Vincentian
Breadfruit and jackfish — the Grenadines on a plate.
Roasted Breadfruit and Jackfish
Saint Vincent's national dish — breadfruit roasted whole over an open fire until the skin chars and the inside turns smoky and tender, served with jackfish (a local fish) fried or stewed in onion and tomato. The pairing of the national fruit with the everyday catch.
View page →Vincentian cooking is the food of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a Windward nation of one volcanic main island and a string of small cays. The national dish is roasted breadfruit and jackfish: breadfruit fire-roasted until smoky, served with jackfish fried or stewed. Breadfruit is the national fruit and the heart of the 'ground provision' plate. Callaloo soup simmers dasheen leaves with coconut; pelau is the one-pot rice with pigeon peas and coconut; tri-tri cakes fry the tiny river fish into fritters. Conkie is the spiced cornmeal-and-coconut pudding steamed in banana leaf, and buljol the raw saltfish breakfast salad. Breadfruit, fish, callaloo, coconut, and pigeon peas — that is the Vincentian pantry.
The Palate
Start Here
Breadfruit roasted whole over fire until charred and smoky, served with jackfish fried or stewed in onion and tomato.
Why start here · Saint Vincent's national dish — the national fruit and the everyday catch, cooked over fire.
Dasheen leaves simmered down with okra and coconut milk into a thick, silky, deep-green soup, often with crab.
Why start here · The leafy soul of the Caribbean kitchen — velvety, nourishing, and deeply green.
Whole reef fish marinated in lime and green seasoning, floured, and fried until the skin is shatter-crisp.
Why start here · The everyday Vincentian fish fry — sweet, moist flesh seasoned to the bone, eaten with the fingers.
The Pantry
See all 27 ingredients›
Herbs & Spices
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
On the Map
Where this cuisine is found
Regional Styles
Kingstown & Saint Vincent
The capital and volcanic main island, home of the national roasted breadfruit, callaloo soup, and pelau.
The Grenadines (Bequia, Union)
The string of small fishing cays, home of fried jackfish, tri-tri cakes, and the raw saltfish buljol.
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
