Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/407098
andre donawa w i n t e r 2 0 1 4 | W e s t W o r l d 27 this little island," samuelsson says before a woman from Florida corners him for an auto- graph. as he's swallowed up by the scrum of hungry admirers, he motions around at the nearby stand of palms and the azure water sift- ing flaxen sand behind him. "Besides, who doesn't want to come to Barbados?" Fair enough, and it's true that samuelsson's diverse background and ability to meld ideas from around the globe into his cooking make him the ideal festival ambassador. But i also find the answer unsatisfying. i travel to dis- cover the idiosyncrasies of a place, the distinc- tive flavours and spices that set it apart from everywhere else. e four-day festival's sched- ule is enough to satiate any foodie – with cook- ing demos by celebrity chefs mark mcewan, the Food network's anne Burrell and samuels- son, along with seminars on wine and spirits, and lavish balls each night – but it's thin on local chefs and cuisine. so i resolve that over the next three days, not only will i attend the festival's slew of events, i'll also head off on my own in search of the true flavours of Barbados. in the meantime, i jostle through the crowd and manage to land squarely in front of the platter of samuelsson's ethiopian beef tartare, which is disappearing fast. i pop a cube into my mouth, and the spicy, sweet, unctuous meat melts any ambivalence i was feeling. i look past the crowd to the sapphire bay and realize that on some level samuelsson is right: good food, good setting – what more do you want? though the event's name – the Barbados Food & wine and rum Festival – seems to sug- gest that the island's favourite spirit was a late addition to the menu, the truth is that a party in Barbados without the local spirit is like a mai tai without the mini umbrella. (e strange diction is actually a nod to the event's magazine spon- sor, Food & Wine.) e island has produced sugar since the British began planting cane in the early 17th century, and it's home to a handful of dis- tilleries, including globally renowned mount gay. one of the first events of the festival is a rum seminar with Chesterfield Browne, inter- national brand ambassador and mixologist for mount gay. i head for the workshop at the Hil- ton as much to find out what such an awesome- sounding job entails as to hear about rum. it's only 11 a.m., but the mount gay repre- sentatives are passing out spiked punch at the door, which has everyone talking and laughing before the seminar even begins. Browne, a jolly Barbadian with a full-moon face and the easy manner of a bartender, walks us through the lore of rum, noting that 17th-century voyagers carried casks back to europe as proof of their Beaches and Beyond situated at the southern end of the lesser antilles – where the crashing atlantic meets the bathtub-warm waters of the Caribbean – Barbados is a beach lovers paradise. e soft sands of this relatively small (430-square- kilometre) teardrop-shaped island have long beckoned snowbound northerners, and with good reason. its unique location, a little east of its island neighbours, makes for remarkable coastal diversity, meaning no two beaches are the same. T ake, for example, Bathsheba Beach on Barbados' wild and woolly east coast along the Atlantic. Home to the famous Soup Bowl surf mecca, this sandy stretch boasts the best waves in Barbados, playing host to the top Barba- dian (or, in local lingo, Bajan) surfers, as well as annual international surfing com- petitions. Not so far away on the west, or Platinum, coast, lies Mullins Bay – a quintessentially laidback Caribbean sweep of aquamarine, where the drinks flow all day from the beach bar and sun- bathers outnumber snorkellers. But Barbados offers plenty of options for those looking for more than a good tan. Locals joke this sunbaked spot, some- times called "Little Britain" or "England in the Tropics," is more English than the Brit- ish Isles. Take in the island's civilized side with daily afternoon tea (such as at the Fairmont Royal Pavilion), a polo match or one of the many cricket games that spread across the island's community pitches every Sunday. You can also get active, opting for deep-sea fishing, ziplining, horseback rid- ing, hiking, mountain biking on the island's many trails or golfing its tropical links (the Tom Fazio-designed Green Monkey at Sandy Lane is considered one of the best in the region). Or view the island from below at Harrison's Cave, where visitors descend into a cavern almost five km long and half a kilometre deep. But even here, well beneath the earth's crust, things remain civilized – all the exploration, through forests of stalag- mites and stalactites and giant subterra- nean chambers, is done aboard a comfortable air-conditioned tram. –Tim Johnson Bathsheba Beach and its iconic Mushroom Rock.