Bermuda PDF

Expand your culinary horizons
PLUS
MONTREAL
MEXICO
GERMANY
SINGAPORE
PADUA
Winter
ISSUE 12
CAD/US $6.95
2014
INCREDIBLE
INDIA
ROAD TRIP
BRITISH
COLUMBIA
GATEWAY TO
SNOWDONIA
TASTING
TEQUILA
UNPLUGGED
ANGUILLA
Beautiful
BERMUDA
read eat
travel
FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO
, LOVE TO
AND LOVE TO
DESTINATIONS
THIS PAGE White
hibiscus. FACING
South
shore beach.
PAGE
BERMUDA
Beautiful
BERMUDA
by
SUSIE ELLISON
66
TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL  JANUARY–MARCH 2014
DESTINATIONS
BERMUDA
Bermuda
WHERE ON EARTH
Y
OU’LL BE SURPRISED HOW CLOSE
Bermuda is... just over two hours by air
from Toronto. The second surprise is how
beautiful it is. Manicured hedges and low
stone walls border the roads that undulate
along the island’s rocky coastline past tidy houses with
stalwart chimneys, stretches of gorgeous beach and
pretty, secluded coves. You could almost be in England,
except that the hedgerows are riots of tropical colour,
flitting butterflies and birdsong, the stone walls are made
of coral and the weather is glorious.
Bermuda’s lush vegetation and flowering trees inspired
John Lennon to write his final album Double Fantasy after
a visit with Yoko Ono. Its sylvan beauty also inspired the
American artists Winslow Homer and Georgia O’ Keefe.
The long narrow island (actually several islands), shaped
like a fishhook with a graceful curve at each end, exists in
its own lovely time warp.
Bermuda is still a British colony and most citizens are
happy to be tied to the Queen’s apron strings. It was
settled in 1609 when a Virginia Company fleet on its way
to the colony in Jamestown deliberately ran aground in
Bermuda to avoid being swept away in a hurricane. The
shipwrecked crew lived on fish, turtles and wild pigs left
behind by earlier Spanish and Portuguese visitors. From
the Arawak Indians they learned to grow crops in
Bermuda’s fertile soil. When a rebuilt fleet resumed the
voyage to America, some opted to stay behind in their
newly discovered Eden.
Bermuda is divided into parishes with very English
names like Devonshire, Warwick and Southampton.
Despite the fact that 60 percent of the population is of
African descent and a quarter are Portuguese (mostly
from the Azores), it still feels decidedly British. But start
to eat and you’ll know right away that you’re nowhere
near Old Blighty. Bermudian cuisine reflects the island’s
blended heritage. The traditional Sunday breakfast is
codfish and potatoes, served British style with hardboiled eggs and mayonnaise, or Portuguese with tomato
sauce. Either way, banana and avocado come on the side.
Seafood is plentiful — rockfish and wahoo are on every
restaurant menu and a tasty fish chowder is the national
dish. English cakes and biscuits accompany afternoon
tea, but there might be Portuguese doughnuts called
malassadas. Melting-pot societies come up with some
pretty creative mashups — visit Bermuda at Easter and
you’ll find codfish cakes stuffed into hot-cross buns!
Every house and public building in Bermuda, by law,
has a stepped roof of whitewashed limestone. The island
has no natural water sources so rainwater (which quickly
drains away through porous limestone bedrock) is
chanelled from the roof to a cistern under the building.
This ingenious setup means that just a couple of inches of
rain per month are sufficient to supply a household with
cool, clean water for a year.
Bermuda’s limestone base is riddled with caves and
grottoes. Grotto Bay Beach Resort, where I stayed, even
has a spa in a cave. My massage took place amid
sparkling crystal columns, with the occasional drip of cool
…
Melting-pot
societies come up with some
pretty creative mashups…
water from stalagtites overhead. The adjoining grotto
holds a natural swimming pool, with water so clear I felt
as if I were suspended in glass. My dreamy paddling came
to an abrupt end when the local football team came to
cool off after a training session. Suddenly I was
surrounded by splashing, muscled mermen, some of
them buck naked!
Afternoon tea beneath the lazy ceiling fans of the
Palm Court lounge seemed an appropriate way to calm
down. This genteel respite from the stresses of the day
(or the excitement of cavorting with nude men) is a timeJANUARY–MARCH 2014  TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL
67
DESTINATIONS
BERMUDA
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
Dressed for the
office; Bermuda
roofs; Chef Alfred
Konrad; Hibiscus;
Fried fish; Dunking
stool; British ale.
FACING PAGE FROM
TOP LEFF Lennon
remembered;
Dockyard sign;
Grotto Bay Resort
cave entrance.
68
TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL  JANUARY–MARCH 2014
DESTINATIONS
BERMUDA
Bermuda
…
has plenty
of dining rooms with a view…
honoured tradition in Bermuda. Another anglophile obsession is
cricket. So many workers played truant to watch the annual Cup
Match (highlight of the cricket year) that the government declared
it a two-day holiday for everyone. Food vendors set up stands,
families pack elaborate picnics, some even pitch tents and camp
out around the cricketer’s field. It’s one giant party and an excuse
to make traditional treats like cassava pie, a weird and wonderful
casserole of mashed cassava, sweetened condensed milk, chicken
meat and a whole pile of eggs that is usually reserved for
Christmas.
With over 200 beaches and mile after mile of coastline,
Bermuda has plenty of dining rooms with a view. Mickey’s is part of
The Lido, a hip, multi-restaurant complex on the picturesque south
shore, with a million-dollar view of the Atlantic ocean and a perfect
stretch of white sand dotted with crisp navy blue umbrellas. Here I
had my first encounter with Dark & Stormy, the refreshing tipple of
Goslings Black Seal Rum and ginger beer that’s considered the
national drink. It goes down easy. I noshed on bruschetta and a
tangle of fried calamari, followed by a plate of shrimp and scallops
topped with spicy mayo. A perfectly grilled snapper arrived as gold
coins danced on the ocean and the day folded itself into a balmy
star-spangled evening.
Beau Rivage restaurant not only has a great view of the sunset
and Hamilton Harbour, it has Chef Jean Claude Garzia, a local
legend who combines the fine techniques of classic French cuisine
with Bermudian ingredients. This tony, glass-walled restaurant is
where Bermuda’s beau monde like to gather and after tucking into
an artistic arrangement of tuna tataki with seaweed salad, sautéed
rockfish with vermouth sauce and locally grown vegetables, and a
goblet of fresh strawberries layered with yogurt and crumbles, I
understood why. In 1996 Garzia was awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier
de France, that country’s highest culinary honour, and his laurels
are well deserved.
Nearly every restaurant in Bermuda serves fish chowder, a
tomato-based soup made from fish heads and bone racks,
seasoned with Black Seal rum and Outerbridge’s sherry pepper
sauce. Everyone has their own recipe and an annual competition
determines whose is best. Chowder champ in 2013 was Albert
Konrad, chef/owner of Wahoo’s Bistro, a seafood shack on the
waterfront in the historic British settlement of St George’s, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
JANUARY–MARCH 2014  TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL
69
DESTINATIONS
Cook
it
BERMUDA
MAKES ABOUT 4 LITRES
Alfred Konrad’s Champion Chowder
THIS IS THE PRIZEWINNING chowder served
a t Ko n ra d ’s Wa h o o G r i l l . T h e t r a d i t i o n a l w a y
to finish the stew is with a generous splash of
G o s l i n g s B l a c k S e a l R u m a n d O u t e r b r i d g e ’s S h e r r y
Pe p p e r S a u c e a d d e d t a b l e s i d e . I f y o u ’ r e n o t g o i n g
to Bermuda any time soon, you can use any dark
r u m p l u s d r y s h e r r y a n d a d a s h o f Ta b a s c o s a u c e
to get the requisite kick.
Fish Heads and
Spines1 5–6 lbs
Onion 1
Celery 1 bunch
Carrots 3 large
Leek 1
Parsley 1 bunch
Green Papaya2 1
Potatoes 2 large
Red Bell Pepper 1
Green Bell Pepper 1
Stewed Tomato 1 x 14
oz can
Tomato Paste 1 cup
Bay Leaf 6
Allspice Leaf3 6
Cloves 6
Fresh Thyme 1 bunch
Whole Black
Peppercorns 3 Tbs
Cinnamon Stick 1
Ground Ginger 1 Tbs
Curry Powder 2–3 Tbs
Worcestershire Sauce
¼ cup
Browning or Gravy
Powder 2 Tbs
Cornstarch 5 Tbs
Cold Water 1 cup
Salt to taste
70
1 PLACE the fish heads and bones
in 4 litres of cold water and
bring to a boil. Reduce heat and
simmer for 30 minutes. Strain
out the fish parts and reserve the
stock. Remove all meat from the
fish head and bones and reserve
for chowder.
2 CLEAN and chop all vegetables
into small dice and sauté in a
little olive oil. Add the stewed
tomatoes and tomato paste
and brown the ingredients. Tie
the bay leaves, allspice leaves
or berries, cloves, thyme and
peppercorns in a piece of
cheesecloth. Add to the pot
along with the fish stock, ginger,
curry powder, Worcestershire
sauce and browning or gravy
powder. Simmer for two to
three hours.
3 ADD the reserved fish, bring the
soup back to a boil and thicken
by adding the cornstarch mixed
with the cold water. Salt to taste
and lace with Goslings Black
Seal Rum and Outerbridge’s
Sherry Pepper Sauce.
1
Befriend your local fishmonger
and you may get these for free.
2
Or 1 large cucumber, seeds
removed.
3
Or 6 allspice berries.
TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL  JANUARY–MARCH 2014
When I rolled into Wahoo’s, the sun was glistening on
the bay, the soundtrack was Louis Armstrong, and the
lunchtime crowd was getting ready for some serious chow.
Konrad (who looks like George Clooney crossed with my
brother), makes everything from scratch, including the
salsa, slaw, and lime-spiked sour cream that dresses a
Baja-style fish taco. The fish was locally caught wahoo,
meaty chunks with golden sear marks from the grill,
wrapped in a soft tortilla. Wahoo also came to the table as
a smoked fish pâté — the dock-side smoker visible from
where I sat. And the prize-winning chowder, generously
offered in little paper cups to passers-by? Dark, complex
and delicious!
If you’re heading for Bermuda, be sure to visit the
Swizzle Inn and Bailey’s Ice Cream, both located near the
airport. Swizzle Inn, a legendary hangout since 1932, is
known for its eponymous cocktail, a powerful blend of
rums and fruit juices. The walls and ceiling of the pub (the
building dates from the 1600s) are covered in graffiti left
by patrons, among them Mark Twain and Bob Hope.
Hope’s comment after sampling the notoriously potent
Swizzle: “They not only serve it to tourists, they also use it
whenever there’s a shortage of airplane fuel. The plane
can’t really fly but it can hiccup its way back to the
mainland.” (drumroll... baddam tss!) The small sherry glass
it’s served in should serve as a warning but most people
order Swizzles by the pitcher, then wonder why they’re
seeing double when they leave.
Across the road at Bailey’s Ice Cream you can have the
same flavours in a cone or cup. Bailey’s has been serving
homemade ice cream for 34 years. Current owners Joanna
Cassidy and Ernest Rego have had the place for the last
seven and still use the original Bailey’s recipe. “We have
customers who fly in on private jets, get their ice cream,
then fly on out again,” says Rego, inventor of the Swizzle
ice cream and other grown-up flavours like Dark & Stormy,
and rum and raisin without the raisins. The Premier of
Bermuda is said to be a fan of Bailey’s and when I get my
private jet, I reckon I’ll be diverting to his beautiful
backyard to pick up a pint.
it
Vis
it
Grotto Bay Beach Resort
www.grottobay.com
Mickey’s Beach Bar and Bistro
Elbow Beach Hotel, 60 South Shore Road
Beau Rivage
www.beaurivagebda.com
Wahoo’s Bistro and Patio
www.wahoosbistro.bm
The Swizzle Inn
www.swizzleinn.com
Bailey’s Ice Cream
2 Blue Hole Hill (across the road from Swizzle Inn)
DESTINATIONS
BERMUDA
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
Lighthouse flags; Codfish
breakfast; Dark & Stormy
rum drink; Decorated door;
Palm Court ceiling fan;
Cannon in St Georges.
JANUARY–MARCH 2014  TASTE& TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL
71