NO PLACE LIKE NEVIS

On a long-awaited return trip, PAUL WINNER finds that the Caribbean island’s homegrown cuisine—shaped over centuries, rooted in the verdant land—is as enticing as ever.

- PAUL WINNER

THE BEST MEAL of my life happened halfway up a volcano. My wife and I were on our honeymoon, enjoying an Olympian view of the calm, silvery Caribbean from the leeward side of Nevis Peak. The restaurant, Bananas (entrées ̀₹2,344–₹3,907; bananas nevis.com), a local favourite, had come highly recommended. Under foxtail palms, our table groaned with roasted-pumpkin gnocchi, Moroccan lamb, ceviche of squid fished from the balmy waters far below. The air was bursting with jasmine. It was all ridiculously romantic.

Sometime after dessert—cardamom panna cotta and Bollinger with bits of passion fruit—I felt so happy that I started singing Drake’s Passionfruit loud enough to make the bride reconsider her recent decisions. Luckily, one of the chefs, named Katie, emerged from the kitchen, warmly shook our hands, and shared the centuries-long story of how African and South Asian flavours flowed around the region during the slave trade and the colonial era, leaving traces in Nevis’s diverse cuisine. I said I couldn’t get over how delicious even the yams were at this place. Katie nodded up at the volcano. “Good soil,” she said with a wink.

Those who know and love Nevis—a gem-shaped isle off the wispy tail of St Kitts—regard it like a long-treasured friend. My wife and I have returned multiple times since our honeymoon, and each trip, culinarily speaking, has been more dazzling than the last. Whether it’s that volcanic soil, the skills of the chefs, or the memories of distant homelands in every island kitchen, Nevis has emerged as an essential destination for travellers who believe great meals are the key to falling in love with a place.