Celebrated chef Shivi Ramoutar has bottled the flavours of her Caribbean heritage with Island Girl, her very own hot sauce. Rooted in Trinidadian heritage and handcrafted in London, it brings together tropical flavour, fiery heat and a distinctly Caribbean sense of adventure. We caught up with Shivi to talk Caribbean cuisine, her favourite places to escape to in Trinidad and the story behind her latest venture.
If someone were visiting Trinidad for the first time, where would you tell them to go, eat and explore?
“Firstly, I would say go at carnival time, the week leading up to Ash Wednesday. It is a bucket-list experience that brings all corners of the globe to this special island for bacchanal, celebration and community. Get involved in J’Ouvert morning, Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday, then head across to Pigeon Point in Tobago for a cool-down and relaxing on Ash Wednesday.”
“If you have time amongst your carnival-ing, a must-go place for me in Trinidad would be Maracas Bay: first hit the lookout point for stunning views and traditional beach snacks, then descend into the bay itself for a picture-perfect beach, swim and a delicious Bake & Shark at Richards.”
What are some of your favourite lesser-known places in Trinidad that visitors might otherwise miss?
“I love the places where you really feel the landscape and culture of Trinidad. Paramin, up in the hills, with all the herbs and seasonings growing around you; Lopinot, which is lush and beautiful and has a wonderful cocoa and parang (music) heritage; then head along the north coast towards Blanchisseuse and Paria, where Trinidad feels beautifully wild.”
Where would you send someone for the best Caribbean food?
“Now this is the perfect opportunity for me to say that each island in the Caribbean shares so much history and heritage, yet has their own specialities and approach to cuisine. So, the perfect answer here is to travel across them all and indulge in each local national dish. I would say Trinidad has the crown when it comes to food; I am biased, of course!”
Are there any Trinidadian dishes that you think everyone should try at least once?
“There are a tonne of them. Start with the breakfast street food: doubles, fried bara (fluffy fried bread), curried channa (chickpeas), and all the condiments: tamarind sauce, cucumber chutney, mango chutney and pepper sauce (hot sauce).”
“You can’t go wrong with Trinidad’s national dish, Pelau (a rice, beans and meat one-pot), and you can’t leave without having a proper Trini roti, bursting with curry chicken, potato, chickpea, perfectly wrapped up in dhalpourie, served with pepper sauce (hot sauce), of course. This is just the tip of the iceberg; there are so many unique and flavoursome dishes bringing together so many strands of inspiration from around the World, brought by the different countries that have travelled across this region in history.”
For someone who wants to experience the Caribbean through food, but can’t get on a plane just yet, where should they start?
“Pick up some spices. Something as simple as sprinkling sweet potato with a pinch of allspice, soaking raisins in a little sweetened rum and drizzling over vanilla ice cream, or go all out with a curry chicken recipe. There are so many books out there and recipes online. Caribbean food isn’t complicated; it’s learning how to put flavours together, and learning to be bold with ingredients.”
Island Girl is about the journey from Trinidad to London. How have those two places shaped your relationship with food and home?
“Growing up in Trinidad, watching my parents and grandparents cook has given me the love of flavour, of resourcefulness and the ability to put ingredients together. It was a nation where the workforce was powered by heavy food with big flavour. The UK taught me more about seasonal eating, perhaps a lighter, balanced approach to food and also subtlety; there was no need to heavily spice and season food to mask insipid bits of meat, as there was in the Caribbean, the heritage of a lot of Caribbean cooking framed with the backdrop of the slave trade.”
“I feel so lucky to have had the experience of such different ways of eating. However, if you look closely, there are a lot of similarities with respect to the idea of seasonality and eating resourcefully, and my favourite thing to do is to combine the styles of cooking to create something unique.”
What makes a great Caribbean hot sauce, in your opinion?
“Heat with elegance, not overwhelm. A hot sauce has to be hot, but the flavour is key.”
Do you have a favourite way of using the sauce at home?
“I use it in EVERYTHING. A drizzle with my morning eggs, perfect with grilled meats and veg and this one surprises people: it’s a match made in heaven with tropical fruit, think a little glaze on grilled pineapple, or a splash on mango salsa.”
“Wonderful favourite foods to pair? The tropical fruit, I think, works absolutely beautifully – in Trinidad we use tropical fruit, diced and seasoned with salt, garlic, coriander and a splash of hot sauce. It’s called a chow, and once you start eating it, you won’t stop until the bowl is empty. It is an addictive combination.”
