Caribbean Food Week 2017 - Street Party Spread*

For the past couple of years I have worked with Grace Foods to bring you some delicious recipes for Caribbean Food Week and this year is no different! Grace Foods is the UK’s number 1 Caribbean food and drink company and I love the selection of products they have to offer. Caribbean Food Week starts today and runs until 28th August. I have created some dishes which are perfect for a street party spread.

It’s simple to create your own street party from the comfort of your own home with the delicious range of food sold by Grace Foods. In my hamper I received loads of really tasty foods so I decided to create a couple of recipes that you can easily recreate yourself at home.

When it comes to drinks, why not create a ginger beer rum punch? 

Rum Punch 

Orange Juice

One Can of Grace Foods Ginger Beer

Pineapple Juice

Fresh Lime and Orange

Your Favourite Caribbean Rum!

Method: Mix all of the liquid ingredients together, chop a lime and an orange and serve from a bowl with a ladle! Delicious. Make a non-alcoholic version by replacing the rum for Coconut Water instead to give it a Caribbean vibe!

Jerk Beef Skewers with Coconut Rice, Peas and Beans

Dunns River Jerk Seasoning

Grace Foods Jamaican Style Hot Sauce

Beef Chunks

Onion

Pepper

Mushrooms

Rice

Grace Foods Coconut Milk

Grace Foods Peas and Beans

Method: Marinate your beef pieces in some Jerk Seasoning, I added a little bit of Jamaican Style Hot Sauce to the mix as well to really spice things up. Thread the beef onto skewers adding some onion, pepper and mushrooms as well to really make these go a bit further. Grill these in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the beef is cooked how you like it.

If you have any leftover marinated beef you can cook that up with some of the leftover ingredients, it is really tasty.

For the rice, boil as normal and before serving mix some coconut milk into the rice to give it a delicious sweet flavour. This will also help to cool your mouth down after eating hot beef skewers! I then mixed in some Grace Foods Peas and Beans. This is perfect street food, serve up the rice and pop a skewer on top.

If you’d like to get involved, Grace Foods UK is holding its second annual Caribbean Food Week Food Festival at Windrush Square in Brixton, London (Friday 25th – Saturday 26th August), featuring Caribbean street food, live cookery demonstrations, music and much more! Head over to the Caribbean Food Week’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep updated with future events.

Will you be making any of these recipes? Be sure to use the hashtag #CFW2017 for anything you try!

*I was provided with some Caribbean Food from Grace Foods in order to create these recipes. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Turtle Bay Norwich - New Menu Review*

It’s been a while since I last went to Turtle Bay in Norwich so when I heard that they had launched a new menu I instantly knew that I wanted to try it out. When Turtle Bay opened we had just moved house so it has been a busy few months of having no money, hence why we hadn’t returned since! This is the first big menu enhancement that the restaurant has undertaken since it came to Norwich and includes 15 new dishes, 7 new drinks and some new gluten free, veggie and vegan options. I was kindly invited to head down for a review and was allowed to bring someone with me. James and I hadn’t had a nice meal out together for a long time due to all of the house renovations so I thought I’d bring him along and turn it into a little date night for the both of us. We were greeted by Tom who very kindly took us over to our table and we started off by ordering some cocktails which I will talk about in more detail below.

The menu has been inspired by the feedback from guests but still stems from the Caribbean culture that Turtle Bay is all about. The dishes continue to celebrate Turtle Bay’s signature flavours with some fresh new twists and offer more choice for those with allergies and dietary requirements. I noticed there was also some healthier options on the menu. The classic dishes such as the famous Jerk Chicken and Curried goat that I tried on my first visit to Turtle Bay are still on the menu which I was pleased to see. We were served by Evelyn, who was very friendly and happy and always available if we needed more drinks.

For starters, I decided to go for the Sweetcorn Fritters which I had tried when I last came. I was given a little basket with 4 fritters in which was just the right amount. They were crispy and delicious and not greasy at all. I really enjoyed them. James went for the Crispy chilli Squid which he really enjoyed too. He said they had a great kick to them.

For mains, we were spoiled for choice. A new burger menu has been added which I was instantly drawn to. I love burgers and couldn’t wait to try one out with a Caribbean twist to it. The menu features a Jammin’ Lamb Burger alongside a Two Way Chicken Burger, Mushroom and Goats Cheese burger as well as the favourite Jerk ‘n’ Pulled Pork Bun. The burgers are pit grilled and come with a Caribbean slaw and either spiced fries or salad and when I come back I am definitely going to try one of these out.

Other new menu items include Bajan Beef Cheeks which is six hour slow cooked beef cheeks marinated in a Caribbean spice, okra, potato, garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, coriander and toasted coconut. This dish was recommended by Tom when we arrived and said it was really good if you are a meat eater! It comes served with steamed rice and a roti flatbread. James went for this for his main and he said it was really nice and tender. He said it was spicy but not so much that you couldn’t appreciate the flavours. Slow Braised Beef Rib also makes a new appearance on the menu and comes served with sweet potato fries and a watermelon salad. I was very intrigued by the sound of this dish! I love watermelon and wondered how well it would go with beef so I thought I would give it a try. My generous portion arrived and I couldn’t believe how tasty it was. I had a choice of 3 jerk glazes so went for the pineapple glaze which was fruity and not too hot. The meat fell off the bone and there was hardly any fat on my ribs. It was absolutely delicious. The sweet potato fries were amazing and the watermelon went surprisingly well with this dish.

Not forgetting there is now a range of new vegan and vegetarian dishes too including the Spiced Chickpea Ital Wrap, Vital Veggie Beach Platter and the Spinach, Aubergine & Sweet Potato Curry. Okra Ladies’ Fingers consist of spiced panko coated okra fingers with mango mole, fresh lime and coriander mayo and  are a new side order from the Caribbean – vegan friendly, and you won’t find them in any other restaurants in Norwich! The new Beach Salad range provides a lighter, fresher superfood option for a quick healthy bite. The salads come as three bases and you can add a choice of toppings such as avocado, mango, chicken or even squid to really make it your own. 

It’s not just the food menu that has some new additions, the Caribbean cocktail list has also been livened up. Some old favourite’s have made a return due to popular demand such as Goombay Smash and Roots Culture which join the new arrivals Rum Negroni and Rum Margarita. Speaking of cocktails, it is now possible to book a ‘Cocktail table’ at Turtle Bay and enjoy drinks and snacks anywhere in the restaurant and bar. Don’t forget Happy Hour, available until 7pm and from 9:30pm Sunday to Thursday and until 7pm and from 10pm Friday to Saturday where you can take advantage of 2-for-1. It would have been rude for me not to try one of the new cocktails so I went for the Roots Culture and the Goombay Smash, both rum based and both absolutely delicious. As designated driver, James went for a watermelon crush which he really enjoyed. Turtle Bay also continue to be the venue of choice for those not drinking with their fabulous range of Caribbean Softs. New mocktails include Elderflower Cooler and Pineappleade. 

For desserts, we both went for something we had previously tried a small piece of at the press event. James went for the Dark Chocolate Brownie which he must have enjoyed as he didn’t even let me try a piece! I went for the Banana and Toffee Cheesecake. Both dishes were fantastic and really finished the meal off. We were then offered the rum menu or a choice of teas and coffees but both of us were completely stuffed!

There are also some new sharing platters on the menu to really get a feel for the laid back ‘liming’ culture of the Caribbean. Overall we had an amazing meal at Turtle Bay. So much that we are going to book to go back soon and really make a night of it. After your meal you can move to another table and continue the night with some cocktails! I love the laid back atmosphere in the restaurant, service was amazing and everything we ate and drank was absolutely fantastic. Thank you to Turtle Bay, especially Tom and Evelyn for having us and making it a really great night.

You can find Turtle Bay on Facebook, I visited the Norwich branch.

Turtle Bay Norwich
8 Swan Ln,
Norwich NR2 1HZ

*I received this meal free of charge for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

It's Caribbean Food Week!*

As many of you know I love trying new recipes and creating foods that are full of flavour. When I was asked to create a Caribbean recipe for Caribbean food week, I couldn't wait to get creative in the kitchen and come up with something tasty. Tastebuds are tingling in anticipation as food-lovers prepare for the week that leads up to the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival.

Grace Foods, the UK’s number one supplier of Caribbean food and drink, very kindly provided me with some products to get me started. When I think of Caribbean food I immediately think of Jerk Chicken. I was pleased to receive some Jerk seasoning so I thought this would be perfect to use on some chicken skewers, great for the BBQ served with some side dishes. I got my ingredients together and prepared everything for the below recipes.

For the Jerk Chicken I used chicken thighs which I marinated in the fridge overnight in the Jerk Seasoning and the Spicy Jerk Chicken Fry Mix. The next day, I baked these in the oven until they were cooked through whilst I prepared my side dishes. The Jerk Seasoning was very spicy and you don't need too much. If you want to make it less spicy it can be mixed with some natural yoghurt before marinating.

I served this with my take on rice and beans, a traditional Caribbean accompaniment and so easy to make. I mixed my boiled rice with some garlic, a teaspoon of Creole Pepper Sauce, a splash of Coconut Water, Kidney beans, some more of the Spicy Jerk Chicken Fry Mix, and a sprinkling of paprika.

I also prepared some vegetables to go with this meal. I skewered onto a kebab stick some red onion, peppers and courgettes which I grilled for 15 minutes until softened. I sprinkled these with some of the Spicy Jerk Chicken Fry Mix which was great and worked really well with these vegetables.

 

No Caribbean meal is complete without a lovely refreshing drink to wash it down. This coconut water is delicious and can be turned into an amazing cocktail with a dash of Malibu and cranberry juice. Serve ice cold to wash down your spicy delicious Caribbean meal.

Overall the Jerk Chicken went really well with the rice and spicy vegetables. The ice cold cocktail washed the meal down a treat and I definitely needed it as the meal was very spicy overall. I loved trying out these foods and getting a taste of the Caribbean, I will definitely be incorporating some of these seasonings and spices into my every day dishes.

For more information on the range of foods used in this post, and for some amazing recipe ideas please visit Grace Foods. To find out more about Caribbean Food Week, please head over to their Twitter @caribbeanfoodwk and Facebook page.

*I was provided with some Caribbean Food from Grace Foods in order to create these recipes. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.