Among the bevy of food festivals that take place throughout the year, the Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival stands out for going a step beyond celebrity chef demonstrations, wine seminars, and food and beverage tastings to also offer experiences that are intimate and truly unique.
This year, Bon Appétit is partnering with the festival, taking place Oct. 22–26, to present the Kitchen MasterClass Series at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau.
“Readers have the opportunity to cook alongside chefs they admire,” said Jamila Robinson, the editor in chief of Bon Appétit and Epicurious. Robinson will host a cooking class alongside Carla Hall, the chef, television personality, and author who celebrates Southern cuisine and soul food traditions.
The classes cover an array of international dishes and will be led by instructors Maneet Chauhan, who will make distinctive Indian dishes from chaats to lassis; Amanda Freitag, who will teach how to make a classic beef Wellington; Tevin Kemp, a lauded Bahamas-based chef also joined by Robinson of Bon Appétit, will teach about Caribbean fare; and Geoffrey Zakarian, who will show students how to make a classic niçoise salad, which will be paired with his iconic French 75.
The Kitchen MasterClass series is an “intimate and immersive experience,” Robinson says, with class sizes capped at just 16 people. “This is unlike other festivals where chef interactions often take place from a distance, with MasterClass the stage is your workstation.” Plus, attendees can ask questions and get direct feedback and strike up a friendship with fellow classmates.
This interplay between fine dining and entertainment is where Baha Mar Resort excels. There are more than 45 global restaurants and bars set across the 1,000-acre property where sweeping views of white sand beaches are endless. The festival is just as thoughtfully integrated into the resort’s curated approach to luxury and refined hospitality.
Fine dining experiences will be offered by the resort’s resident chefs too.
There’s the annual truffle dinner with Daniel Boulud of Café Boulud within the Rosewood Baha Mar, where a four-course menu features truffles sourced from Alba, Italy; cocktails with Marcus Samuelsson of Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House; and a lunch with Dario Cecchini, the world-renowned butcher of Carna. Each of these events are presented by resident chefs at Baha Mar.
Also in attendance will be North America’s foremost spirits expert and author Noah Rothbaum and Bahamian mixologist MisterMixx Bahamas.
Truly a global festival, there’s an equal commitment to bring together the world’s top chefs while also shining a light on what Samuelsson—a James Beard Award–winning chef—describes as “Caribbean cuisine at its best.” More than 15 Caribbean nations will be represented at the festival.
“We’re trying to infuse as much of the [Bahamian] culture in the food that we have here,” says Garrette Bowe, the executive sous-chef of Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House. The restaurant—known for blending global techniques with Caribbean ingredients—is the vision of Samuelsson.
In the past, Bowe and Samuelsson crafted dishes that were inspired by different Bahamian islands—from the fried fish and patties dish from Grand Bahama to a crab dish evoking the island of Andros. “We try to embody [the local islands] in our signature dinner,” she says, adding that it’s important to provide guests who are spending so much time on the property with perspectives they would otherwise miss.
Beyond the food, there is also a lot of fun. And where there is fun in the Bahamas, there is Junkanoo.
“Junkanoo is so vibrant and unique,” Bowe says with a smile, explaining the high-energy mix of costumes and music that is integral to the Bahamian lifestyle. “When we have Junkanoo at the resort, you will see all the staff join in because we love to do it.”
Chef demonstrations and discussions will take place as part of the Culinary Expo, where the food and beverages are included with the price of admission. Works by more than 85 artists and galleries will also be on display at the FUZE Caribbean Art Fair, where more workshops and sip-and-paint classes will take place.
“You get to experience the best of the Caribbean in terms of art, music, food, and culture,” says Samuelsson, who understands how powerfully the festival’s cultural exchange can impact all those who attend, including the chefs.
Samuelsson reflected on some of his favorite movements—like when Carla Hall took the extra time to share her journey with a quiet line cook on his team and when local chefs had the opportunity to make dinner with Boulud, “That’s game-changing,” he says. “The work we do in the Bahamas, it’s really important.”