CUISINE

MY FAVOURITE TOPIC! :)

Trinidad and Tobago is eminent in many places around the world for its tantalising cuisine. Trinidad incorporates different culinary influences in their local cuisine, most notably Indian, Creole and Chinese. It is a norm in this country to see a range of foods being sold at roadsides, also called “streetfoods”.

Even though streetfood vending is deemed as part of Trinidadian culture, occurring at almost every street corner and roadside, this practice is part of the informal economy. A huge amount of income is earned daily by streetfood vendors but they are the ones who keep their profits. Trinidad still manages to accumulate a high amount of revenue as there are countless registered restaurants throughout the country which serve the same local cuisine as that served at roadsides.

(1) Photo a shows restaurants in downtown Port of Spain. Photos b and c show street vendors at Princes Town and St. James, Port of Spain respectively. 

Photo a was taken to show the consecutive fast food restaurants located in the capital city. The KFC restaurant tells that Trinidad also incorporates foreign food franchises in its cuisine. The photo also shows other fast food restaurants such as Mario’s and Trini Chicken. These restaurants, unlike KFC, are local in origin but also contribute to the formal economy. 

Photos b and c are examples of local Indian streetvending.

B shows alloo pies and doubles while c shows roti.  One can truly taste the culture of Trinidad without having to go to a fancy restaurant. There is more than one person in each of these two photos. I noticed that one was preparing and cooking the food while the other was serving customers. Another interesting feature of streetfood vending is that customers can have the pleasure of viewing the preparation and cooking of some of the foods before they are served.

(2) Photos a and b show gyro vendors at Pro Queen Street, Arima and Ariapita Avenue, Port of Spain respectively

It is evident that these photos were taken to show the crowds of people lining up to purchase gyros. In recent years, gyros have become increasingly popular in Trinidad, although many are unaware of the exact reason. Gyros are influenced by the Arabian culture and have also been incorporated into Trinidad’s culture as of recent years. 

The following is an article about gyros in Trinidad in an attempt to explain its recent popularity among locals: 

http://newsday.co.tt/features/0,129455.html

Even though we see foreign cultures being included and appreciated in Trinidad and Tobago’s cuisine, we can still rest assured that the same is true for our melting pot ( literally! J ) of cultures in foreign countries. In some countries, Trinidad and Tobago’s culture can be found in the form of food which can attract potential tourists to the country as well.

You’ll be quite interested to know that the host of a popular television show in America has visited a restaurant in his country which is owned by a Trinidadian woman, where he tasted some of the local dishes which she serves daily to customers. Don’t believe me? Well have a look at this video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXMfOfaYq2U