exhaustible source of 'marine
cuisine' -- an abundance of fish,
conch and lobster harvested
from our brilliant turquoise
waters just beyond the
kitchens of our celebrated and
skilled Great Chefs of Provo,
where they continually create
an unfathomable cache of orig-
inal and imaginative seafood
culinary masterpieces, to satisfy
your gustatory pleasures.
taste of fresh-caught fish...
but if fresh fish is something
that is not commonly found in
your diet, you may be a little
apprehensive and reluctant to
order it when dining out... so read on
there's no need to be timid about tuna or
wary of wahoo... become a fish-aficionado
and take every opportunity to enjoy this
delicacy of the sea!
often stake a claim on reeling it in! Together
with his brother Pablo Almonte, a fisherman
by trade, Chef Rolin takes every opportu-
nity to accompany him fishing and diving for
conch and lobster. Their favoured and most
`profitable' location is around West Caicos
but the actual `hot spot' is guarded with
secrecy! I called upon Chef Almonte who
enthusiastically shared his expertise, knowl-
edge and experience.
on island menus and in no way cover the
vast and extensive species beneath the sea.
The Queen Conch reigns supreme here in
the TCI, you will find many renditions on
our island menus.
most popular on island menus are Red Snap-
per, Yellowtail and Pot Snapper. Red Snapper
are recognized by their brilliant shade of rosy
pink eyes and skin, while Yellowtails have the
distinctive yellow stripe running from snout to
tail. Both have a soft, delicate, mild flavour with
a hint of sweetness and are prepared whole
or in fillets. The very moist and tender meat is
white when cooked, and Chef Rolin recom-
mends simply grilling or pan-frying, often serv-
ing it wrapped in a banana leaf. Pot Snapper is
known as a `plate-size' fish, usually served
whole. Typically weighing up to 1 lb., it is a
smaller snapper variety and a popular local
fish, often served with grits for breakfast. It also
has a delicate, flaky texture and mild taste.
Chef Rolin advocates lightly grilling the Pot
Snapper first to `crust' the skin, finishing the fish
in the oven in white wine, capers, shallots,
lemon juice, garlic and basil. When the fish is
served, the skin peels back oh, so effortlessly
to expose the delicious, tender meat.
be found but Chef Rolin considers the Red to
me much more tender; with both having a sim-
ilar texture and taste. The Nassau grows to a
tougher the meat but marinated, the fish can
be extremely nice and tender. Grouper has a
mild flavour, firmness and is very moist and lean,
served in fillets and steaks. Grouper are con-
sidered to be very friendly, and if you ever see
a picture of a diver having a close encounter
with a large fish it is most likely Grouper!
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