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00:04The best way to experience the true flavor of a place is through its food so I'm off on my
00:11culinary travels again. I'm looking for dishes with a story to tell. It's an aphrodisiac. Traditions
00:24passed down through generations. And the freshest and ziniest of ingredients from land and sea.
00:34So here I am in the Bahamas exploring islands of white sands, turquoise seas and food that is as
00:41vibrant as its people. From hidden beach shacks and fish fries. To fine dining with a Caribbean twist.
00:54Scoop it off. This is the last bottle known to man. Wow. I'm diving headfirst into the flavors,
01:04the colors, and the rhythms of island life. So come on, grab a plate, loosen that belt,
01:11and join me in my quest as I search for a little bit of island zest. Welcome. Taste of the
01:18Bahamas.
01:27The Bahamas is a chain of hundreds of islands and coral shallows in the warm Atlantic Ocean. Just
01:34a short hop from Florida. And right at the heart of it all are Nassau and Paradise Island, my Bahamian
01:41base. Today it's all about feast and festivals. So I'll be meeting up with an American chef fusing
01:49his love of the Bahamas with Italian fine dining. This is kind of a play on a classic dish of
01:55frito
01:56misto and I just love using the local ingredients down here. And I'll be getting a lesson in the art
02:01of Giancanu. You are in danger of me bringing you back for Christmas. I better start work now then.
02:08Right. And I'll be whipping up my take on a festival food favorite. It's always lovely when you're
02:16cooking something on the barbie and it's perfect, isn't it? Makes you feel good. Ah, it's going to
02:20taste good too. But first I'm headed to the Bahama Resort, which hosts the annual Bahamian Culinary and
02:26Arts Festival. A celebration of food, art and culture. Sounds right up my street.
02:33I think I'm definitely at the right place here right there. Checking in for the Culinary
02:38Arts Festival. There you go. And this is your bottle for our platinum holders. Yes.
02:49I'll see you on Tuesday. Have a good one. Enjoy your weekend.
02:54The festival is a colourful celebration of Bahamian flavours and creativity of all kinds.
03:02Food, art, sunshine. I must be in the Bahamas. I'll tell you what,
03:07these are just a few of my favourite things. Genuinely excited.
03:14What have we got going on here? What have we got here? We've got some salty mussels.
03:18Let me give it our V8 seasoning. We need to simmer down. Get a nice consistency.
03:24Now, I like the intensity of that kind of pepperiness, you know what I mean? Yes, sir.
03:28There's lots of bold new ideas to try here. And best of all, you get to meet the chefs.
03:39And the creators behind them.
03:46One particular piece of art has caught my eye. A sculpture carved from a Madeira tree by local artist,
03:53Antonius Roberts. When we look at the original Bahamians, they used the wood from this tree,
04:00actually, to help build their home. And so, for me, as an artist, to have an opportunity to connect to
04:06this tree,
04:07I wanted to connect to the spirit that lives within that tree. And the fact that it is balanced
04:13on the legs themselves, for me, is really very significant. Because it has a sense of rootedness,
04:19celebration, appreciation. It's very important. Thank you so much. My pleasure.
04:25The festival really is a feast for all the senses.
04:28You know what? People think it's about the food and the art. It's also about the music.
04:45This is the sound of the Bahamas. Junkanoo is a street celebration, where music,
04:51colour and people of all ages, shapes and sizes come together and dance.
04:56Ha, ha, ha. You just can't help but join in.
05:18Well, that's got the adrenaline going, and it's helped me work up a hearty appetite too.
05:23So, the brand new Leola Bahama restaurant is my next destination, where I'm going to enjoy lunch
05:30with Italian-American chef and restaurateur Scott Conant.
05:35Oh, Scott. You know, I'm looking at this restaurant. You haven't even opened yet,
05:41but yet it's got an energy about it. It's got an excitement about it. There is a magnetism to this
05:46place. Just such a fun location, and I just love spending time here. So, what a blessing.
05:52And what a blessing that I'm going to be Scott's first guest here,
05:55as he prepares a frito misto with spiny lobster tail. Look at this beautiful lobster tail. It's
06:01meaty and delicious. We're just going to cut through it, break it down into some smaller chunks.
06:06So, where did it all begin? Are you one of those kind of young children that just got passionate
06:11watching mum or granny cook or something like that? That's exactly right. That's exactly what happened.
06:16It all comes from. That's where it all comes from. I love watching my mum get up on the high
06:19chair and observing and everything. And that's what we did. My mother, my grandmother, all my aunts,
06:24they were all from Italy. And, you know, just being in the kitchen and watching them cook this food and
06:30smelling all the things as it's cooking and frying. And I still remember those flavors. And I have those
06:36food moments where you pick something up and it harkens you all the way back to that moment.
06:41It was the first time you had it, right? That for me is what food is all about. It's a
06:46connection.
06:47And I think food is a great conduit for connection. Scott's mission here is to serve the very best
06:53seasonal Bahamian produce. And he especially loves the seafood. Oh, look at this. This is a really
06:59beautiful product. Okay, that's the lovely squid. Mix these up. And is this an old classic dish?
07:05But this is kind of a play on a classic dish, a frito misto. And I just love using the
07:11local
07:12ingredients down here. So you could throw those zucchini right inside there. And courgette right
07:17into the milk. Okay, lovely. Look at that. When it fries up these long strands of the vegetables kind
07:24of strewn throughout the fish and the herbs and all the other stuff that we're going to throw inside.
07:29Now we dredge all those lovely ingredients in flour and polenta. It's the texture that we're
07:35looking for. So not just the crispy fried texture, but also that little bit of the cornmeal kind of
07:40getting getting in there. So you get some grit to it as well. In a good way. Got a little
07:44salt. You
07:44want to grab that little plate that we have under there. Okay. Oh, wow. Look at this. This is a
07:48real
07:48combination. We've got all kinds of stuff. Not all of it. Just a touch. Yeah, just a touch. A little
07:52bit of
07:53chili. If you like it spicer, we can go a little heavier. We have some cherry peppers here that are
07:57spicy and
07:57pickled, which are really these are real Italian-American products. Throw those herbs
08:03right in there. Sage and rosemary. And garlic and a bit of parsley. Garlic and parsley. Can't wait to
08:08try this. Let's do it. Yeah, come on. They're great. So off we go from the pristine restaurant
08:14to Scott's shiny new kitchen. Oh, wow. What a kitchen. Nice. It's never going to look better
08:21than this. Watch your head. Watch your head. Oh, wow. These pots are a little low. In there?
08:27Yeah. So yeah, put it in here. We'll strain it off. I wouldn't mind a job here, chef. I don't
08:31pay well.
08:36That didn't last long, did it? Exactly. A quick shake off the excess flour and it's into the hot oil.
08:47See the way those fry up nice? You know, people talk about frying. There's nothing better than
08:51something really crispy, is there? Do you know what I mean, chef? You don't like fried food. I don't even
08:55want to know you. Exactly. You know what I mean? Yeah. Thanks, beauty. And before you know it,
09:01it's all ready. You gotta eat a few bits, you know? Get in there.
09:10It's tender and delicious. It's a little fritto misto, kind of Italy meets the Bahamas.
09:14It's absolutely perfect. Yeah. I'll make a booking for two. I'm gonna... Let me get you a beer.
09:19You gotta have a beer with me. Yeah. I can't wait to try this. And thankfully, I don't have to.
09:26Excuse my fingers. Please, please. I'm being spoiled here. Get in there.
09:35I think you've got the balance absolutely perfect here, you know, between the Italian and the Bahamian kind
09:39of spices and everything else. And it really just goes, yeah. I appreciate that. You know,
09:45we just want to make people happy. That's what we do. Yeah. Do you think that's, uh, that's why you've
09:50been successful in the restaurant business? Because you just keep it very simple, but good quality
09:54ingredients? I think I'm fooling everybody. That's what I really think. I'll drink to that.
10:03I love that and feel the same way, too, sometimes. Coming up, I impress the locals with my expert
10:09junk canoe moves. And I wrestle up my take on a festival favourite, jerk spice chicken. Go on, enjoy that.
10:28Welcome back. Today, I'm exploring feasts, festivals and creative flair.
10:33Here comes the junk canoe.
10:35I've already taken in some spectacular artwork.
10:39It is rooted in the history and the spirit of Caribbean.
10:44And helps prepare an equally spectacular fritto misto.
10:47Italy meets the Bahamas.
10:48Absolutely perfect. Yeah. And now, I want to know more about this spectacular annual festival.
10:54This place is really famous for.
10:57I've been on the dumpa here. Come to Uncle Ian's junk canoe.
11:01And I learn just how we cook. Come on, join me.
11:08This building was once a family home. And the girl who grew up here has turned it into the
11:14junk canoe museum and resource centre. A place to celebrate all things junk canoe.
11:19Oh, wow.
11:20Her name is Arlene Nash Ferguson, and she's out the back in her junk canoe shack.
11:25You know, Arlene, walking in here, it's like a fantasy world of colour and just energy.
11:32How did it all begin for you?
11:34I was four years old, and I was completely mesmerised by people dancing in the middle of the night,
11:41in the middle of the street. Yeah.
11:43And I asked my mother if I could rush. She put me in a costume when I was four.
11:48The rest, as they say, is history. So, have the costumes changed over the years?
11:53Tremendously. It started with indigenous materials, enslaved Africans in these isolated islands,
12:01using whatever they could find. Sponge and straw and all of these things. And from then it progressed.
12:09Over the years, we've added all the shiny stuff, all of the beads and the decorations. And so it has
12:15become quite an elaborate festival. Yeah.
12:18And it's also a connection to our history and our heritage.
12:22Yeah.
12:22And so the costumes are all today primarily covered still with paper.
12:28Going on in the West African tradition of layering one teeny weeny strip at a time,
12:35that is why they take so long. So today, we are using white glue.
12:41Yeah. In the old days, we used a mixture of flour and water that we call flour pap.
12:48So mama was baking the johnny cake over here. Yeah.
12:52And we were taking some of that flour to make our costumes.
12:56How lovely. How lovely.
12:58It was quite a fight in the kitchen. Yeah, yeah.
13:00And so. A really good glue too.
13:02Oh, yes. Absolute. So today in the modern days, we're using white glue. So mama's johnny cake is safe.
13:10Yeah. Mm-hmm.
13:11The process is simple, but it takes time. You glue a strip of paper down,
13:16and the second piece must overlap the first.
13:20We don't want any white spaces showing.
13:24Okay. Or they'll call us picky.
13:26Oh, then. That's a bad word.
13:28Oh, picky. You don't want to picky picky.
13:30No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
13:33That's an insult. It means your costume isn't neat.
13:36Some of the costumes here are unbelievably elaborate, so they need a super solid structure
13:41underneath to keep them in shape.
13:45Today, cardboard forms the base of our costumes.
13:49We are scavenging cardboard from the furniture stores when they unpack and discard the boxes.
13:58But an even greater source of our cardboard is the local brewery.
14:05And when they import the bottles and the cans, they are separated by sheets of cardboard.
14:11And in the junk canoe world, they are absolute gold.
14:17Invaluable.
14:17That's why we consider drinking to be national service.
14:21It's a national service.
14:23There you go.
14:23And this is the same brewery when it came to Nassau to brew the first beer on Bahamian soil,
14:31asked us to give it a name.
14:34Oh, really?
14:34And we decided to name it Kalik.
14:38And everybody asks, where do you, did you all get that from?
14:43It's the sound of the cowbell.
14:46Kalik, kalik, kalik.
14:50Beautiful.
14:51There you go.
14:51Now, what about me trying on a little bit of something?
14:54Your experience would not be complete without you putting on a junk canoe hat.
15:01Look at that.
15:02Look at me.
15:02It's all paper and it's gorgeous.
15:05Look at you.
15:07Let's go.
15:08What do you think?
15:08All right, line up.
15:09We're ready to go.
15:10You've got to join me.
15:11Where's yours?
15:13Oh, my goodness.
15:15Here I am.
15:17Oh, boy, we got him right where we want him now.
15:34Bravo.
15:35Bravo, you are in danger of me bringing you back for Christmas.
15:41I better start work now then.
15:42Right?
15:44We've got to get your costume ready.
15:47We're ready to go.
15:49What an amazing day I've had, packed with flavours, colours and sounds and sensations.
15:55So, I'm feeling super fired up for my final dish under the palm trees in my sun-dappled
16:01seaside kitchen.
16:02Oh, how wonderful was it meeting Arlene and her reminiscing about her costumes over the years at
16:08John Canoe and seeing it live here at the festival at the Bahama.
16:13It was absolutely brilliant.
16:15And it's inspired me to do my John Canoe jerk chicken with a guava glazed coleslaw and pizanres.
16:22Fairly simple to start with.
16:24It's all about marinating, getting some flavour into your flesh or your fish or whatever it is.
16:29Okay, let's start off with a bit of onion here.
16:31I'm just going to chop that up.
16:33Roughly, all of this is going into our food processor, so just roughly chop that up.
16:39In with some peeled and chopped ginger, some rough chopped garlic,
16:44it's a moss wood pepper, a bit of fresh thyme and some spring onions.
16:49All they say out here is scalyan, scalyan, it depends how much rum you've had scalyan.
16:57Scalyan, put it in the, put it in the jerk's ass.
17:01And then everything else is going in there.
17:03I've got a bit of brown sugar, I've got a bit of cinnamon in there, a bit of soy, nutmeg,
17:08some allspice berries, a squeeze of fresh orange juice and some lime.
17:12Just pop that all in.
17:15Oh yeah.
17:16Of course, a little bit of salt and pepper, a touch of oil and then we whizz it all up.
17:23Yeah boy, yeah.
17:27Oh, that is just fabulous, absolutely fabulous.
17:32Now, what about our chicken?
17:34Now the secret here is you want to get some flavour into your meat,
17:38so therefore you can take your knife and just make some cuts across the joints,
17:43allowing that knife to get right into the legs and the breast.
17:48There you go, really open that up and then we can get our marinade on top.
17:54And then give that chicken leg and thigh a good old rub with the marinade.
18:01Really get that in there.
18:02John canoe and a foo foo.
18:05Ah, bing and a tumpa.
18:07Come to Uncle Lynn's John canoe and you can learn just how to cook.
18:11I said John canoe and foo foo.
18:14That's enough of that, okay.
18:18Now ideally you could leave that overnight so all those lovely flavours could work their way into the chicken.
18:24But then it's on to the barbie, starting on the high heat for the first six to eight minutes.
18:30That bad boy there, yeah, go on, you get cooking.
18:33Now what about that glaze then, eh?
18:35I've got my guava jelly here.
18:38So I want to have a little nod to one of their favourite fruits.
18:42And then to that I've got some soy sauce.
18:48And a little bit of honey going in there too.
18:54Ah, lovely.
18:56A little bit of lime juice going in there now.
18:58A touch of garlic and a little bit of hot sauce.
19:01Yeah boy.
19:02You can control how much hot sauce you want to put in there.
19:05That's it.
19:07Beautiful.
19:07Just warming that through gently and letting it bubble up for a few minutes.
19:12That glaze is looking really, really lovely.
19:16Look at that.
19:17Beautiful.
19:19Just let that reduce just a little bit more and that'll be perfect to brush onto our chicken.
19:24So have a quick look at that.
19:26Maybe put a little bit more marinade in there.
19:28Look at that.
19:29Oh yeah, boy.
19:30So now I've turned my chicken and taken it off the direct heat
19:33so it can cook through nicely without burning the outside.
19:37It's always lovely when you're cooking something on the barbie and it's perfect, isn't it?
19:41Makes you feel good.
19:42Ah, it's going to taste good too.
19:44Okay, let's get on with that coleslaw.
19:46I've got some mayonnaise here.
19:48I've got the lime juice and a little bit of ginger.
19:51So all of that, we're just going to pop that into my bowl here
19:59and grate a little bit of that ginger in there.
20:02Beautiful.
20:03Really gingery and lovely.
20:05Okay, a little bit of zest of lime.
20:09There you go.
20:13A touch of juice.
20:15That's it.
20:15Beautiful lime juice.
20:18Combine that up a little bit.
20:19Okay, a little bit of salt and pepper.
20:22Then we can start to add our other ingredients.
20:25Wow.
20:25Red and white cabbage, onion, peppers, carrots and a bit of shredded celery.
20:30Shall we get all of that in there?
20:31There you go.
20:32There it all is.
20:33Look at that.
20:33And give that a good old mix.
20:35Combining that lovely mayonnaise with all those lovely crunchy vegetables
20:42and a little bit of this coriander.
20:45Keep a little bit to garnish, but I just like to put a bit of that root in too.
20:52A bit like a Thai cooking.
20:56The chicken is almost done.
20:58Just a little glaze on top.
21:02Close that down.
21:03Give that another 10 minutes.
21:05A little bit more glia's.
21:07And then we're going to serve it up.
21:12Time to plate up and slice up this Barbie beauty.
21:19How about that then, eh?
21:21Look at that.
21:22There you have it.
21:23My John Canoe Jerk Chicken with our guava glias with some qualslaw and pitan rice.
21:30Go on, enjoy that.
21:36Here in the Bahamas, it's all about food.
21:38It's all about the rhythm.
21:39It's all about the creativity.
21:41And it doesn't matter whether you're at a festival,
21:44you're in the kitchen, or indeed you're at a John Canoe shack having a laugh.
21:48Ha, ha, ha, ha.
21:49But for me, it really is all about the food with connection, culture, and love.
21:55Yeah, boy.
21:56Bye-bye.
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