🍽️ Cuisine
Saint Barthélemy—St. Barths to visitors—is a tiny French Caribbean island where Norman and Breton settlers arrived centuries ago and never left. Unlike most Caribbean islands, St. Barths was never colonized with plantations, so its cuisine is distinctly French provincial rather than creole, adapted to tropical ingredients.
Accras de Morue
Salt Cod Fritters
Light, airy salt cod fritters—a French Caribbean classic that crossed the Atlantic with Norman fishermen. On St. Barths, they're served at every beach bar and family gathering, crispy outside and fluffy within.
Ingredients: 200g salt cod, 150g flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 eggs, 100ml milk, 3 green onions, finely chopped, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 scotch bonnet, seeded and minced, 2 tbsp fresh parsley, ½ tsp thyme, Oil for frying, Black pepper.
Preparation: Soak salt cod 24 hours, changing water several times. Drain, place in pot with fresh water, bring to boil, simmer 20 minutes. Drain, cool, flake finely, removing any bones and skin. Mix flour and baking powder. Beat eggs with milk, add to flour, whisk until smooth. Fold in flaked cod, green onions, garlic, scotch bonnet, parsley, thyme, and pepper—no salt needed, the cod provides it. Let batter rest 30 minutes. Heat oil to 175°C. Drop batter by spoonfuls, fry until puffed and golden, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with lime wedges and ti-punch.
💡 The batter should be thick but light—if too dense, add a splash more milk.
Langouste Grillée
Grilled Caribbean Lobster
Caribbean spiny lobster split and grilled with garlic butter and herbs—the signature dish of St. Barths, where French technique meets Caribbean abundance. Simple preparation lets the sweet lobster shine.
Ingredients: 2 Caribbean spiny lobster tails (or Maine lobster), 100g butter, softened, 4 cloves garlic, minced, 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped, Zest of 1 lemon, Juice of half lemon, Pinch cayenne, Salt and pepper.
Preparation: Mix soft butter with garlic, parsley, chives, lemon zest, cayenne, salt, and pepper to make compound butter. Split lobster tails lengthwise through the shell. Loosen meat slightly from shell but leave attached. Season with salt and pepper. Spread half the compound butter over the exposed meat. Preheat grill or broiler to high. Grill lobster shell-side down first, 3 minutes. Flip, add remaining butter to meat, grill 4-5 minutes until flesh is opaque and lightly charred. Squeeze lemon juice over. Serve immediately with crusty French bread to soak up the garlicky butter pooling in the shells.
💡 Caribbean spiny lobster has no claws—all the meat is in the tail, which is sweeter than its northern cousin.
Tarte Tropézienne
Cream-Filled Brioche
A beloved French pastry that found a second home in St. Barths—brioche bun filled with rich cream, popular at the island's French bakeries. The recipe came from Saint-Tropez in the 1950s and never left.
Ingredients: For brioche: 200g flour, 30g sugar, 5g salt, 7g yeast, 2 eggs, 80g soft butter, Pearl sugar for topping. For cream: 200ml whole milk, 2 egg yolks, 50g sugar, 25g flour, 1 tsp vanilla, 150g soft butter.
Preparation: Make brioche: mix flour, sugar, salt, yeast. Add eggs, knead until smooth. Add butter gradually, knead 10 minutes until elastic. Rise 2 hours until doubled. Punch down, shape into round, place on baking sheet, rise 1 hour. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle pearl sugar. Bake 180°C for 20 minutes until golden. Cool completely. Make cream: heat milk. Whisk yolks, sugar, flour, add hot milk gradually. Return to heat, whisk constantly until thick. Cool completely. Beat butter until fluffy, gradually beat in cooled pastry cream and vanilla. Split brioche horizontally, fill generously with cream, replace top. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
💡 The cream must be completely cold before adding butter, or it will curdle.
