When I first arrived in the Cayman Islands, I was all a wonder as to what types of foods were on offer. I have always been a big fan of Jamaican food, so I was pleased when I found out the food on island was similar to Jamaican food, but with some fascinating twists. Actually the local delicacies are heavily influenced by Jamaican and British foods, as the Jamaicans and Brits were of course the early settlers.

Cayman is big on celebrating food and hold a huge annual event every year called ‘Taste of Cayman’ where island wide culinary delights are shared and experienced. It is basically a big food and drink party, that brings people from all walks of life together.

One very popular dish is ‘Rundown’ a slow cooked fish stew blended with spices and coconut milk. Snapper, my favourite fish, is used in the stew along with cassava which is a root vegetable similar to yam. It is a delicious and hearty combination served with dumplings. A great comfort meal! Seafood and fish are very popular in Cayman and quite a unique breakfast is served up here – salted fish with ackee, a local fruit, traditionally used in savoury dishes, which is a perfect alternative to eggs.

Fruit cake is a local specialty and of course local rum cake is big with tourists. My ultimate favorite would have to be good old jerk chicken/beef/pork or fish with rice and beans, it oddly reminds me of London, as I have fond memories of a little Jerk shop we used to all pile into at lunch times, usually on a cold wet afternoon.

Some other local favorites are coconut shrimp and conch fritters. Admittedly I had never heard of conch fritters before, so I was pleasantly surprised when I first tried conch. The French have escargot, we in the Caribbean have conch (pronounced ‘conk’), the snail of the sea. Conch fritters are breaded and deep fried, and rather delicious. Though I have to say sitting on a beach and watching people tuck into ‘fish fry’ and beer on a weekend does give you a satisfying feeling, that’s when you know you are actually living the island life.