Puerto Rico: Grand Cuisine of the Caribbean
The Caribbean has a very rich culture, intermingling the rhythms of rumba, plena and meringue with calypso and reggae; the poetry of Derek Walcott with the prose of Luis Rafael Sanchez; the ideas of Eugenio Maria de Hostos with those of Aime Cesaire and Jose Marti; the flavors of callaloo and the pepperpot with those of the ajiaco, foo-foo, pigeon pea soup, and congri.Yet, within that diversity, each region preserves its own character, and the observant traveler discovers differences between the cuisines of Martinique, Jamaica, Curacaco, Cuba and Puerto Rico.  For five centuries each has been developing its own gastronomic personality, but it is Puerto Rico that best offers haute cuisine at an international level, incorporating Caribbean ingredients and a long tradition of culinary culture.In this book, Jose Luis Diaz de Villegas, Jochi Melero and Jose L. Diaz de Villegas Freyre, take us on a delightful journey through aromas and flavors.  The reader will join them in an exploration of the Puerto Rican archipelago, savoring arepas on the island of Vieques, ostiones on the coastal town of Salinas, and dishes which constitute the most contemporary expression of tropical cuisine.The profiles and recipes of nine master chefs in this book reveal both the human and professional sides of their careers, and how through their efforts, as well as those of their colleagues, Puerto Rico has become the gastronomic capital of the Caribbean.  The Introduction enlightens the reader by providing interesting details on the transformation of fine dining over the course of five centuries.  The four Interludes round out the historic context and relate the work of the chefs to the cultural roots of the island: its Caribbean, Spanish, and African culinary heritage, and the American and French influences.  It is a culture with one foot in history and the other in the future, which has made Puerto Rico home to the Grand Cuisine of the Caribbean.