Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 1 June 2017
Haiti chefs carving out higher profile for country’s cuisine

DAVID McFADDEN tained without pesticides
Associated Press or chemical fertilizers only
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti because most farmers
(AP) — In a dining room in could never dream of af-
a wealthy district in the hills fording them.
above Haiti’s capital, wait- The fact that Haiti has a
ers in black outfits whisk vibrant food culture at all
plates of crunchy malanga can be surprising to those
fritters and a creamy corn- who only associate this Ca-
meal dish to well-off locals ribbean nation with hunger
and tourists. In the kitchen, and crushing poverty.
the chef ladles glistening, But even through decades
fresh conch into a pot as of decline and recurrent
his staff dice tomatoes and political turmoil, Haiti never
watercress. lost its delicious recipes.
Haitian cuisine is a spicy “I think one of Haiti’s great-
confluence of French, est resources is its food.
Spanish, African and Am- I have yet to meet anyone
erindian cooking tradi- who did not appreciate the
tions that blends indig- flavors of traditional Hai-
enous ingredients like the tian cuisine,” said Nadege
rich, earthy black mush- Fleurimond, a Haitian-born
room known as djon djon writer and caterer based in
with a variety of cooking New York City whose 2014
techniques, crusted ba- cookbook “Haiti Uncov-
guettes and flaky pastries. In this April 27, 2017 photo, students at the Hoteliere D’Haiti chef school julienne carrots in Port-au- ered: A Regional Adven-
For decades, Haitian food Prince, Haiti. ture into the Art of Haitian
has been seen as simple, Associated Press Cuisine “ helped kick-start
hearty fare best simmered delicacies like the milky bona fide culinarians who ambassadors for their food a fresh look at the coun-
for hours over charcoal cornmeal beverage called are creative and focused culture overseas, appear- try’s recipes.
stoves at home or fried up akasan; the fiery carrot on raising the profile of our ing on U.S. and European Some beloved dishes have
and served in cheap curb- and cabbage condiment food,” chef Jouvens Jean cooking programs. roots stretching back to
side restaurants. called pikliz; citrus-mari- said as chile-laced shrimp
Haitians who could afford nated chicken with boiled sizzled in a pan at Jojo Res-
a night out at a restaurant cashews; and whole fish taurant in Petionville.
used to opt for versions of in spiced broth are being Accomplished chefs like
continental menus or a prepared using haute cui- Jean and Stephan Berrou-
generic Caribbean fusion sine techniques and served et-Durand moved back
mimicking the food in is- in the growing number of to their homeland from
land resorts. restaurants serving foreign- the United States, import-
In recent years a new gen- ers and Haiti’s small middle- ing the presentation and
eration of Haitian chefs and upper-class. kitchen know-how of the
here and abroad has be- “It’s a real exciting time various countries where
gun reimagining the coun- right now for Haitian gas- they’ve worked, while oth-
try’s cuisine. Traditional tronomy. We have serious, ers are increasingly vocal

In this May 8, 2017 photo, a meat market worker pushes a
wheelbarrow with a cooked pig in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Some
beloved local dishes have roots stretching back to Haiti’s found-
ing on Jan. 1, 1804, following the world’s only successful slave
rebellion.
Associated Press
“Suddenly, a lot of Haitian Haiti’s founding on Jan. 1,
chefs don’t have this fear 1804, following the world’s
of saying ‘Haitian cuisine’ only successful slave rebel-
out loud. lion.
It is becoming a very pop- The vibrantly colored
ular thing,” said Georges pumpkin soup known as
Laguerre, a Miami-based joumou is a typical Sun-
food entrepreneur who ran day dish and a must on
a Haitian eatery in Los An- independence day for the
geles for over a decade. world’s first black repub-
Dependence on food im- lic. During the dark days
ports has grown as a result of bondage, plantation
of intractable economic slaves in Haiti were prohib-
stagnation, but local fa- ited from eating an aro-
vorites like malanga root, matic squash soup - a fa-
In this May 8, 2017 photo, Jojo Restaurant assistant chef Jacquet Nickson places a sprig of rose- chayote squash and a vorite of their French mas-
mary on a local dish made with corn, mushroom and shrimp, in Petionville, Haiti. dark spinach are still grown ters - or much of anything
Associated Press organically on farmland else other than rudimen-
plowed by oxen and main- tary provisions.q