Help! My son is doing a research project on the dining customs of the people of St. Martin. Can anyone help me with info on their favorite foods, dining customs (utensils, table manners, etc.)?

i can say on french side of island tip in included in your bill and they won't come to give you check unless you ask for it. As for local food i would say ribs & chicken are the tops with rice to follow. Hope this helps

I think being such a tourist place, the real local island customs have pretty much been dropped some time ago in favor of making the place more European/ American. Obviously seafood is and was always big. Although people vary widely, I've noticed many seem to big on greetings- Good morning, that sort of thing.. Not sure how usual this is, but at a few places I've gone, the employees will pretty much ignore your questions until you say Hello first.

There are a few people on this site that would know far better than I. Going out on a limb here- Look through a few of the old posts for a guy named TJM (or TXM?). Click on his name and it should get an email to him. He's got a lot of stories and seems to enjoy sharing them. Probably be very helpful.

Also- I think the main source page for this chat room has a history of SXM link. You could probably extrapolate a lot from that.

wish I had more

Lori
I've llived on the island a long time and my husband was born here
first of all, let me say, that the real island local customs have NOT been dropped. yes, the island is tourist oriented, but most of the local people can not afford to eat out and still eat the traditional food.
if they do eat out or have a beach party, they will grill ribs and chicken done in the typical island way. Lots of peopel barbecue ribs and chicken on the sides of the road on the weekends and we can pick up a plate of food and take it home and not have to cook. That plate would have ribs and/or chicken, rice and peas, salad ( lettuce and tomato) or maybe a potao salad, johnny cakes, and a side of plaintain. all for about $6.00 which is a cheap meal.
now I could write you pages about local food.
basically, utentsils and table manners are the same as anywhere.
traditionally the large meal is at mid day and this still occurs although may have changed somewhat because of people's work schedule. (stores open through lunch hour) but typically if the stores close, the workers have about 1 1/2 hours and they will go home and eat their big meal.
I will try to find you some web sites with some island foods listed and explained
Breakfast: fried fish and johnny cakes, or salt fish and johnny cakes.. a favorite breakfast fried fish is "jacks" which is a small mackerel type fish, fried dry and crunchy .
johnny cakes are a typical island biscuit and a basic island staple.
ask any islander if he wants fish and johnny cake and his mouth will drool.
Lunch: fish ( islanders love fresh fish) and rice and peas.. everything accompaned by rice and peas. also chicken, done in a variety of ways but a favorite is curry chicken
fish can be fried or steamed usually. a "boil up" is done in a large pot with several different kinds of fish and boiled on top of the stove with onion,peppers, etc. ( by the way, when fresh fish arrived at the seaside in town in the old days, it would be announced by a blowing of the conch shell... different sounds signified the kind of fish available)
also if fresh conch was availalble, there was nothing better than a conch soup or stewed conch and dumplings.
fish is usually highlighted by squeezing lime on it when on your plate. islanders use lime not lemons typically.limes were more plentiful. fresh lime brings out the flavor of fish
they also eat the whole fish with the head on.. any islander will tell you that the best part of the fish is the head!!!!!!!
islanders also eat a lot of soups.. usually chicken or fish soup with everything but the kiitchen sink thrown in. . theese soups are one dish meals.
"creole sauce" is often the sauce used to cook fish or chicken in a pan on the top of the stove ..it is a tomato base with onions,peprs, and fresh thyme and garlic. the chicken or fish is lightly sauted then steamed with this sauce.
islanders with large families often created meals in large pots to feed those large families
also an island favorite is "locri".........a big pot of rice and peas with chicken..all cooked together.. a lot of variety on this dish..some use beef or shrimp instead of chicken..some use all. some don't put peas in,etc.,etc. but basically the theme is the same..a big pot of rice with extras thrown in and all cooked together

one of the thing that the islanders eat that most Americans are shocked about is goat. a favorite!
often done curried.. it is delicious. islanders also do a lot of stews.. stewed goat,stewed beef.
any of this could be served during the week, On Sundays typically it was always some sort of meat however.
NIGHT: typically just bread and tea.. bread usually means johnny cakes.. either fried or baked.. maybe with a piece of good Dutch cheese inside. but the nightime meal typically was light
now I think that has somewhat changed too because of people's more hectic work schedule. some people just can't always get home for lunch as I explained above.
there are other interesting side dishes:
stuffed christophene
yams
potatoes
plaintain
to name a few
all of these side dishes are called "provisions"
typically they were bough fresh at outdoor markets. they can still be bought today at markets like the Marigot open air market. they were typically brough up from islands such as Dominica. St. Maarten being a dry island could not grow these items in large enough amounts commercially although often women from Colombier ( a very lush fertile valley area) on the french side would bring their home grown :provisions"and fruits and vegetables to Philipsburg to market. You used to see them carryiong these items in a basket on their heads often walking miles. you really do not see that anymore
fresh fruits: mangos, bananas, plaintain,limes, pomserattes, genips ,plums,guavas,etc.
when it is mango season, islanes grow crazy. thsoe without mango trees in their yard call those with trees and they ask for mangos. those with trees are glad to share because there usually are so many mand gos that they will spoil.
islanders also make liquors out of some of their fruits
gauvaberry is a fruit that is grown on trees wild in the hills.. not much available any more . it ripens at Christmas time. Islanders used to go into the hills and collect the gauvaberry and make a liquor from it. when people came to visit at Christmas time, they were always given a taste of guavaberry liquor. there is a calypso song sung by a lcoal band
"I come for mah gauvaberry"
now that friut is hard to find anymore. there is a company who commercially produces gauvaberry liquor. It's good but not as good as what the old time locals used to make.
ok. I'm done..can't think of any more for now
If I find a web site, I'll post that later

Tom, where were you when I needed you?? LOL

One of the things I can't get enough of and crave for when I am home, are the islands jonny cakes, indigenous to the island people. I's sort of like a zeppoli without the sugar. Maybe someone has a recipe. They serve them plain or you can cut them in half and serve it as a sandwich, like a grilled sword fish sandwich.
Ummmm, I'm getting hungry already!

oops
sorry for all those typos
I need typing lessons LOL

for more info on SXM food go to
[www.st-maarten.com]
johhny cake recipe found there
Johnny Cakes - A Local Favorite


Johnny Cakes is a national tradition and are eaten with almost any type of food. These traditional treats can be either baked or fried. Our recipe covers the fried version of this local Caribbean treasure.

You will need the following ingredients:

1 lb. flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon white sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, and warm water.

Combine the flour, baking power, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then add enough warm water to make a stiff dough.

Knead the dough well, until it is smooth and all lumps have disappeared. Place the dough on a floured board and allow standing for at least 20-3- minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan and drop small flattened and rolled out portions of the dough into the hot oil. Remember to poke the dough with a form after rolling it out. (the rolls should be the size of a small hamburger patty).

Fry these until golden brown then remove, drain and server HOT.

Goes great with cheeses, butter, cream cheese, jelly and lots of other items.

Gee Barbara1 ,

Now, thanks to you, I (as well as the Islanders) am drooling !
Good thing its lunch time, but I doubt I'm going to find any of the tasty things you mentioned in the concourse restaurants downstairs. However in 3 weeks, my luck will have changed. Can't wait.

I also forgot tommention pumpkin
pumpkin is used a lot in Caribbean cooking,epecialy in soups...
Mathew..go have a juicy cheeseurger :-)

Thanks, Barbara1. If I can impose a question, any hints on how to make a plantain so it does not taste like drywall? I seem to always get inspired while visiting SXM, but never have much luck with this at home.

bruce, you must be confusing me with someone who knows how to cook LOL
I just love to eat! LOL
but I checked with my Caribbean husband who loves both :-)
first of all, make sure the plantain is ripe..
Select plantains that are very yellow - orange in color with black spots - these are very ripe. Peel and slice ripened plantain in half. Slice each half lengthwise into 4 slices each.

then use olive oil for best flavor
then saute it slowly.. he says you cannot do it fast
when it is lightly browned on one side,turn over, and do the same on the other side
and don't let it get too brown
good luck!

Thanks, Barbara1. I will try this as soon as I can get to a produce store. I try to have them every time I eat at a beach bar or lolo while down your way. I also had some that were not sliced thin, but cooked somehow and then rolled in sugar (one of those restauarnts by the Simpson Bay marina, but I do not recasll which one). Very good done that way as well.

Thanks again!

Barbara...what an interesting post! Made me drool. I'm having a hard time trying to remember what the Grill & Ribs served with their ribs besids Johnnycakes. They had a basket with Johnnycakes and something else with a delicious peanut dipping sauce. I really miss that place!

Annie

yes, some people do that too
also sprinkle cinnamon over them
makes it a much sweeter dish that way but yummy!

Wow, Barbara1, what you wrote is fantastic! What do "genips" look like--I don't think I've ever had them and might not know what I was looking at in the Marigot market. Are they sweet, sour, tangy, used for juice?