Depending on the region’s recipe, the mixture is wrapped whole or in dumpling size pieces in banana leaves and baked in the oven or lovo, boiled or steamed like a pudding. A sweet sauce of coconut cream and brown sugar is prepared. This is poured over the sweet dumplings and it soaks through to create a beautiful blend of soft luscious dumpling. 5. Fresh Goat Curry My absolute favorite curry is goat. Freshly slaughtered goat is a delicacy and fairly pricey when served in high-end restaurants. This gamey meat, like lamb or mutton, is an acquired taste but with the spiciness of the curry ingredients and skilled slow cooking produces a mouthwatering spicy meat curry with all the flavors and umami. Another type you can have is Poncha Regional, which is made with sugar cane rum, honey and orange juice. This one is a little milder. But only a little – poncha is a pretty potent drink! Where to drink poncha in Madeira I tried it accompanied by a bottle of Brisa Maracujá, a Madeiran soft drink, in Cristalina Chique Bar. Stop here to try it any time of the day. Octopus His career in comedy began at Durham university performing with the Durham revue before heading to the Edinburgh fringe for the first time in 2011

Food properly cooked in a lovo is delicious with a unique smoky taste. The meat remains tender as there is no flame to char and dry it out and as the lovo covering retains the heat and moisture. 3. Kokoda (Raw Fish) This is a popular simple dessert made from pumpkin, bananas (optional), and coconut cream. Basically, the pumpkin is peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes and boiled in sugared water for sweetness.It is not uncommon to see people lining up to buy a long loaf in the evenings, as it is not only convenient but it is also cheap having a government price control. It is delicious with Rewa butter, jam, and a hot cup of tea. 16. Fried Corned Beef/Mutton with Onions and Tomatoes Photo Credit: bonitappetit

Ed is a comedian, an actor, host of the Off Menu podcast amongst others, and judge on the Great British Menu. He can now also add author to his bio of credentials as his debut book Glutton has just been published. Fijian cuisine reflects this diversity and many of the dishes, for example Indian curries, now differ from the original recipes, having changed over the past century or so since Indo-Fijians (now 37% of the population) were brought over by the English colonial government to work in the sugar cane farms in the 1800s. Despite it being a traditional Christmas dish, you will find it in a lot of local restaurants throughout the year. I tried it in O Calhau Restaurant in Funchal and it was fantastic. Tropical fruits In Madeira you will find tens of passion fruit varieties with different flavours. Some are sweet and some not so much. Try as many as you can to compare. They are all delicious!A great place to try this local delicacy is Chalet Vicente Restaurante, a one-hundred-year old manor house in Funchal famous for their pairings of Portuguese wines. I’d recommend booking a table in their beautiful outdoors terrace. Espada com banana e maracuja Visiting many other Caribbean islands since, such as Trinidad, Tobago and St Lucia to name a few, she realised there was more diversity in West Indian cuisine that was not accessible here in the UK. After completing her BSc Food and Consumer Management at University College Birmingham and MSc Nutrition and Public Health Management at Sheffield Hallam, she started Caribe' - Authentic Caribbean in 2018. The uses of the traditionally maintained natural ingredients create simple and nutritious meals. Commonly used in traditional recipes of the island is the bulgur wheat (couscous), various pasta like trachana, macaroni, hilopites (egg noodles made in linguine-sized strips, cut into small pieces) and vegetables such as wild greens, herbs, vine leaves, red pumpkins, onions, caper and green beans. And a huge thanks to my amazing producer Georgie - find her at www.rutherfordproductions.co.uk. She's the best and I'm so grateful for all her help with bringing this to you each week. Caribbean cuisine is as vibrant and colorful, with lots of punch of flavors, as it’s people or land or waters. All of those islands doting this beautiful ocean are full of culinary marvels and mouth watering dishes that have been passed from generation to generation.