FLAVOR A LA CARIBBEAN

Whether cooking is a challenge or a joy, this is a fun, entertaining and knowledgeable way of uncovering the secrets of Caribbean cuisine through non-traditional teaching methods, developed by Prospect Reef Resort in conjunction with professionals of the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.

Getting started

Our information package includes the entire week's agenda for our hands-on culinary instruction. Arrival day is reserved for relaxation after your flight, familiarizing yourself with the property (a map is in

As the first group to test our culinary skills we are all very enthusiastic to launch our pseudo-chef careers. We assemble at the Callaloo at the Reef restaurant and introduce ourselves to Chef Joey Abitabilo, NECI's program director. We don chef jackets and/or aprons and learn basic knife skills after receiving an eight-piece knife kit (all yours to keep).

Since then, slice, dice, supreme, tournee and basic butchering do not sound totally foreign to me anymore (at home we have a little joke that the closest I will get to a kitchen is to ask, "What's cooking?") We prepare two vinaigrette dressings, mango-balsamic and citrus-jalapeno.

Chef Joey, a New Yorker who dreamed of becoming a chef from early childhood, epitomizes extraordinary culinary talent and with his encouragement we gradually inch our way past the beginner stages. Later, we savor our lunch of spinach salad, mixed green salad with the salad dressings (we prepared) and grilled chicken with roasted potatoes and sauteed vegetables.

A fun resort

Cooking in this Caribbean class is cool as our afternoons are free until we meet for dinner. This spells FUN from one end to the other of this vacation playground. Florence, the spa director, welcomes guests for treatments at the Thalasso Spas of the Caribbean and so does Traci, Fitness Director and Nutritionist at The Calabash Club, located next to the Olympic-sized freshwater pool and Jacuzzi.

Like a Caribbean village-by-the-sea, Prospect Reef Resort's 44 acres are bordered by Tortola's Main Road on land and Sir Francis Drake Channel at sea. The buildings are distinctively named after tropical trees and flowers to enhance our Caribbean vocabulary - seagrape, lantana, carambola, alamanda, mangrove, oleander, bougainvillea, jasmine, dasheene and ginger.

Just steps away from the spa cottages is the seapool where guests relax, swim and enjoy perfect channel views. Nearby you can enjoy complimentary "High-Tea" with Nuris, the "bush tea queen" - an affable lady who tells wonderful stories and brews great teas including ginger, sour sop, lemon grass, lemon bush, sweet parsley, noni, mint, canelilla/ginger and pimento.

On deck classroom

Still on course, we depart after a satisfying breakfast for Virgin Gorda aboard the resort's 65-foot catamaran, "No Fear." En route, Chef Neil Kline, conducts an Island Product Identification Seminar featuring coconuts, sugarcane, breadfruit papayas, pineapples and the lesser-known mammee apple, carambola and cassava.

This is a splendid opportunity to visit BVI's natural wonder, The Baths, a phenomenon similar to England's Stonehenge. The caves, formed by giant-sized boulders, continue to defy gravity and water for centuries and remain a favorite with visitors who enjoy frolicking in the shallow pools day after day.

The lunch specials at the Top of the Baths restaurant features corn chowder soup (which is very tasty) and steamed oxtails with peas and rice and fried plantain and vegetables. Grilled king fish, chicken Reuben, crab meat salad are also on the menu, but most of us favor the delicious fresh local lobster.

Things are heating up

A late morning start is absolutely fabulous, especially after a night at the Scuttlebutt Pub with their specialty drink, the Painkiller, and others that include Prospect Pulverizer, Callaloo Punch, Tortola Snarl and Habana Boat.

The island cooking pace heats up with 'chef' Traci as we head to Peter Island aboard the glass-bottomed Prospector for our "Sauces, Salsas and Chutneys" session. On board are Mike and Mara, newlyweds from Wisconsin, who are having such a spectacular honeymoon they plan to return to the resort for their first wedding anniversary.

At the open-air Callaloo on the Beach restaurant we prepare Lime Butter Sauce -and Black Bean Salsa and Mango Chutney, to be included in dinner later at Callaloo at the Reef. I surprise myself and go overboard with the extremely flavorful, to-die-for chutney (quenched by glass after glass of very cold water!)

Enjoy watersports too

The private Peter Island Beach Club is ours to enjoy for the rest of the day. We shed our chef jackets and aprons for swimwear to indulge in watersports. I opt for waterbiking over windsurfing, sailing, snorkeling, snuba or kayaking. After savoring chef Ramon's Caribbean lunch, those hammocks (big enough for one or two) are irresistibly inviting, with or without a good book.

Gosh these are some bars!

The Gulf Stream, Capt. Carol's snorkeling boat, transports us to the resort's private beach on Jost Van Dyke, a sleepy hideaway island with enough bars to make hopping from one to the other a favorite pastime. At the One Love Bar they operate on an honor system - just help yourself and pay for what you drink if the bartender is not around!

Joining us are Chef Joey and Chef Ramon who demonstrate the art of Jerk preparation, which includes the spicy marinade that adds that special flavor. Our chicken, pork and fish lunch is cooked on a locally fashioned jerk pit and it's almost a picnic as we savor the food surrounded by seagrape bushes and the water lapping the golden shores. Later we visit Foxy's Bar on the other side of the island for drinks, as the irascible chanteur, Foxy, belts out his racy ditties.

Peter Island favorites

Chef Joey joins us at Peter Island for our Tasting Starches and Learning Saute segment of the course. We saute Mahi-Mahi, breaded chicken and cassava floured pork loin and cultivate the art of making pan sauces.

Lunch is appealing to the eye and appetizing to palate with golden servings of the three proteins plated with towers of mofongo, a lip-smacking rendition of plantains, crushed and seasoned to perfection. Fongi (also new to me) is an interesting and tasty combination of cornmeal and okra, served hot.

And the beach goes on

Again, we have the freedom to enjoy the beach in or out of the water and this time I decide to go sailing accompanied by Lidon Laing, the island's watersports organizer. Apart from salt water sprays in my eyes and mouth, we have a good run and I return to shore relaxed and ready for another hammock siesta.

Island liming

This week-long culinary escape is a classic introduction to the best of island food, BVI style, but it's not complete without an open-air taxi ride around Tortola (Spanish for turtle dove.) Locals 'lime' meaning they take their time getting around, socializing and enjoying the slow, laid-back pace, so why shouldn't we? We coast up the sloping mountain roads, awestruck by the panorama of beach scenes stretched out in the distance. We even stop for a quick dip and a stroll on the beach at Cane Garden Bay, home of the popular Stanley's (a famous island bar.)

Callwood's Distillery is the last of the 15 rum distilleries that still makes rum on the island. The ancient looking building houses all the equipment required to make rum the old-fashioned way and at US$7 per bottle, there are no fancy labels. You must make a purchase if you want to take photographs or there is a fee. Outside he rustic scenery is much more captivating. Vines festooned with blossoms run in wanton wildness up poles and around wooden sheds, while kids ride their bikes up and down and in circles around us, no doubt curious about "tourists."

Wrapping it up

Our final get-together starts at 7 p.m. at the Scuttlebutt for cocktails, followed by dinner at The Callaloo at the Reef for dinner and presentation of achievement certificates from the New England Culinary Institute and dress chef jackets.

Before leaving the resort it is time visit the Scuttlebutt for their all day menu of island delicacies. Callaloo soup with spinners, herbs and traditional greens are tasty temptation, but I must try the Conch Fritters with citrus-Scotch bonnet remoulade. The entrée challenge is mind boggling: calypso marinated grilled Mahi-Mahi, cane and Guinness braised baby back ribs or curried chicken roti? The traditional Caribbean wrap wins out and it is served with rice and garden salad.

So do you still think cooking is dullsville and tantalizing your taste buds with exotic fare is blasé? Well all it takes is a food lover (the Caribbean kind), add lots of sunshine, tropical treats and three great chefs for the most unforgettable week of a lifetime! The magical BVI will always welcome you!