LIMITLESS - in my glass
e t a l o c o h C 101
Digging into Caribbean culture can come up with amazing treasure by Trevor Burton photography by Trevor Burton
Over the years, my wife, Mary Ellen, and I have spent quite some time in Saint Lucia. Some historical context; during colonial times, the island went back and forth between French and British control. A lot of the French stuck. French is a major part of the island’s “Patwa”—a mixture of French and Creole. And there’s a good amount of a mixture of French and Creole cuisine which is always attractive to us—French culinary skills along with local, island ingredients. In addition, there’s a good chance that you might bump into a bottle of decent French wine. We have been and continue to be drawn to that. But it was a different kind of history and culture that led us to a neat, unique experience. Saint Lucia has had a long history with chocolate. Cacao was introduced to the island in the late 17th century. It turned out to be a match made in heaven. A combination of high temperatures, lots of rainfall and rich soil allowed beans to prosper. Chocolate became a major export, shipped to a town called Hershey in Pennsylvania and, also, to Europe. Today, cocoa pods sprout from trees all over the island. And most of it stays in Saint Lucia. 80
LAKE NORMAN CURRENTS | AUGUST 2022
