Tourism and Transportation and the village councils of L'Anse Fourmi, Bloody Bay and Parlatuvier, will highlight one of the island's indigenous foods, namely dasheen.
Held at the Bloody Bay/L'Anse Fourmi recreation ground, food-lovers of all ages are invited to come out and enjoy the free festivities, which will include a cooking demonstration and competition, sampling of chefs' creations and entertainment by popular local performers throughout the day from 10am to 7pm.
The Tobago Blue Food Festival is the annual "fest ground" for local cooks, country chefs, and creative, innovative, indigenous cooks in the Northside Combined area to share their knowledge, cooking secrets, local food preparation and tasty blue food creations.
This year's festival will feature a number of activities, including:
• A demonstration tent, where blue food experts would share their knowledge on how some of the creative recipes are made and the best ways to prepare some of the dishes.
• A display tent in which the public will be given the opportunity to view and taste samples of some of the blue food specialty items. Some of the experienced blue food chefs will be on hand to explain and answer questions from patrons.
• Music and other artistic performances, among them Baron, Relator, and Princess Adana.
• Cooks in Competition, where the cooks will showcase their competitive dishes for judging.
• The Blue Food Court, where a variety of indigenous food will be on sale to patrons attending the festival.
Prizes will be awarded for the most innovative dish, the most original dish, most dishes, among others.
The cooks will all vie for supremacy as they take "dasheen," the main blue food ingredient, and create new and diverse culinary offerings. According to Secretary of Tourism and Transportation, Oswald Williams, "The festival has certainly grown in the last five years and fulfills the main objective of attracting visitors to Tobago to be a part of a cultural and culinary tradition. "In addition, it affords the communities in that area, the opportunity for economic activity, as well as strengthens their communal ties."