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00:08Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas,
00:10brought to you by Nassau and Paradise Island.
00:19The best way to experience the true flavor of a place
00:22is 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,
00:51exploring islands of white sands, turquoise seas
00:55and food that is as vibrant as its people.
00:59From hidden beach shacks and fish fries.
01:02Ooh, a little bit of sesame.
01:05To fine dining with a Caribbean twist.
01:08It's out in this world.
01:09Scoop it up.
01:10Mmm.
01:11This is the last bottle known to man.
01:14Wow.
01:14Now, I'm diving head first into the flavors, the colors
01:20and the rhythms of island life.
01:23So come on, grab a plate, loosen that belt
01:26and join me in my quest as I search for a lick of bit of island zest.
01:31Welcome.
01:32Taste of the Bahamas.
01:34Yeah.
01:42The Bahamas is a chain of hundreds of islands and coral shallows
01:47in 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,
01:55my Bahamian base.
01:57Today, I'm exploring the idea that you should never rush a good thing.
02:01So I'll be taking my time to learn how to do a classic conch chowder recipe.
02:07Give it a little wine, give it a little wine.
02:09Yeah, I'm giving it a little wine, there you go.
02:11All right.
02:12And I'll be soaking up the atmosphere in a Nassau cake factory.
02:15Oh, wow, look at that.
02:17That is a big boy.
02:18And I'll be savouring every layer in my Bahama Mama tiramisu.
02:24Oh, look what happened.
02:25A little bit fell off.
02:28But first, I'm on a mission to discover the top secrets
02:32behind the delicious drink these islands are famous for.
02:42You might recognise this place.
02:44They call it 007 Corner.
02:49You remember it?
02:50It's where Daniel Craig leaps off a speeding vehicle
02:53at the beginning of Casino Royale.
02:57It's a classic Bond movie stunt with a death-defying high-speed leap
03:01effortlessly landing into dangerous territory.
03:07Not for me, though.
03:09I'm making a less dramatic entrance
03:11because I haven't come here to the Buenavista estate
03:14to play James Bond.
03:17But I'm here for something shaken, stirred, and savoured.
03:22Rum.
03:24This is the home of John Watling's distillery.
03:28John Watling was a 17th-century English buccaneer
03:31who I'm sure would be delighted to know
03:33that they're still making hand-crafted,
03:36small-batch rums here the traditional way.
03:39To give me the full rum-down is co-owner, Pepin Agamacia.
03:45Hey, Pepin.
03:46Hey, how are you?
03:47How are you?
03:47The name's Harriet.
03:49Ainsley Harriet.
03:49There you go.
03:51Pepin's family have been in the rum business for generations.
03:54And from an early age, Pepin knew he would follow in his father's footsteps.
03:58Playing hide-and-go-seek in a barrel room
04:01with around half a million barrels is a lot of fun.
04:04But it's even more fun to taste it.
04:06And luckily, I'm just about old enough.
04:08Now, I want you to be careful, okay?
04:10It's at 65% alcohol or 130 proof, okay?
04:14Wow, we're starting with the really strong stuff.
04:17Beautiful.
04:18And I notice you're not joining me.
04:21No.
04:22I never drink at work.
04:25Oh, that's a lot.
04:27Cheers.
04:28Wow.
04:34Basically, this four-year-old rum at different ages
04:38is the heart of all of our products.
04:40So what we do is we grab this,
04:42and then we'll blend it with different rums as well as water
04:45to come up with our different expressions.
04:47This strong rum is the end stage of the distilling process.
04:51But what I want to know is how this process begins.
04:54It all starts with what they call a fermented mash made of sugar cane.
04:59So tell me about the mash.
05:01How does that work?
05:02After the sugar cane is cultivated, it's pressed,
05:06and you get, like, a greenish clear liquid,
05:08which is very, very rich in sugar.
05:11The process that it goes through after that is centrifugation,
05:14whereby the sugar, the white crystals, are pulled out.
05:17And what's left over is the molasses,
05:19which is rich in minerals and nutrients.
05:22Water is added to that, and then yeast is added to that.
05:26And the yeast is basically a microorganism
05:29that will eat the sugar,
05:30and it will expel out alcohol and carbon dioxide.
05:35After the science of distilling comes the art of blending.
05:38And the best way to appreciate that
05:40is back at the old tasting barrel.
05:44Our most popular rum is the amber,
05:46but the one I want you to taste is our John Watling's bouillon.
05:50This is a 10-year-old rum
05:52that we aged in ex-bourbon barrels.
05:55Then we transferred it to cognac barrels
05:58in order to smooth the rum.
06:00So enjoy that one.
06:02Why don't you give me a small portion then, Pepe?
06:05I'm a bad influence.
06:06I'm a terrible influence.
06:08Tell my word.
06:11Oh, nice, huh?
06:14Smooth, the prune flavour, the almonds,
06:16all of that coming through.
06:18That really is interesting, isn't it?
06:19And then all of these flavours are naturally occurring.
06:22Throughout the process, what we do is we remove,
06:25we never add.
06:26Because the definition of a rum
06:27is that the only ingredients that can go in there
06:30are derivatives of the sugar cane plant and water.
06:35Pepin has just been a fabulous host,
06:37and he's even given me some rum to take away.
06:40All I have to do is handcraft the wax seal,
06:42and I'm good to go.
06:48Well, this is going to come in very useful later on.
06:53Yeah.
06:54Ooh, my own rum.
06:58Whenever I think of rum, I think of pirates.
07:00And as luck would have it,
07:02my next stop has a strong connection to a notorious pirate
07:05who once made his island home here.
07:09Well, here I am in the old part of Nassau
07:12at the famous Greycliff Hotel.
07:13It was built by a pirate called John Howard Graysmith,
07:17who was told by the Bahamian government,
07:19either you give up pirating or you will meet your death.
07:23So he built this amazing mansion.
07:25Today it's a hotel,
07:27and it's renowned for a special dish
07:30that is simply out of this world.
07:32Let's find out what it is, shall we?
07:35In April 2025,
07:38Bahamian rocket scientist Aisha Bowe
07:41took this special dish into space
07:43on a Blue Origin flight.
07:45That dish was cold chowder,
07:48made by Aisha's cousin, Elijah,
07:50who is the head chef here.
07:54So, Elijah,
07:55were you responsible for sending that cold chowder into space?
07:59That was me. I'm guilty as charged.
08:01That was me, man.
08:02I'm trying to think of some place
08:04my chowder hasn't been yet.
08:06Well, it was passed down to me from my grandmother,
08:08and she's no longer here.
08:11So I took it up to space
08:13so it would be a little closer to heaven.
08:15Oh, brilliant.
08:16How lovely.
08:18Elijah's recipe starts off with some chopped celery
08:21gently cooked in some butter.
08:23Butter makes it taste better.
08:27Now it's the colt,
08:29but you don't want it chewy,
08:30so you have to soften it up first.
08:32It's just like one big muscle.
08:34Yeah.
08:35For the chowder,
08:36we put it in the food processor
08:37so we could get, like, little bitty pieces.
08:41So how long have you been working
08:43at the Greycliff then, chef?
08:44I've been working here for 23 years.
08:47What? 23 years?
08:48Yeah.
08:49So that's a lot of colt chowder.
08:51Maybe about 2,566.
08:58This one will make 67.
09:00Yeah, 2 million.
09:012 million.
09:022 million.
09:04I'm not sure how accurate Elijah's maths is,
09:07but the order of his ingredients is very exact.
09:11Onions, peppers next,
09:12and then some salt and some cracked black pepper.
09:16It's got to be the cracked.
09:17It's got to be the cracked black pepper.
09:19It's got to be.
09:19Now, you're going to add one of my favorite ingredients.
09:22Okay, what's one of your favorite ingredients,
09:24said Elijah?
09:25Besides the love?
09:26Yeah.
09:27My spice mix, man.
09:28My spice mix, but...
09:30A mixture of salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder,
09:34and a couple other ingredients.
09:36I really can't tell you all of them
09:37because you know it's going to happen.
09:39What's going to happen?
09:40Well, you don't want to know.
09:42That's the secret.
09:44Oh, well...
09:45Okay.
09:45That's good.
09:46That's good.
09:46That's good.
09:46That's good.
09:47That's good.
09:47That's good.
09:47You're going to put some tomato paste.
09:50And now for some plum tomatoes,
09:52a dash of wine, and some water.
09:55Water or vegetable stock.
09:56Any one of them will be fine.
09:58Okay, so it's more like a soup now.
10:00It really is.
10:00Right.
10:01This is soup now.
10:02Yeah.
10:02But we're going to make this into a chowder.
10:05Carrots and potatoes are added to the pot next,
10:07and then it's time for the ingredient
10:09that seems to go into everything here,
10:11the super hot goat pepper.
10:14Here you go.
10:14Bring on the goat.
10:15Bring on the goat.
10:17Don't worry about the time.
10:19Bring on the goat.
10:20Bring on the goat.
10:21There you go.
10:21All of that in there, Chef?
10:22Yeah, put that in there, man.
10:23Yeah, put that in there.
10:24All right, there you go.
10:25It's time for the time.
10:26Time for the time.
10:27It's time for the time.
10:28All right.
10:28A little bit more.
10:30Oh, there you go.
10:31Lovely.
10:32There you go.
10:32Lovely, lovely, lovely.
10:33Now, we're going from minestrone,
10:37which in, see that?
10:40Beautiful.
10:40That's minestrone.
10:41Yeah.
10:41We're going from minestrone to chowder.
10:44And this is where all the ingredients come together
10:47by pouring in a simple mix of flour and water.
10:50I'm going from minestrone to chowder.
10:51Yeah, you pour it right in the center.
10:55I'm pouring.
10:55Right in the center.
10:55Yeah, you're doing it good.
10:57Give it a little wine.
10:58Give it a little wine.
10:58Yeah, I'm giving it a little wine.
11:00There you go.
11:00All right.
11:02All right.
11:02Tell me when to stop.
11:03Is all of that good?
11:04That's good.
11:04That's good.
11:05That's good.
11:05That's good.
11:05You're good right there.
11:06Yeah.
11:07Then, a final sprinkling of seasoning,
11:10and we're good to go.
11:14Eliza, that smelled good.
11:16This is it.
11:16This is the legendary chowder.
11:19No, it's not legendary.
11:21No?
11:21It's out of this world.
11:24Silly me.
11:25There you go.
11:30Now, at last, it's time to enjoy it out in the world
11:35on a sun-dappled patio,
11:37but we're still not quite ready to taste yet.
11:39That's one final ingredient to add.
11:43Before you start,
11:44you've got to add a little sherry pepper to it.
11:47Okay.
11:48Okay.
11:48What's that?
11:49This is our own special blend.
11:51It has a little thyme in it.
11:53And.
11:54And.
11:54Beautiful.
11:55The goat pepper.
11:59That's good.
12:00That's good.
12:00Beautiful.
12:01Okay.
12:02Can I tuck in now?
12:03There you go.
12:03All right.
12:09Oh, yeah.
12:10How's that for you?
12:11It just lifts it a bit more.
12:13Lifts it up into another level.
12:15Another level.
12:17That goat pepper's really good.
12:19I know what you mean about the flavor now.
12:20I cannot begin to tell you how much I'm enjoying this.
12:25It's been an absolute pleasure.
12:27What a wonderful experience.
12:28I am so happy that you choose to have my chowder.
12:31I do appreciate it.
12:32It really is.
12:34It really is fantastic.
12:36Next up, I go from Eliza's age-old recipe to a modern classic.
12:41Wow.
12:42Simon, look at that.
12:43That is fantastic.
12:44And my Bahamian twist on a timeless dessert.
12:49It's a bit of a unlikely combination, coffee and sort of tropical fruity flavors.
12:54But I tell you what, it works really, really well.
13:04Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas, brought to you by Nassau and Paradise Island.
13:23Welcome back.
13:26I've been exploring the finer flavors of old Nassau, learning how to bake rum and finish off a bottle in
13:33style.
13:34I've added an inner spice to an outer space, cold chowder.
13:38Bring on the good.
13:40Bring on the good.
13:41And now, I'm on the hunt for a final ingredient, or two for my next recipe.
13:47Here I am at my next stop as I hop around this beautiful island.
13:51I'm at a place that combines two of my favorite things, cake and rum.
13:56And I've been told, they don't hold back on the good stuff.
14:00Oh, yeah.
14:02I've come to meet Chef Simon Smith.
14:05He actually grew up in Brighton, but he's been making his rum cakes here in the Bahamas for 25 years.
14:11You guys in the back, come on through, guys.
14:13Grab your samples.
14:14You're going to be tasting original and pina colada.
14:17He's not just good at making them, he knows how to sell them, too.
14:22Simon, number one rum cake in the Bahamas.
14:25How does that feel?
14:26It feels wonderful, my friend.
14:29Considering this is a cake shop, I've never heard such a buzz.
14:32This is absolutely amazing.
14:34What makes your rum cake so special?
14:36Well, you know what?
14:37We put love in the cakes.
14:39Produce a really good cake and the rum.
14:41We use a bohemian rum.
14:43It's the bohemian rum.
14:45The best.
14:46Rum and cake, perfect combination.
14:48You can't beat it.
14:49It looks like the crowd here agrees.
14:52Simon does a roaring trade with his cakes,
14:54especially with the tourists.
14:56And over the years, he's expanded the flavors to cater for all kinds of taste.
15:01We have a whole myriad of flavors.
15:04Pina colada, coconut, pineapple, banana, cinnamon, chocolate, key lime,
15:10Irish cream, amaretto, pumpkin spice.
15:15I'm doing the rum cake dance here.
15:17Caramel.
15:18Wow.
15:18Yeah, a whole bunch of flavors.
15:19Go on, Menti.
15:20Well, what's the most popular one, then, Si?
15:22Well, probably it's always original.
15:23Yeah.
15:24Butter, vanilla, with nuts.
15:25Yes.
15:27Simon's team produced between 500 and 1,000 cakes a day here,
15:31with the rum cake factory right on site.
15:35This is where the magic happens.
15:37Every cake gets a good old soak in a rum bath.
15:41Is it all rum?
15:42No.
15:43No, no.
15:43What it is, it's actually a homemade liqueur
15:45that we make ourselves from scratch.
15:48And we put different ingredients in it.
15:49I can't tell you exactly what's in there,
15:51but rum is part of it.
15:53Yeah.
15:53And it's got some bohemian spices and bits and pieces.
15:57A little magic, you know?
15:58Yeah, a little bit of magic.
16:00That's what makes it special, though, isn't it?
16:01Very special.
16:02Today, they're dipping pina colada rum cakes.
16:05So the pina colada flavor is just in the cake.
16:08Yes.
16:09Then it's dipped into the rum bath.
16:11Yes.
16:12And then it soaks up all that lovely flavor.
16:14Yes, sir.
16:14And then people take it home.
16:16A cup of tea, piece of rum, you can fall asleep.
16:19That's it.
16:19That's exactly it.
16:20The technique is super simple.
16:23OK, yeah, right.
16:24This just flips over the top there like that.
16:27Grab the cakes.
16:28That's it.
16:29OK, I'm there.
16:31Go down here, submerge.
16:32Straight into the bath.
16:33Here it goes.
16:36And we look for the bubbles coming up.
16:41OK, that should do it.
16:42Rest it right here.
16:44And I love the fact that everything drains straight back in.
16:49Wow, Simon, look at that.
16:51That is fantastic.
16:52And they look good.
16:53I can guarantee you they taste great.
16:56Well, I can't just take Simon's word for it.
16:59Can I?
17:00Take as big a slice as you want, man.
17:04Here you go.
17:08Wow.
17:09Good stuff, eh?
17:10Do I get a thumbs up?
17:13Two thumbs up.
17:15Brilliant.
17:17That is so good.
17:18Good stuff.
17:19The pina colada flavor is coming through, but more importantly, that spicy rum.
17:22Yes.
17:23Moistiness just releases each time you bite it.
17:25Wow.
17:27Rum cake would make the perfect ingredient in my next recipe.
17:30And as luck would have it, Simon has prepared one for me to take away.
17:35Do it as long as you like.
17:37Being an extra big rum cake, it needs an extra big rum swock.
17:42Oh, wow, look at that.
17:44That is a big boy, full of rum.
17:45Thank you so much for that.
17:47You're very welcome.
17:48Appreciate it.
17:49I'm leaving the rum cake factory with more than just an extra large cake.
17:53I'm also extra inspired for my next creation in my seaview kitchen.
17:58So I'm going to incorporate that into my recipe for my Bahama mama pick me up.
18:05It's my Bahamian take on a tiramisu.
18:08First, a lovely ripe mango.
18:14Now, pop that in there.
18:16A little bit of lime zest going in there too.
18:19Beautiful.
18:21And juice.
18:22What I want here is a tangy, fruity puree to add a bit of zinc to my dessert.
18:31I remember when I was a kid growing up and my mum used to peel the mango and I used
18:35to
18:35just get the skin and...
18:41It just takes me back.
18:42I'm still a little kid at heart, really.
18:45To my pureed mix, I'm adding some pineapple chunks.
18:48And that gives that, that lovely bit of texture.
18:52Can you see that?
18:53That's what we're looking for.
18:55We can move on to preparing our eggs now.
19:00So I've got egg yolks in one bowl.
19:03And I'm whipping up my egg whites in the other.
19:07We're talking about nice soft peaks here, guys.
19:10Okay, look at that.
19:11Absolutely lovely.
19:12Not too dry.
19:13And they're lovely and firm.
19:15And now the sugar goes into the yolks.
19:18And we're just going to whip that up.
19:19And we want that to be nice and pale, but at the same time, sort of quite creamy.
19:30Now, to that I can add my vanilla extract.
19:34Just blending that in to the sweet egg yolks.
19:37A little bit of the orange zest.
19:40And of course, it wouldn't be the same without a good old bit of mascarpone.
19:44All of that's going into our creamy mix.
19:47And just work that together now.
19:49Blending that together.
19:51And a little bit of cream just to improve the consistency.
19:56And then the magic ingredient.
19:59And why not?
20:03That's gorgeous.
20:07That's ready.
20:08Let's get a little bit of the egg white in there, shall we?
20:10Just a touch to start with.
20:12You can see that.
20:13Just kind of mix that through.
20:15And remember, you don't want to knock the ear out of it.
20:18It's very gently.
20:19Just fold that through.
20:21And now, time to give my rum cake another soak.
20:24This time, it's a bath of coffee liqueur and pineapple juice.
20:29I know there's a bit of an unlikely combination, coffee and sort of tropical fruity flavours.
20:34But I tell you what, it works really, really well.
20:38So, just a quick mix and just a touch more rum.
20:42Because there's quite a bit in it already.
20:45I'm not going to have to dip it very much, have I?
20:47All that rum going on in there.
20:48But let's take a nice slice of that.
20:55Look at that bad boy there.
20:58Oh, look what happened.
20:59A little bit fell off.
21:04Okay.
21:05Let's get that Bahama Mama assembled, shall we?
21:07It's all about the layers now, baby.
21:10First, my rum cake.
21:11And we're just going to drop some of those pieces in there now.
21:14Rustic style.
21:15And then, I'm going to take some of that lovely coffee liqueur, flavoured with the pineapple and a...
21:23It can't be that, Rob.
21:24And we're just going to drizzle a little bit more of that on top there.
21:28Just a touch.
21:29And that will be followed by our beautiful cream mixture.
21:34Then, it's in with our fruity puree.
21:37And we repeat the whole process again.
21:40Finally, adding some toasted coconut and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
21:47I love the smell of fresh nutmeg.
21:50Just a little grating of that on the top.
21:53That's perfect.
21:54And my garnish, a touch of pineapple.
21:58And there's my cherry.
21:59And more importantly, there is my Bahama Mama food.
22:03Tiramasu.
22:04Yeah, boy.
22:07What a pick-me-up.
22:09A rum-soaked delight that was definitely worth waiting for.
22:14Today, I've learnt that the best things in life take time.
22:18Whether it's mellowing rum in oak barrels or sending conch chowder into space.
22:25Patience really does pay off.
22:27See you next time on Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas.
22:55Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas, brought to you by Nassau and Paradise Island.
22:59Ainsley's Taste of the AWO for�ous Ala
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