In Barbados, Chabad Turns To Local Cuisine
Nestled in Worthing, Barbados, is a Chabad House run by Rabbi Eli and Sterna Chaikin since 2017 —the 11th Chabad center in the Caribbean to date.
There aren’t a lot of Jews living in Barbados. There aren’t even a lot of Jews passing through Barbados. In 1929 the last Jew in Barbados left, ending 300 years of the island’s Sephardic Jewish presence. In 1931, a Jewish peddler from Lublin became enchanted with the island and decided to stay, reviving a Jewish presence in Barbados. Today, there are about 80-100 Jewish people living in Barbados, according to Jewish News.
Yet the Chaikins dedicate themselves to providing kosher food to the Jews passing through — and to offer local cuisine while they’re at it.
“We are in the process of developing menu items featuring authentic local flavors while, obviously, keeping to the parameters of kosher; particularly the many favorite fish-based dishes such as the famous ‘Flying Fish,’” Rabbi Eli Chaikin told me over email.
Barbados has long been known to Barbadians and people in the know as ‘The Land Of The Flying Fish.’ These flying fish, also known as etinurdichthys affinis, are silver and blue creatures that have been known to soar from the sea into the air distances of 70 feet or more, sometimes hundreds of fish at a time. This Barbadian dietary staple can stay in the air for ten seconds at a time, often taking to the skies to avoid larger, predatory fish.
“Over the years, the locals have perfected the art of filleting the flying fish,” Chaikin wrote me. “It is then traditionally served in a rich tomato gravy over rice or cou-cou, a corn-meal pudding of sorts, or seasoned, battered and fried.”
Then there’s the ‘Breadfruit,’ with its slightly nutty flavor, which Chaikin is also looking to incorporate into the kosher meals he and his wife serve. “This strange looking fruit can be found growing all around the island and can be prepared in a number of different ways; boiled, baked, crushed or made into chips,” he wrote.
But it’s not just about the food. Many opportunities for connection with other Jews come about as a result of offering a kosher food service. Just recently, when an older Israeli couple visited Barbados, and were forced to stay for a few extra weeks because of an unexpected health incident, the Chaikins were them to provide them with food and moral support in a foreign country.
By mixing local specialties with kosher cuisine, the Chaikins hope to show their visitors that keeping kosher while traveling needn’t come at the expense of a culinary experience.
Shira Feder is a writer. You can reach her at [email protected]
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30