Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival

Rum aficionados, foodies and fans of floating in a cerulean sea should head to Barbados, the birthplace of rum, for the first annual Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival.

Always regarded as premium destination for connoisseurs of rum and Caribbean cuisine, Barbados is set to celebrate its savory history with a four-day epicurean event, the Barbados Food & Wine and Rum Festival,  running November 19 – 22, 2010. Presiding over the event are favorite celebrity chefs like Tom Colicchio, Marcus Samuelsson, Ming Tsai and Tim Love, who will be on hand giving cooking demos and creating memorable culinary bites. Local Barbadian talent like John Hazzard from marketfive, who helped put Barbados on the culinary map, will also be in attendance to further reveal the island’s culinary soul. Presented by American Express Publishing Corporation, the event will be hosted by Travel + Leisure’s Features Director Nilou Motamed.  Wine seminars and events will be curated by FOOD & WINE Executive Wine Editor, Ray Isle, and wine expert Anthony Giglio.

The festival includes an amazing slate of activities that could only be found in the Caribbean including:

• An opening rum tasting party at the Hilton Barbados at Needhams Point ($75/person)

• A gourmet luncheon and tour of the Mount Gay Visitors Center  to explore their 300-year rum-crafting tradition ($75/person)

• The showcase event at the  Lion Castle Polo Estate; “Ambrosia: Savour Barbados” with top celebrity and local chefs ($100/person)

• A dinner with Tom Colicchio at the stunning Cliff Restaurant ($250/person)

• A festive brunch with local chefs at the George Washington House ($75/ person)

• And myriad cooking demonstrations with the multi-talented chefs.

When not imbibing frothy tropical sippers or nibbling on haute Bajan cuisine, you can explore this Lesser Antilles island as Barbados offers a wealth of recreation with its alluring aquatic playground and encircling coral reefs. The ocean calls for  kayaking, sailing, scuba diving, kitesurfing, snorkeling and swimming with the turtles. On terra firma, there’s horseback riding,  cricket and polo matches, and the chance to navigate a Tom Fazio-designed golf course at Sandy Lane Resort that affords breathtaking views of the Caribbean sea. And then there’s all that divine rum.

Photos courtesy of Barbados Tourism Authority.