Her kan du læse Christine Engen's refleksioner om en køreplan og perspektiver for regionen med afsæt i Det Ny Nordiske Køkkenmanifest. Christine repræsenterer The Tourism Developement Company Of Trinidad-Tobago.
West Indian food has it's own strong traditions. The best of it is delicious, with a good use of local fresh fish and the exceptional spices and fruits. Tobagonian cooking is fairly similar to that of other northern caribbian islands, but it has also been influenced by it's sister Trinidad's extraordinary racial mix. The result is an interesting fusion, with considerable use of local produce, herbs and spices. The strongest influence outside Africa is probably India, as there is a huge Indian population in Trinidad.
We are looking to revitalize the Caribbean Cuisine and create a movement on the model of The Nordic Cuisine Movement, with Mr. Claus Meyer and Mr. René Redzepi, who have fueled the New Nordic Cuisine movement and raised the awareness of Nordic heritage of herbs, berries, wild game and processing techniques and then transferred this awareness to food and products accessible for conscious and critical consumers.
The New Nordic Cuisine movement has today resulted in a wide range of products ranging from new restaurants inspired by the two Michelin star NOMA, to main stream products like sugar free pastilles with lingonberries from one of the industrial players.
WHY?
The New Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) initiative combines Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) food culture with the strengths and developments in the fields of gastronomy, business, raw materials, tourism and regional partnership. It’s a brand that could more often be included in other fields. Taking that in consideration, one can see that the New Trinidad & Tobago Food program could have several dimensions. First and foremost it will encourage more conscientious, open-minded and curious nutrition.
VISION:
Our vision is that New Trinidad & Tobago (the Caribbean) Cuisine will become a well-established concept along with actual products and services, both for inhabitants in Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean, tourists and the global food market.
It should be a movement not only for visionary chefs in the Caribbean. It should be a guiding light both for the creative chefs but also for the people of Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean. The values should be accessible for everyone and live in the daily life and hearts of the people of Trinidad &Tobago and the Caribbean.
To enhance innovation in the food, tourism and experience industries
To raise a voice for the Trinidad & Tobago (the Caribbean) Cuisine out in the world for people to discover the great tastes Trinidad & Tobago (the Caribbean) has to offer.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of Trinidad & Tobago being the leader in creating a New Caribbean Cuisine will be:
To explore old, adapted and new techniques and raw indigenous materials with relevance to the Caribbean Cuisine
To develop recipes for use of Caribbean raw materials and processing techniques with relevance for both restaurants and food industry
Communicate achieved result to partners, advisory board, sponsors and stakeholders in relevant media for the benefit of the entire Caribbean region.
HOW TO GET STARTED?
New Caribbean Cuisine Manifesto:
Have chefs from Trinidad & Tobago, and/or from the Caribbean region together with personalities involved in the Culinary Industry (e.g. Food & Health ministry, Culinary School of Tobago, Culinary School of Trinidad, Division of Tourism, TDC) sit down for a longer workshop to map down the core values of Trinidad & Tobago gastronomy / Kitchen.
What do we have which is unique to Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean)?
Which indigenous herbs, fruit, vegetables, staples etc?
Traditional Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) recipes?
What is Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) heritage?
Mr. Claus Meyer has shown his interest in being a consultant on the project to be see if it is possible to do the same exercise of creating a New Caribbean Cuisine on same foundation as they have created a New Nordic Cuisine open to everyone, and joined by government bodies, industry, consumers, restaurants, chef and entrepreneurs
Advisory Board
To set up an advisory board consisting of people involved in Culinary & Food industry and business e.g. gastronomic entrepreneurs, chefs, restaurant owners, Health Ministry, Tourism Development Company, Tobago House of Assembly and food industry
SYMPOSIUM
Food and ’the meal’ is an important part of the Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) identity and the New Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbeam Symposium is an initiative, which focuses on developing the Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean Kitchen as a vital and attractive kitchen. The purpose of the Symposium is to utilize and develop the various local potentials and seriously relate to taste, traditional livestock, health, traditions and new experiments.
A new ambitious Trinidad & Tobago Kitchen will widen the potential for innovation and experience for the food processing industries.
However, the initiative rises from the kitchen and at the symposium a manifest just be made public for a New Trinidad & Tobago Cuisine, worked out by leading Trinidad & Tobago /Caribbean chefs.
The Manifest will be the subject for further discussion among chefs, opinion leaders within the gastronomic and the political field and the food industry. The topic will evolve around the potential for a vitalization of the Trinidad & Tobago kitchen. During the symposium all participants will get a chance to taste the various potentials of the Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean kitchen – all prepared by the delegation of Trinidad & Tobago / Caribbean chefs behind the proposed Manifest.
We should invite for co-operation with the agriculture and fishing industries, big and small food producers, food scientists, gene banks as well as big public and private kitchens, hospitals, nursing homes etc. in view of research and product development to increase the quality of the Caribbean cooking.
We should invite teachers and educationists to co-operate in teaching Caribbean children and young people how to prepare, respect and appreciate the food and the meal. Children in day nurseries, kindergartens and pupils in schools must have access to tasty, well-prepared meals. This could be achieved by skilled cooks having time-limited jobs as regional cooks in order to inspire and help various institutions, including hospitals and nursing homes, to increase the culinary level. We reject the conditions, which means that the weak in society – i.e. the old people, the sick and the children get the worst meals.
We should invite politicians and authorities to co-operate about legislation, rules and administration of the food to make sure that we get the best opportunities to produce high-quality food and meals in the Caribbean – to the benefit of all.
We should request the CARICOM to establish a secretariat to anchor the future process in order to develop and expand the potential of the Caribbean Kitchen.
A symposium should be the start of a longer project including all interest and could include topics/ main themes
1. The Potential of the New Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) Kitchen
2. The Road to Change
3. A Caribbean Feast ( prepared by Caribbean top chefs with maybe some of the consultants from the New Nordic Kitchen program
4. The Existing Diversity
5. The Need for Accessibility
6. Taste of the Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) - prepared by Trinidad & Tobago chefs or Caribbean chefs
7. Passion & Innovation - the Trinidad & Tobago Kitchen as a Lodestar
8. Policies on foodstuffs and its effect on the Development of a New Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) Cuisine
To be able to get a symposium like this off the ground requires sponsors from the food industry and other interest, and could include: Angostura, CARICOM, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, Carib, Ministry of Trade and Industry, local hotels and restaurants etc.
