The St. Barth sixth-annual Gourmet Festival takes place this fall — another sign of recovery from a hurricane that wrecked the West Indies island in 2017.
The festival, which will be held Nov. 6-10, “reaffirms our position as the culinary capital of the Caribbean,” says Nils DuFau, president of the St. Barth Tourism Committee.
This year’s festival, which in the past has been hosted by New York-based Jean-Georges Vongerichten, focuses on French cuisine and will pair French Michelin-starred chefs with local chefs to create gourmet meals. A series of dinners will be held at fancy spots like Le Barthélemy Hotel & Spa, the Hotel Christopher, Hotel Le Toiny, Le Sereno, Le Tamarin, L’Esprit Jean-Claud Dufour and Nikki Beach.
The island, a mere 9.26 square miles, was hit hard by hurricane Irma, which destroyed hotels and restaurants as New York billionaires and boldface names stayed away.
Since then, new restaurants have popped up, roads have been reconstructed and the last of the major hotel renovations have been completed.