Paradise Found: The people, restaurants and recipes of St. Barthélemy - Hardcover

Brooks, Robert; Brooks, Kara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0974312703 ISBN 13: 9780974312705

Publisher: Buckley Lane Press, 2003

Synopsis

The Ultimate Guide to the Tables of St. Barthélemy -- Paradise Found tells the stories of eighteen of the most popular restaurants on the island and, in the process, gives you an insider look into St. Barthélemy, its people and the fantastic culinary scene for which the island is justly renowned.

Paradise Found is the ideal resource for any first-time visitor who wants to truly feel like part of the island experience before even setting foot on St. Barthélemy. You'll learn about the island, its history and read the stories of the very same chefs and restaurant owners that you'll have the opportunity to meet in person when you finally arrive on this tiny island in the French West Indies.

For the long-time traveler to St. Barths, Paradise Found captures the beauty of the island and its wonderful restaurants. With over 70 recipes from the kitchens of the islands best restaurants and over 140 full color photographs, Paradise Found is the perfect way to retain and recreate the magic of a trip to St. Barths at home.

About this title

From the Author:

It is said that the world can be divided into two camps: those who live to work and those who work to live. The residents of St. Barths are definitely of the latter variety, but it would be incorrect to conclude that this means that they are not committed to what they do. To the contrary, creating paradise on a speck of arid rock devoid of any natural resources is no easy task. And yet the people in St. Barths have figured out how to take their work seriously without taking themselves seriously, and they never seem to lose sight of why they chose to live there in the first place and how lucky they are to have succeeded in doing so. To a person, they are determined to live life by rules of their own making. They cherish not only the physical beauty of their surroundings but the cleanliness and safety of their communities and neighborhoods.

Nowhere are the special qualities of St. Barths more apparent than in the more than eighty-five restaurants scattered throughout this tiny island and the people who own and work in them. Within no time at all, the visitor feels a personal connection to particular restaurants and the people who own them as well as to the island in general. The enduring magic and allure of St. Barths lies in its people and their stories which follow.

From the Inside Flap:

It is a rare person indeed who is not enchanted by a visit to St. Barthélemy, more commonly known as St. Barths, in the French West Indies.  Equally rare is the person who will not be charmed by Paradise Found which perfectly captures the allure of this delightful island.     

Paradise Found transports the reader to the island of St. Barths, one of the tiniest in the entire Caribbean, which it is as famous for what it lacks as what it offers the visitor.  There are no large resorts on St. Barths, no casinos and no golf courses. News of the outside world is limited to a few sentences in the local newspaper. By ten o’clock in the evening, the streets are deserted and the island is quiet save for the sound of crickets and a gentle breeze rustling through palm and coconut trees. What St. Barths has in abundance are breathtaking vistas, beautiful beaches and a staggering array of wonderful restaurants. Indeed, with over eighty-five restaurants on an island which is only seven miles long, St. Barths is widely and justly regarded as the culinary capital of the Caribbean. St. Barths’ greatest resource, however, is revealed in the gentle, peaceful and remarkably talented people who make the island their home.

Paradise Found takes you inside the kitchens of eighteen of the most popular restaurants on St. Barths. All aspects of the island’s gastronomic scene – from the creative genius of the island’s award-winning chefs, to Creole favorites made by local island families – are explored. With eighteen dinner menus and over seventy recipes, Paradise Found is a comprehensive primer on the very best of modern French Caribbean cooking and includes such signature offerings as Provençale Fish Soup, Cod Fritters, Duck Confit, Fish Tempura with a Green Mango Salad, Tuna Sashimi with Avocado Sorbet, Chocolate Fondant Cake and Homemade Vanilla Rum.

Equally important, Paradise Found takes you inside the lives of the people who own and work in the various restaurants on the island. You’ll meet Andy Hall, who left a life in the London insurance world to harvest grapes in France and ended up owning one of the liveliest restaurants on the island; Randy and Maya Gurley, who honed their cooking skills in the charter boat business and created one of the most popular restaurants in the Caribbean; Franckie and David Greaux, who set out early every morning in their boat to catch the fresh fish that is cooked by their mother and served in the ground floor of their parents’ house each evening; and Chef Kiki Barjettas, who developed his passion for cooking while accompanying his father to the market every Sunday as a young boy in France. You will also hear Denis Chevallier and Franck Mathevet describe their move from the French Alps to St. Barths to open The Wall House Restaurant as a moment of "unconsciousness," and Adam Rajner, the owner of Le Sapotillier, explain that he decided to sell a very successful brasserie which he had operated for years in Nice and purchase a restaurant in St. Barths, sight unseen, because "there are times when your conscience knows what your mind does not." The residents of St. Barths are determined to live each day of their lives joyfully. Their love of life is infectious, and the visitor cannot help but be inspired by their example. So pull up a chair, share a meal, listen to their stories and let Paradise Found awaken your passion for life as well.

About this edition

• Publisher: Buckley Lane Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0974312703
• ISBN 13: 9780974312705
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 238