Food — Guadeloupe

Guadeloupean gastronomy is one of the richest and most mixed in the Caribbean — a Creole fusion cuisine where African techniques cross with Indian spices, Amerindian produce (cassava, chilli, maize) and French heritage (sauces, charcuterie, pastry). It is lived in the street, on the beach, in the lolos (small family eateries) far more than in the hotels — and every market in the archipelago is an invitation to a culinary journey.

Saltfish accras are the iconic aperitif of the archipelago: small fritters of desalted cod, herbs, chilli and flour, deep-fried until crisp and golden, traditionally served with ti-punch in bars and at evening gatherings. The bokit, a sandwich deep-fried in leavened bread and filled (smoked chicken, salted cod, ham and cheese, conch), is the icon of Guadeloupean street food — each town has its master bokitier, with the best in Pointe-à-Pitre, Saint-François or Sainte-Anne.

The colombo is the Sunday dish par excellence, inherited from 19th-century Tamil indentured workers. This spiced sauce based on colombo powder (a mix of turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek and other spices) accompanies chicken, goat or fish, slow-cooked with potatoes, christophine and giraumon squash. Served with white rice and plantains, it is the family reunion dish of Guadeloupean households. The dombrés (small poached flour dumplings) served with prawns or conch are the other traditional dish to discover.

The sea is everywhere on the plate: ouassous (large freshwater prawns), chatrou (octopus in Creole sauce), lambi (large carnivorous shell prepared as a stew), vivaneau (snapper), thazard (king mackerel) and dolphinfish grilled over wood fire on the beaches of Sainte-Anne or Bois Jolan — the freshness of the produce and the simplicity of the cooking make the essential.

Guadeloupean rum is a global institution and the only French AOC agricultural rum since 2015 (Martinique's AOC Rum being earlier). Distilled from pure fresh cane juice (and not molasses as in industrial rums), it develops grassy, fruity and mineral aromas of great finesse. The unmissable Guadeloupean distilleries: Damoiseau (Le Moule, the largest of the archipelago), Bologne (Basse-Terre, the oldest, 1644), Longueteau (Capesterre Belle-Eau), Reimonenq (Sainte-Rose, with its rum museum), and in Marie-Galante the iconic Bielle, Bellevue and Père Labat (Poisson). The ti-punch — white agricultural rum, cane sugar, lime — is the universal aperitif ritual: 'each prepares their own death' goes the Creole proverb, referring to the freedom to dose ingredients.

On the sweet side, the coconut sorbets sold on beaches, the coconut tablettes (caramels of grated coconut and sugar), the coconut blancmange and the mango paste are the traditional treats. Markets (notably the Saint-Antoine market in Pointe-à-Pitre, the Sainte-Anne morning market) overflow with fresh tropical fruit: Bouteille pineapple (local variety), soursop, passion fruit, sweetsop, sapodilla, starfruit, rambutans.