Grenada

By Renée Goodwin Photos: Arthur Daniel It’s been said that if Willy Wonka had a private island, it would be Grenada. One could also argue that if Willy Wonka had a “Must Attend” event in his calendar, it would be the Grenada Chocolate Fest. 2023 will be the 10th year of the annual Grenada Chocolate Festival, a celebration of Grenada’s inspiring and growing chocolate industry. Grenada currently has the most chocolate factories and companies per capita in the world (more than 6 in the small 144 square mile island) and each one offers a different product and experience. They come together for the Grenada Chocolate Festival, and if it’s true what they say about dark chocolate being good for brain function, well….attending the Chocolate Festival is a pretty smart move. The beauty of the Chocolate Festival lies in its schedule of activities. While the home base of the festival is True Blue Bay Resort in the south of the island, the activities take you all over Grenada – into cocoa fields and various chocolate factories, on to other hotels in the island and even on the sea. While the programme changes every year, visitors can count on a holistic and immersive experience. Some of the staples are a 5 course chocolate dinner- both savoury and sweet- and a bazaar where the chocolate companies and local craft vendors have stalls with tons of goodies for sale. Chocolate yoga features every year as well; the chocolate comes into play with a tasting as you meditate. Visiting a cocoa farm in one of Grenada’s outer parishes is a big favourite as the tree-to-bar story is highlighted and visitors get a chance to explore the farm and even harvest their own cocoa right from the tree. The Festival also engages other businesses – a popular feature night is at the West Indies Brewery, a local craft brewery that makes chocolate-based beer especially for the Festival every year. In addition to the mainstays, the founder, Magdalena Fielden, really keeps the Festival fresh with new and interesting additions, such as art and self-care sessions, rum pairing, sailing excursions, cooking demos and educational activities. The Grenada Chocolate Festival is definitely a signature event of the World’s First Culinary Capital, and an experience not to be missed. Just ask Willy Wonka ;) Find out more here.

Grenada is a Caribbean island full of talented, passionate and committed people determined to make their country known. In this article, you will meet Karim Doyle and Kimberly Sylvester, the winners of Grenada Tourism Authority's First Young Chef and Young Mixologist Competition. Karim Doyle's career started when he was 17 when he took his first job in a restaurant. Karim understood that gastronomy was his passion and in 2015, he decided to attend a culinary school. 2017 was a troubling period of time during which Karim was not sure if he wanted to continue studies in culinary arts. However, in 2018 he completed his associate’s degree in culinary arts. Karim left the kitchen for 4 years until 2021 when his passion came back to his life. Since then, he took opportunity after opportunity to evolve in that industry. His long term projects are to open his own restaurant and become a culinary teacher to share his passion! In the following video, you will learn how to cook Oildown, which is a typical meal from Grenada! Kimberly Sylvester entered the hospitality industry in 2018. Thanks to her first jobs in local beach bars, Kimberly got the opportunity to meet many different people and to progress fast. To share her passion for mixology, Kimberly created her online page called Mixed By KimZ. After she won the Young Mixologist competition, her agenda was booked for months! Want to make your own cocktail? Take a look at the following video in which Kimberly shows us how to make a La Grenada Mocktail! Enjoy!