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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 a
01:34short hop from Florida. And right at the heart of it all are Nassau and Paradise Island, my Bahamian base.
01:42Today I'm exploring the idea that you should never rush a good thing. So I'll be taking my time to
01:48learn
01:48how to do a classic conch chowder recipe. Give it a little wine. Give it a little wine. Yeah,
01:54I'm giving it a little wine. There you go. All right. And I'll be soaking up the atmosphere in a
01:58Nassau
01:59cake factory. Oh, wow. Look at that. That is a big boy. And I'll be savouring every layer in my
02:06Bahama Mama
02:06soon. Oh, look what happened. A little bit fell off.
02:13But first, I'm on a mission to discover the top secrets behind the delicious drink these islands
02:20are famous for.
02:27You might recognise this place. They call it 007 Corner.
02:34You remember it? It's where Daniel Craig leaps off a speeding vehicle at the beginning of Casino Royale.
02:42It's a classic Bond movie stunt with a death-defying high-speed leap effortlessly landing into dangerous territory.
02:52Not for me, though. I'm making a less dramatic entrance because I haven't come here to the
02:58Buena Vista estate to play James Bond. But I'm here for something shaken, stirred and savoured. Rum.
03:07Well, this is the home of John Watling's distillery. John Watling was a 17th century English buccaneer,
03:16who I'm sure would be delighted to know that they're still making handcrafted,
03:20small batch rums here, the traditional way. To give me the full rum down is co-owner Pepin Agamasia.
03:30Hey, Pepin. Hey, how are you? How are you? The name's Harriet.
03:33Ainsley Harriet. There you go.
03:36Pepin's family have been in the rum business for generations. And from an early age, Pepin knew he
03:42would follow in his father's footsteps. Playing hide-and-go-seek in a barrel room with around
03:46half a million barrels is a lot of fun. But it's even more fun to taste it. And luckily,
03:51I'm just about old enough. Now, I want you to be careful, okay? It's at 65% alcohol or 130
03:58proof,
03:59okay? Wow, we're starting with the really strong stuff. Beautiful. And I notice you're not joining
04:05me. No. I never drink at work. Oh, let's have a... Cheers. Wow.
04:19Basically, this four-year-old rum at different ages is the heart of all of our products. So what we
04:25do
04:26is we grab this and then we'll blend it with different rums as well as water to come up with
04:31our different expressions. This strong rum is the end stage of the distilling process. But what I want
04:37to know is how this process begins. It all starts with what they call a fermented mash,
04:43made of sugarcane. So tell me about the mash. How does that work? After the sugarcane is cultivated,
04:50it's pressed and you get like a greenish clear liquid, which is very, very rich in sugar. The
04:56process that it goes through after that is centrifugation whereby the sugar, the white
05:01crystals are pulled out. And what's left over is the molasses, which is rich in minerals and nutrients.
05:07Water is added to that. And then yeast is added to that. And the yeast is basically
05:12a microorganism that will eat the sugar and it'll expel out alcohol and carbon dioxide.
05:20After the science of distilling comes the art of blending. And the best way to appreciate that
05:25is back at the old tasting barrel. Our most popular rum is the amber, but the one I want you
05:33to taste is
05:33our John Watling's bullion. This is a 10-year-old rum that we aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Then we
05:41transferred it to cognac barrels in order to smooth the rum. So enjoy that one.
05:47Yeah. Why don't you give me a small portion then, Pepe? I'm a bad influence.
05:51I'm a terrible influence. Tell my word.
05:56Oh, nice, huh? Smooth, the prune flavour, the almonds, all of that coming through. That really
06:03is interesting, isn't it? And then all of these flavours are naturally occurring. Throughout the
06:08process, what we do is we remove, we never add. Because the definition of a rum is that the only
06:13ingredients that can go in there are derivatives of the sugarcane plants and water.
06:20Pepin has just been a fabulous host and he's even given me some rum to take away.
06:25All I have to do is handcraft the wax seal and I'm good to go.
06:31Thank you. Well, this is going to come in very useful later on. Yeah. Oh, my own rum.
06:43Whenever I think of rum, I think of pirates. And as luck would have it, my next stop has a
06:48strong
06:48connection to a notorious pirate who once made his island home here. Well, here I am in the old
06:56part of Nassau at the famous Greycliff Hotel. It was built by a pirate called John Howard Graysmith,
07:02who was told by the Bahamian government, either you give up pirating or you will meet your death. So,
07:08he built this amazing mansion. Today, it's a hotel and it's renowned for a special dish that is simply
07:15out of this world. Let's find out what it is, shall we? In April 2025, Bahamian rocket scientist,
07:25Aisha Bowe took this special dish into space on a Blue Origin flight. That dish was cold chowder,
07:33made by Aisha's cousin, Elijah, who is the head chef here.
07:39So, Elijah, were you responsible for sending that cold chowder into space?
07:44That was me. I'm guilty as charged. That was me, man. I'm trying to think of some place my chowder
07:50hasn't been yet. Well, it was passed down to me from my grandmother and she's no longer here.
07:56So, I took it up to space so it'll be a little closer to heaven.
08:00Oh, brilliant. How lovely.
08:03Elijah's recipe starts off with some chopped celery gently cooked in some butter.
08:08Butter makes it taste better, boy.
08:11All right. Now, it's the cold, but you don't want it chewy, so you have to soften it up first.
08:18It's just like one big muscle. Yeah.
08:20For the chowder, we put it in the food processor so we could get, like, little bitty pieces.
08:26So, how long have you been working at the Greycliff then, Chef?
08:29I've been working here for 23 years. What? 23 years?
08:33Yeah. So, that's a lot of cold chowder.
08:36Maybe about two million five hundred and sixty-six. This one will make 67.
08:45Yeah, two million. Two million. Two million.
08:48I'm not sure how accurate Elijah's maths is, but the order of his ingredients is very exact.
08:55Onions, peppers next, and then some salt and some cracked black pepper.
09:01It's got to be the cracked black pepper. It's got to be the cracked black pepper.
09:04Now, we're going to add one of my favorite ingredients.
09:07Okay. What's one of your favorite ingredients, sir, Elijah?
09:10Besides the love? Yeah.
09:12A spice mix, man. A spice mix, but that's a mixture of salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder,
09:19and a couple other ingredients. I really can't tell you all of them because you know it's going to happen.
09:23Yeah. What's going to happen? Oh, you don't want to know. That's the secret. Oh, well.
09:30Okay. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. You're going to put some tomato paste.
09:35And now for some plum tomatoes, a dash of wine, and some water.
09:40Water or vegetable stock. Any one of them will be fine.
09:43Okay, so it's more like a soup now, really. Right. This is soup now. Yeah.
09:47But we're going to make this into a chowder.
09:50Carrots and potatoes are added to the pot next, and then it's time for the ingredient
09:54that seems to go into everything here. The super hot goat pepper.
09:59You're good. Bring on the goat. Bring on the goat. Don't worry about the time. Bring on the goat.
10:05Bring on the goat. There you go. All of that in there, sir? Yeah, put that in there, ma'am.
10:08Yeah, put that in there. Ah, there you go. It's time for the time. Time for the time.
10:12It's time for the time. All right. A little bit more. There you go. Lovely, lovely, lovely.
10:18Now, we're going from minestrone. See that? That's minestrone. Yeah.
10:26We're going from minestrone to chowder. And this is where all the ingredients come together
10:32by pouring in a simple mix of flour and water. Yeah, you pour it. Right in the center.
10:39Right in the center. Yeah, you're doing it good. Give it a little wine. Give it a little wine.
10:43Yeah, I'm giving it a little wine. There you go. All right. All right.
10:47Okay, tell me when to stop. It's all of that. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good.
10:50That's good. You're good right there. Yeah.
10:52Then the final sprinkling of seasoning and we're good to go.
10:59Eliza, that smells good. This is it. This is the legendary chowder.
11:04No, it's not legendary. No?
11:06It's out of this world. Silly me. There you go.
11:15Now, at last, it's time to enjoy it out in the world on a sun-dappled patio,
11:22but we're still not quite ready to taste yet. That's one final ingredient to add.
11:28Before you start, you got to add a little sherry pepper to it.
11:32Okay. Okay. What's that? This is our own special blend. It has a little thyme in it.
11:38And, and beautiful. The goat pepper. That's good. That's good.
11:45Beautiful. Okay. Can I tuck in now? There you go. All right.
11:54Oh yeah. How's that for you? It just, just lifts it a bit more.
11:58Lifts it up into another level. Another level.
12:02That goat pepper is really good. I know what you mean about the flavor now.
12:05I cannot begin to tell you how much I'm enjoying this.
12:10It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you. What a wonderful experience.
12:13I'm so happy that you choose to have my chowder. I do appreciate it. It really is. It's fantastic.
12:21Next up, I go from Eliza's age-old recipe to a modern classic.
12:27Wow. Simon, look at that. That is fantastic.
12:30And my Bahamian twist on a timeless dessert.
12:34It's a bit of a unlikely combination, coffee and sort of tropical fruity flavors,
12:39but I tell you what, it works really, really well.
12:50Welcome back. I've been exploring the finer flavors of old Nassau,
12:55learning how to bake rum and finish off a bottle in style.
12:59I've added an inner spice to an outer space cold chowder.
13:03Bring on the good. Bring on the good.
13:06And now I'm on the hunt for a final ingredient or two for my next recipe.
13:12Here I am at my next stop as I hop around this beautiful island.
13:16I'm at a place that combines two of my favorite things, cake and rum.
13:21And I've been told they don't hold back on the good stuff.
13:25Oh, yeah.
13:28I've come to meet Chef Simon Smith. He actually grew up in Brighton,
13:32but he's been making his rum cakes here in the Bahamas for 25 years.
13:36You guys in the back, come on through, guys.
13:38Grab your samples. You're going to be tasting original and pina colada.
13:42He's not just good at making them, he knows how to sell them too.
13:47Simon, number one rum cake in the Bahamas. How does that feel?
13:51It feels wonderful, my friend. Wonderful.
13:54Considering this is a cake shop, I've never heard such a buzz.
13:57This is absolutely amazing. What makes your rum cake so special?
14:02Well, you know what? We put love in the cakes, produce a really good cake and the rum.
14:06We use a bohemian rum. It's the bohemian rum. The best.
14:11Rum and cake, perfect combination. You can't beat it.
14:15Looks like the crowd here agrees. Simon does a roaring trade with his cakes,
14:20especially with the tourists. And over the years,
14:23he's expanded the flavors to cater for all kinds of taste.
14:26We have a whole myriad of flavors. Pina colada, coconut, pineapple, banana, cinnamon,
14:34chocolate, key lime, Irish cream, amaretto, uh, pumpkin spice.
14:41I'm doing the rum cake dance here, man. Caramel. Wow.
14:43Yeah, a whole bunch of flavors, guys. Go on, Wendy.
14:45Well, what's the most popular one, then, Si?
14:47The most popular is always original. Yeah.
14:49Butter, vanilla with nuts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:52Simon's team produce between 500 and 1,000 cakes a day here,
14:57with the rum cake factory right on site.
15:01This is where the magic happens. Every cake gets a good old soak in a rum bath.
15:06Is it all rum? No, no, no. What it is, it's actually a homemade liqueur
15:10that we make ourselves from scratch. Mm-hm.
15:13And we put different ingredients in it. I can't tell you exactly what's in there,
15:16but rum is part of it. Yeah.
15:18And it's got some bohemian, um, spices and, uh, bits and pieces. A little bit of magic, you know?
15:23Yeah, a little bit of magic. A little bit of magic.
15:25That's what makes it special, though, isn't it? Very special.
15:27Today, they're dipping pina colada rum cakes.
15:30So the pina colada flavor is just in the cake. Yes.
15:34Yeah. Then it's dipped into the rum bath. Yes.
15:37And then it soaks up all that lovely flavor. Yes, sir.
15:39And then people take it home. A cup of tea, piece of rum, you'll come fall asleep.
15:44That's it. That's exactly it. The technique is super simple.
15:48Okay. Take your pan there. Turn it upside down.
15:50Right, this just flips over the top there like that.
15:52Grab the cakes. That's it. Okay. I'm there.
15:56Go down here, submerge. Straight into the bath. Here it goes.
16:02And we look for the bubbles coming up.
16:07Okay, that should do it. Rest it right here.
16:09And I love the fact that everything drains straight back in.
16:14Wow, Simon, look at that. That is fantastic.
16:17And they look good. I can guarantee you they taste great.
16:21Well, I can't just take Simon's word for it. Can I?
16:26Take a bigger slice as you want, man.
16:29Well, here you go.
16:34Good stuff, eh? Do I get a thumbs up?
16:38Two thumbs up.
16:40Oh, brilliant.
16:42That is so good. Good stuff.
16:44The pina colada flavour is coming through, but more importantly, that spicy rum. Yes.
16:48Moistiness just releases each time you bite it. Wow.
16:52Rum cake would make the perfect ingredient in my next recipe.
16:55And as luck would have it, Simon has prepared one for me to take away.
17:00Give it as long as you like.
17:02Being an extra big rum cake, it needs an extra big rum sock.
17:07Oh, wow. Look at that.
17:09That is a big boy, full of rum.
17:11Thank you so much for that.
17:12You're very welcome. Thank you. Appreciate it.
17:14I'm leaving the rum cake factory with more than just an extra large cake.
17:18I'm also extra inspired for my next creation in my Seaview kitchen.
17:24So, I'm going to incorporate that into my recipe for my Bahama Mama pick-me-up.
17:30It's my Bahamian take on a tiramisu.
17:34First, a lovely ripe mango.
17:40Pop that in there. A little bit of lime zest going in there too.
17:45Beautiful. And juice.
17:48What I want here is a tangy, fruity puree to add a bit of zing to my dessert.
17:56I remember when I was a kid growing up and my mum used to peel the mango and I used
18:01to just
18:01get the skin and just takes me back. I'm still a little kid at heart really.
18:10To my puree mix, I'm adding some pineapple chunks.
18:13And that gives that, that lovely bit of texture. Can you see that?
18:18That's what we're looking for. We can move on to preparing our eggs now.
18:25So, I've got egg yolks in one bowl.
18:29And I'm whipping up my egg whites in the other.
18:32We're talking about nice soft peaks here guys. Okay, look at that.
18:36Absolutely lovely. Not too dry. And lovely and firm.
18:40And now the sugar goes into the yolks.
18:43And we're just going to whip that up.
18:45And we want that to be nice and pale, but at the same time sort of quite creamy.
18:55Now, to that I can add my vanilla extract.
18:59Just blending that into the sweet egg yolks. A little bit of the orange zest.
19:05And of course, it wouldn't be the same without a good old bit of mascarpone.
19:09All of that going into our creamy mix. And just work that together now.
19:14And blending that together. And a little bit of cream just to improve the consistency.
19:21And then the magic ingredient. And why not?
19:28That's gorgeous.
19:32That's ready. Let's get a little bit of the egg white in there, shall we?
19:36Just a touch to start with. You can see that. Just kind of mix that through.
19:40And remember, you don't want to knock the ear out of it. It's very gently. Just fold that through.
19:47And now, time to give my rum cake another soak. This time, it's a bath of coffee liqueur and pineapple
19:53juice.
19:54I know there's a bit of a unlikely combination, coffee and sort of tropical fruity flavours.
20:00But I tell you what, it works really, really well. So, just a quick mix. And just a touch more
20:07rum.
20:07Because there's quite a bit in it already. I'm not going to have to dip it very much, have I?
20:12All that rum going on in there. But let's take a nice slice of that.
20:20Look at that bad boy there. Oh, look what happened. A little bit fell off.
20:28Oh, okay. Let's get that Bahama Mum assembled, shall we? It's all about the layers now, baby.
20:35First, my rum cake. And we're just going to drop some of those pieces in there now. Rustic style.
20:41And then, I'm going to take some of that lovely coffee liqueur flavoured with the pineapple and a
20:49Icapita Rob. And we're just going to drizzle a little bit more of that on top there. Just a touch.
20:54And that will be followed by our beautiful cream mixture.
20:59Then, it's in with our fruity puree. And we repeat the whole process again.
21:05Finally, adding some toasted coconut and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
21:12I love the smell of fresh nutmeg. Just a little grating of that on the top.
21:18That's perfect. And my garnish, a touch of pineapple. And there's my cherry. And more importantly,
21:25there is my Bahama Mama tiramassu. Yeah, boy.
21:32What a pick-me-up. A rum-soaked delight that was definitely worth waiting for.
21:40Today, I've learnt that the best things in life take time. Whether it's mellowing rum in
21:45oak barrels or sending conch chowder into space. Patience really does pay off. See you next time
21:53on Ainslie's Taste of the Bahamas.
21:56Ainslie's Taste of the Bahamas.
21:58I love you.
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