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00:00Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas, brought to you by Nassau and Paradise Island.
00:19The best way to experience the true flavor of a place is through its food.
00:24So, I'm off on my culinary travels again.
00:30I'm looking for dishes with a story to tell.
00:33It's an aphrodisiac.
00:38Traditions passed down through generations.
00:44And the freshest and ziniest of ingredients, from land and sea.
00:49So, here I am in the Bahamas, exploring islands of white sands, turquoise seas, and food that is as vibrant as its people.
00:58From hidden beach shacks and fish fries.
01:01Ooh, a little bit of sesame.
01:03To fine dining with a Caribbean twist.
01:07It's all in this world.
01:08Scoop it up.
01:09Mmm.
01:10Mmm.
01:11This is the last bottle known to man.
01:13I'm diving headfirst into the flavors, the colors, and the rhythms of island life.
01:22So, come on.
01:23Grab a plate.
01:24Loosen that belt.
01:25And join me in my quest as I search for a lick of bit of island zest.
01:30Welcome to the Taste of the Bahamas.
01:34Yeah.
01:43The Bahamas is a chain of hundreds of islands and coral shallows in the warm Atlantic Ocean.
01:48Just a short hop from Florida.
01:51And right at the heart of it all are Nassau and Paradise Island, my Bahamian base.
01:57Today, I'll be picking and preparing the freshest of island ingredients.
02:02So lovely.
02:03So natural.
02:04So easy.
02:05And so fresh.
02:06I'll be seeing how the environment here helps to keep sustainable seafood on the menu.
02:12Mangroes are breeding grounds and they help to protect the small baby fish from large predators.
02:18And I'll be sizzling up a sensational snapper in my seaside kitchen.
02:23It's crispy.
02:24It's fleaversome.
02:25And it's for you.
02:27But first, I'm heading inland to a place where fish are playing a key role in a rapidly growing business.
02:35When you leave Nassau and you head out into the countryside, you don't see that many fields of crops.
02:41That's because this island is made of limestone.
02:44In fact, seeing gross like this is quite unusual.
02:48But with a little bit of science and a touch of bohemian creativity, this farm has found a solution.
02:56When Australian Tom Stack came to the Bahamas, he fell in love with the place and even married a local chef.
03:04Today, he's the brains behind Bluefields, a farm that's growing fresh produce all year round without planting anything in the ground.
03:13Tom, what is going on here?
03:17Ainsley, this is our nutrient factory here.
03:20This is tilapia.
03:21And by feeding the fish, this is where we develop our nutrients.
03:24How, Tom, does a tank full of fish make up for a lack of decent soil?
03:29What we're using the fish for is we're using their fish waste, we're breaking it down into a natural fertiliser and using that as our nitrate essentially to grow our plants.
03:37We grow everything in water.
03:38Wow.
03:39That takes the soil out of our problem and we have a lot more control over the crop we're growing.
03:42But the basis of it has always been the fish.
03:44OK.
03:45To make economic sense.
03:46That's it.
03:47How many tanks do you actually have here then, Tom?
03:48We have 14 in total that supply our nitrate for the system.
03:51Wow.
03:52I think there's a lot more for me to see too, isn't there?
03:54Absolutely.
03:55We will.
03:56We'll show you around.
03:57Let's go.
03:58Tom and his team pack a whole lot of produce into five little acres.
04:01There's a 50,000 square foot set up here, turning out almost two tonnes of fresh food every single week.
04:08Well, what's happening here then, Tom?
04:11So this is basically my happy place.
04:13OK.
04:14Come and take a look.
04:16Ooh.
04:17Well, there's so much going on here, even a test run of cucumbers just to see if they'll
04:26grow well enough to make the whole thing worthwhile.
04:29They're not quite to size yet, but in seven days, they'll be a saleable product.
04:36It's as if the crops are growing right before your eyes from Stevie seed to Sally salad in
04:42just a few short weeks.
04:45Talk me through the process here, please.
04:47So here we have our baby leaf production, and what we have is various stages of the growth.
04:51This is a 25-day crop, and right now the guys, as you can see, are transplanting.
04:56We've harvested already today, and they're getting ready to put in a fresh batch now on the far side
05:00over here.
05:01They're moving the crop across, they're removing rafts, and they're putting in fresh germinated
05:06seeds that are in these rafts that are going in now.
05:09It's like a puzzle.
05:10It's almost like you're in a train station.
05:12One goes in, the other one comes out.
05:13It's amazing.
05:14What about the chefs who are dealing with this?
05:16Do they come and say to you, this is what I'm looking for, Tom?
05:19What tends to happen is they'll come down, they'll see us, they'll talk about probably
05:22a flavour.
05:23They'll talk about a colour that they want, and then we try and work with them and develop
05:27something.
05:28It's really nice to go out and enjoy.
05:29Who does the cooking then, Tom?
05:31My wife.
05:32Does she tell you what to grow?
05:33She definitely tells me what to grow.
05:35And you grow it?
05:36Yeah, exactly.
05:37It's just brilliant seeing all this up close.
05:43And I've just got to have a go at Tom's massive game of 3D Tetris.
05:48No fish are going to jump up on me, are they?
05:50You will be safe over here.
05:51Are you sure?
05:52We don't want any fish over here.
05:54And every day this has got to happen, has it, Tom?
05:57Every single day.
06:00Not bad, huh?
06:02Not bad.
06:03That's brilliant.
06:04The colour is absolutely perfect and it's got a nice little crunch to it too.
06:08Absolutely.
06:09You must be very proud of what you're doing.
06:10I certainly am.
06:11Yeah?
06:12It's been a real adventure.
06:13This is really fantastic.
06:14Yeah, come on, let's finish this off.
06:16I have a feeling that Tom's just at the start of his big adventure here.
06:21Solving the puzzle of greying fresh fruit and vegetable on an island made of limestone.
06:26Well, Tom, that's the puzzle completed.
06:30Thank you so much.
06:32Hydroponics might be the way forward for farming here.
06:36But across the island there are plenty of people still doing things the old-fashioned way.
06:42Working the land, trusting the weather and growing the food they love.
06:47The tastiest dishes often start with the freshest ingredients.
06:52And you can't get fresher than straight from the farm to the plate.
06:56I'm teaming up with a lady today who's promised me that I'm going to get fresh.
07:01Really fresh.
07:03So, I'm wending and wiggling my way to a place called Chick Charney Farms,
07:10where I'm going to meet local grower Shavara Roker-Anise.
07:14She picks organic fruit and vegetables each day and stops her shop with whatever's ripe and ready.
07:20So, we're grabbing a few ingredients here before heading out to see where it all grows.
07:25Shavara.
07:26Hey!
07:27Actually, how are you?
07:29I'm really good, actually.
07:30You're just doing a little bit of a stacking of the shelves and stuff?
07:33Well, restocking, we've had a very busy week.
07:35Okay.
07:36So, before we head over to the farm, let's just see what we can find here.
07:38Okay.
07:39So, we'll start with passion fruits.
07:41Wow.
07:42The more weather they are, the better they are, the sweeter they are.
07:45The sweeter.
07:46So, if they're aged, they're much sweeter.
07:47It's the same with human beings.
07:49As I get a little bit older, you get sweeter as you get a little bit more wrinkly.
07:54I guess you could use that.
07:59I'll grab some of these extra sweet passion fruits.
08:02Extra wrinkly.
08:03Extra wrinkly.
08:04What are you saying to me?
08:08We're also grabbing a jar of smooth local honey.
08:11Okay.
08:12So, in this one, you'll find a lot of pine flavours, a lot of very bold and island flavours in this one.
08:17Wow.
08:18So, we've got wrinkly passion fruit and we've got sweet dark honey.
08:21Wow.
08:22Come on, girl.
08:23Let's go.
08:24Just a short drive down the road is Shivara's organic garden.
08:29A place she's completely transformed through sheer hard work.
08:35So, what was it actually like when you got here?
08:37So, there was absolutely nothing here.
08:39This location was simply a blank canvas.
08:41So, we got to create everything we wanted to see in this space.
08:45Lots of stones to dig up and everything.
08:47Absolutely.
08:48Lots of stones to dig up, lots of land to clear and lots of trees to remove.
08:52Shivara has worked wonders here.
08:55And the rewards are popping up everywhere with healthy new trees all around, bearing delicious Bahamian fruit.
09:01So, come with me. Let me show you.
09:03We're not going to go back up the garden.
09:05Oh, no. We're going right here to this papaya tree.
09:07Oh, what?
09:08Look at this.
09:09This bad boy?
09:11This one right here.
09:12Okay, here we go.
09:18You can't get fresher than this, can you?
09:20No, fresher than that.
09:21Straight from the tree.
09:23I told you.
09:24Let me find the plate now.
09:25Yes.
09:27We've picked our ingredients.
09:29Now it's time to put all these home-grown flavours together.
09:32Oh, Shivara, look.
09:34All this lovely freshness.
09:35What are we going to make?
09:36So, today we're making a tropical papaya and passion fruit salad.
09:40Just simple, but lovely.
09:41So, start by cutting it.
09:42Mm-hmm.
09:44Take off both ends.
09:45Look at that colour, the vibrancy of that.
09:47Oh, my word, darling.
09:48Look.
09:49Oh.
09:50Okay.
09:51Now we're going to slice it down, the size.
09:52Okay, here we are.
09:53This is...
09:54This is beautiful.
09:55Dude, I can't believe I've never, ever picked a papaya straight from the tree like this and
10:00used it.
10:01This is so fresh and lovely.
10:02So, make sure you don't slice it too thick, okay?
10:04Okay.
10:05Lovely.
10:06So, we're going to remove all that.
10:07You say about my older sister.
10:08Just telling me what to do all the time.
10:09Yeah, just keep going.
10:10Like, we're going to remove the skin.
10:11I've never cooked before, you know.
10:12And when you're done, now we're going to cut it in half and we're going to remove all
10:21the seeds.
10:22Look at that.
10:23Super delicious.
10:24How often would you have papaya?
10:25Every morning for breakfast?
10:26I love papaya for breakfast.
10:27Absolutely.
10:28A bit of fresh lime squeezed on top?
10:30Fresh lime, sometimes a yogurt.
10:32This is absolutely my favourite.
10:34So tropical, so fresh.
10:37Absolutely.
10:38Okay.
10:39There you go.
10:40I just know this fruit is going to taste as good as it looks.
10:44Oh, when it's fresh like this, you get every bit of sweetness and tangy.
10:49Yeah, man.
10:50Next, we're going to use the passion fruit, okay?
10:52Straight in half?
10:53Straight in half.
10:54Mm-hmm.
10:55There you go.
10:56Look at that.
10:57Vibrant.
10:58That's amazing.
10:59This is what island produce is all about.
11:02So next, we're going to make a sauce.
11:04Okay.
11:05So we're going to add the local honey.
11:07Then we're going to use this muscadine jelly.
11:09This is tart and sweet.
11:10How much would you like of that?
11:11Oh, that's just a little bit more.
11:13Good.
11:14So I'm also going to use a teaspoon of this.
11:16We're going to add that.
11:17And then we're going to add a passion fruit to this as well.
11:19Okay.
11:20So get it mixed all in.
11:21You mean the old wrinkly passion fruit?
11:23The old wrinkly passion fruit.
11:24Okay.
11:25Can I just get that knife out?
11:26It's sweeter.
11:27Okay.
11:28And then we're going to mix that.
11:29Blend that all together.
11:30Mm-hmm.
11:31Look at that.
11:32Just looks fantastic.
11:33Can I have a little taste?
11:34Yeah.
11:38Oh, that's great.
11:39It's very tart.
11:40Is it tart?
11:41Yeah.
11:42It's sweet, yeah.
11:43It's a bit of sourness in there, isn't it?
11:44Absolutely.
11:45And then you do taste the earthy flavors of the honey as well.
11:46Mmm.
11:47Yeah.
11:48That's beautiful.
11:49So now we're going to add that to this.
11:50Okay.
11:52So you can stir it all in.
11:53Yeah.
11:54Wow.
11:55Look at that.
11:56This is beautiful, isn't it?
11:57Isn't it?
11:58So, so, so simple.
11:59And a little bit of that beautiful, fresh Thai basil.
12:04This looks so inviting.
12:05Doesn't that look lovely?
12:06Lovely.
12:07Why don't you give it a taste?
12:08Can you tell me?
12:09You promised me something really fresh, and you have delivered big time.
12:17Big time, and the food is soblay.
12:22I love that.
12:23Oh, yeah.
12:24It's so lovely.
12:25So natural.
12:26So easy.
12:27And so fresh.
12:28Fabulous.
12:30You're most welcome.
12:31You're most welcome.
12:40And the freshness theme continues as I get gardening out among the mangroves.
12:46Awesome.
12:47Oh.
12:48You're not seeing how the things stand up.
12:50Before sizzling up a sensational Bahamian snapper.
12:54The fish is saying to me, turn me.
12:56Turn me.
12:57Turn me over.
12:58I'm crispy.
12:59Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas.
13:00Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas.
13:01Brought to you by Nassau and Paradise Island.
13:14Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas.
13:15Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas.
13:16Brought to you by Nassau and Paradise Island.
13:21Welcome back to Nassau and Paradise Island.
13:29Today, I've been exploring the future of farming.
13:33Not bad, huh?
13:34Not bad.
13:35That's brilliant.
13:36Savouring the taste of papaya straight from the tree.
13:41Fabulous, thank you.
13:43But now, I'm on the south coast, digging into the roots of a rather special place.
13:50It's hard to imagine now that this stretch of water used to be a bit of a dumping ground.
13:56Then, a group of determined locals decided enough was enough.
14:01They cleared away all the rubbish and gave nature a chance to bounce back.
14:07Bonefish Pond is around 1,200 acres of tidal wetlands.
14:12The mangroves here are an excellent natural protector of the island.
14:16They're twisted roots acting like a barrier against storms and tidal surges.
14:21They also create a thriving ecosystem for birds and fish.
14:25But back in 2002, things were very different.
14:28And here to tell me more from the Bahamas National Trust is Lakeisha Anderson-Roll.
14:34Lakeisha.
14:37Wetlands were historically known as wastelands across the Bahamas and other parts of the world.
14:43They did not see the value of it.
14:45And so, when they needed to find a place to release their trash, they dumped it in a wetland area.
14:52For 23 years now, we've taken on the responsibility of managing this protected area,
14:57but also all 33 of the national parks across the Bahamas.
15:02But this is a very special and unique place.
15:04It is a unique place.
15:06And they call this bonefish pond.
15:09But it's a bonefish and it's certainly not a pond.
15:12Bonefish is actually one of the prominent fish species that are part of the catch and release industry here in the Bahamas.
15:18Okay.
15:19What you see here, you see tall, red mangroves here at Bonefish Pond.
15:24But what you don't see lies beneath the surface of the water.
15:28Mangroves are breeding grounds and they help to protect by sheltering those small baby fish from large predators.
15:35Fish that you find here, they grow up in the mangroves and then they move out into the open ocean
15:40and then they find a reef system to then live on.
15:43So this is the beauty and the importance in terms of mangroves here at this particular area.
15:48Absolutely.
15:49You're so passionate about it.
15:50It's wonderful.
15:54Lakeisha's love of the water is deep rooted.
15:57She cares about this place and caring for this place means looking out for the mangroves
16:02and making sure they continue to take hold here.
16:06So she's invited me to lend a hand with a little planting.
16:11We have two red mangroves.
16:12Yeah.
16:13Mangrove planting is simple, yet it's very impactful.
16:17Every leaf, every trunk, every root stores carbon.
16:21So you are helping to play your part in helping us to reduce greenhouse gases by planting mangroves.
16:28Beautiful.
16:29So I want you to take this, place it into the hole.
16:32And then put everything back?
16:33Put everything right back in and make sure it stays in place and it's sturdy.
16:38You've done this before, haven't you?
16:40I love a bit of gardening.
16:41My mum was part of the horticultural society, so I was out there all the time and I used to moan and groan
16:47and now I'm turning into her.
16:49There you go.
16:50Woo!
16:51Awesome!
16:52You know, see how the things stand up?
16:54Let's do one more?
16:55Yeah, well done.
16:56Let's do one more.
16:59This is so much more than just gardening.
17:02Every mangrove plays its part in protecting the island and the fish population here,
17:07which is so important if you love cooking and eating fish like I do.
17:11We're going to call this one Chef Ainsley, right?
17:15Chef Ainsley makes a big impression at the mangrove in the Bahamas.
17:22We appreciate you very much.
17:24Courtesy of La Keisha.
17:26Thanks so much for joining us and thank you so much for leaving your mark.
17:30Yeah, I certainly have.
17:32Awesome.
17:33Brilliant.
17:41Having done my bit to help future generations of fish get the best start in life,
17:45it's time to get cooking.
17:47I've been inspired by so much today, so I need a dish that captures all those island flavours.
17:53Of course, when you walk around the Bahamas, you're surrounded by sea, which means there's an abundance of fish.
18:02I've got a beautiful snapper here and you can fry it up and you can make it really crispy and flaky and flavoursome.
18:09And I'm going to get some cuts into it.
18:12So, just cut in like that.
18:15Create those little slits into the fish.
18:18Turn that over, exactly the same thing, just into the fish like that.
18:24Now, I'm going to get a bit of lime juice in there.
18:29Something my mum used to do a little bit, but they do so much more out here,
18:33is they squeeze the lime into their fish, into their chicken.
18:38Now, what about that seasoning?
18:40You know, when we think about it at home, you know, it's normally a sort of dry ingredient, isn't it?
18:44But here, it's all about the herbs, the onions, the woodpepper and, of course, a bit of all the spice.
18:51All those things are incorporated into a seasoning.
18:57Going into our food processor.
19:01Next up, a bit of ginger and garlic.
19:05The spring onion.
19:06I've got quite a bit of coriander and parsley there, along with some fresh thyme.
19:15Always a favourite of mine.
19:17I actually grow it in the garden.
19:19Scotch bonnet.
19:21Go careful with that, guys, OK?
19:23And finally, I've got here some allspice, which are so, so aromatic.
19:28Just lovely.
19:29Not crushing them.
19:30Everything will happen inside my food processor.
19:38Oh!
19:39Just gotta lick a bit of the goose pepper in my nose.
19:46OK.
19:47Now, look, I know sometimes at home, you know, we can be a little bit frightened of the old hold fish, you know?
19:52Once we see a head and eyes or something like that, oh, I'm not gonna cook that.
19:56It really is so, so simple.
19:58So try and have a go.
19:59If you want to use a fillet, by all means use a fillet.
20:02What I want to do is I want to dredge it in a bit of seasoned flour.
20:06Hello, you.
20:08You ready to go in the fryer?
20:10Lovely.
20:12I'm shallow frying my snapper for about five to seven minutes on each side, so it cooks slowly and crispens up beautifully.
20:21OK, now, what about that dressing in with the oil?
20:25Let's get the honey in there, shall we?
20:28There we are.
20:30And the bees come to say hello.
20:32Good morning, bees.
20:33How are you?
20:34And a bit of lime juice.
20:36But look at that.
20:37That fish is saying to me, turn me.
20:40Turn me over.
20:42I'm crispy.
20:46Lovely.
20:47Come on then, my darling.
20:51Perfect.
20:52That's what you're looking for.
20:54Now, some lime juice for my dressing.
20:57Salt and pepper.
20:59And time to make my salad.
21:02Look at this.
21:03Isn't that beautiful?
21:04That coriander.
21:05Just walking around that micro farm and talking to Tom about how he supplies all the big hotels and restaurants in the area.
21:14And it really is.
21:15The flavour is excellent.
21:17Hey, and what can I say about shivara?
21:19Taking that papaya, just twisting it fresh off the tree.
21:23I've incorporated that into my lovely salad here along with some mango, a little bit of goat pepper.
21:29That really captures that real sort of Bahamian flavour.
21:33And some onion.
21:34Chop up a little bit of coriander to go there.
21:38Rough chop.
21:39Rough chop.
21:40Like that.
21:41Like that.
21:43My fish is cooked.
21:46So, just a few slices of fried plantain and my dish is done.
21:50Well, there you have it.
21:51Ah.
21:53My whole snapper.
21:55With Bahamian seasoning, some beautiful mango papaya salad and fried plantain.
22:00Yeah, boy.
22:01It's crispy.
22:02It's flavorsome.
22:03And it's for you.
22:05I can't think of a better way to round off my farm to table adventure today on Nassau and Paradise Island.
22:13You know what?
22:14I love how innovative food producers are here in Nassau.
22:17We're talking about hydroponic lettuce.
22:20Tastes fantastic.
22:21What about fresh papaya from the tree?
22:24Ah, simply delicious.
22:26And I hope those mangroves stay here for many, many years to come.
22:30Ah.
22:42Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas, brought to you by Nassau and Paradise Island.
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