Cayman Islands Shows Off Its Culinary Credentials

Some tourism slogans are mere words. But when the Cayman Islands calls itself the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean, there’s some proof in the pudding.

One of the Cayman Islands’ top chefs, Dylan Benoit, along with his brother, Lucas, put on a fabulous cooking display in Toronto on Wednesday night during a Cayman Islands Tourism event.

The Benoit brothers are both from Barrie, Ontario. But Dylan has lived and worked in the Cayman Islands for nine years (he’s currently Executive Chef for The Prime Group), while Lucas currently splits his time between the Caymans and Germany. Dylan also is the star of Food Network Canada's "Fire Masters" show. Pretty impressive credentials, for sure.

Together with some help from travel agents and travel media, they whipped up a series of “knock your socks off” dishes at LUXE Appliance Studio on King Street East, where ordinary folks can drop in and try out wonderful, top-name kitchen gear before they make a purchase.

“Having 140 nations represented in the Cayman Islands no doubt helps the culinary scene,” said Raymond Mathias, Business Development Manager for Cayman Islands Tourism. “You can take cooking classes, check out daily farmers markets and food festivals, and try amazing sea-to-table and farm-to-table cuisine at everything from high-end restaurants to local seafood shacks.”

Mathias said Sunday brunch also is an iconic feature of Cayman Islands cuisine. I was able to take in a truly fantastic Sunday brunch at the Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa on Grand Cayman a couple months ago. I also had delicious meals all over the island.

On top of the great food scene, the Cayman Islands also are famous for their great beaches, crystal clear waters, world-class dive sites (365 of them; one for every day of the year) and posh resorts. Access is easy, with year-round, non-stop flights from Toronto on both WestJet and Air Canada, Mathias said.

I didn’t have much time there, but I fell in love with the relaxed vibe and low-key resorts on Little Cayman.

“The first four months of this year have set records for tourism,” Mathias said. “February was the best month in history. And that’s coming after a record year in 2018.”

One tourism official told TravelPulse Canada that new hotels are slated to open soon from the likes of Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental.

Dylan Benoit showed assembled guests how to make an amazing ceviche, using small chunks of white fish that were marinated in fresh-cut lime, orange and grapefruit segments, as well as onions, peppers, young coconut, mango and avocado; all topped with generous amounts of salt, sugar and Cayman seasoning pepper.

The fish “cooks” in just a few minutes in the juice, but be sure to drain most of it before serving, Benoit said. “Also, add the avocados at the end. If you put them in too early and mix them too firmly you get fish guacamole.”

The Benoit brothers started the evening off with conch fritters served on top of a seasoning pepper aioli, along with Cayman beef patties with escovitch and avocado and . After that came the ceviche, then butter-poached, perfectly cooked Caribbean spiny lobster on a soup-like mix of pumpkin and creamy coconut. For dessert there was nitrogen-infused chocolate mousse topped with cocoa powder and coconut, served over a base of tropical fruit compote and topped with star fruit and mint.

An exquisite meal. And, perhaps proof that some slogans aren’t just empty words.