Cayman Brac is known for many things such as its stunning dive spots, natural beauty and The Bluff, the highest point of the Cayman Islands, but its restaurant scene remains unknown to many except local residents.
But with another Restaurant Month on Grand Cayman drawing to a close, its organiser Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) is keen to encourage restaurants from across the Sister Islands to take part next year. Last week, the Cayman Compass was invited to the Brac to experience some of the island’s many hidden culinary gems – and was not disappointed.
The Farm, Le Soleil D’Or
From the road, the single-story white building gives nothing away, but there is more to Le Soleil d’Or than its initial impression suggests. A stone staircase of a dozen or so stone steps up the hill behind the restaurant reveals a 20-acre farm on top of The Bluff that produces more than 300 varieties of fruit and vegetables, including pomegranates, papaya, mangos, soursop, sweetsop, guava, plantain, broccoli, dragon fruit and a whole range of herbs from mint to lemongrass.
This is the source of much of the food served at The Farm restaurant and is the result of years of intense labour, starting with bringing in the very soil itself to create growing potential among the rocky terrain.
Food grown here feeds hotel guests as well as being sold at the onsite shop, The Farm Market, and makes for an impressive and wide-ranging menu. It isn’t just plants that are cultivated here though: there are more than 400 Rhode Island red chickens roaming around the chicken enclosure, producing 380-400 eggs a day.
Farm-to-fork dining
Our guide, farm worker Jonathan, poured us fresh cherry juice while demonstrating the magic of the “miracle berry” – which turns the tart taste of lime into the essence of sweetness – before we headed back down The Bluff to sample a selection of The Farm’s menu.
There was quite the selection. We started with avocado and tomato bruschetta with homemade ricotta before indulging in some Tunisian-inspired Shakshuka with tomatoes, onion, peppers and egg, and eggs Benedict with English muffin, hollandaise sauce and poached egg.
Finally there was a duo of desserts: pancakes with cream and dragon fruit compote, and French toast with cinnamon. It was fresh, delicious and best of all, most of it came from just a few yards away.
Dutchie’s Bar & Grill, The Alexander hotel
The restaurant at the 32-bedroom The Alexander hotel lays claim to being the only fine-dining restaurant in Cayman Brac and offers food that blends head chef Dwayne Brady’s Jamaican roots with classic Italian and American favourites.
First up on the menu were the quirky Cayman Kisses, shrimp wrapped in bacon and drenched with a unique ketchup and grape jelly sauce.
The Kisses were just the start of an epic array of main courses served up by Brady, from wahoo with sundried tomato and mac ‘n cheese, to stuffed chicken breast with mashed plantain and garden salad, plus pork ribs drenched in Seven Fathoms rum BBQ sauce and that’s not even counting the chocolate dessert. No-one who dines at Dutchie’s is going to leave hungry.
Cayman Brac Beach Resort
Any notion that dive resorts tend to have a fairly basic offering were quickly dispelled by the range and quality of the menu at Cayman Brac Beach Resort. As hotel manager Caz Brazington explained, the hotel caters not only for visiting divers who tend to stay for a week at a time, but also for a large proportion of the local community who are particularly drawn to the Beach Resort’s Friday night poolside BBQs.
The menu from Indian-born Chef Costa was an international affair with a mix of Caribbean, Mediterranean and even German influences. We started off with delicately-flavoured chicken soup with truffle essence and a fabulously tasty curried pumpkin soup before getting stuck into the famous Friday Night ribs, Cajun chicken sandwich pasta al funghi and ‘Mermaids on Horseback’ shrimp in bacon.
It was a sign of how good the food was that even though I was full-to-bursting by this point, I still couldn’t resist finishing the creamy pasta, even though there was still a dessert trio of bread and butter pudding, swan puff with fruit coulis and German sacher cake to come.
Star Island restaurant
When I was on Cayman Brac six months ago to cover the election, Star Island had been strongly recommended to me and I was delighted to be able to visit again. This is local cooking with an epic menu and portion sizes to match.
The table (and our stomachs) were soon full of Cayman-style conch, roast chicken, baked beef, BBQ pork ribs, potato salad, Cayman-style shrimp and the best stewed turtle I have tasted.
Varied cuisine of Cayman Brac
CITA treasurer Markus Mueri, who hosted the event, praised the uniqueness of, “Cayman Brac people, Cayman Brac food and Cayman Brac hospitality”.
He added, “We came from Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac to celebrate what they bring to the table. Whether it’s Le Soleil D’Or or Star Island or any of the many other restaurants on island, you can get local food, fancy food, island-grown food, local fish, turtle stew – it’s all truly, truly special. That’s why we came here to highlight it on behalf of Restaurant Month, because we want them to be part of the future of our association.”
Cayman’s annual Restaurant Month gives diners the chance to try good value set menus while bringing customers into restaurants during a traditionally quiet period and Mueri said there’s no reason why Cayman Brac’s restaurant shouldn’t benefit.
“I think more people from Grand Cayman and from the United States will come to Cayman Brac and enjoy and celebrate the local culture,” he said, “because Cayman Brac is still really Cayman. When you come here, you enjoy the people, the culture, it’s fantastic. It’s one of a kind.”
Judging by the amount of food offered on our day on Cayman Brac, Caz Brazington’s comment can apply not just to the Cayman Brac Beach Resort: “Our motto is, no-one ever leaves here hungry.”
Related Videos
