[upbeat Caribbean music] [Walter] Bon bini my friends!

Welcome to Curacao, where the sun kisses the Caribbean sea and the colors of history decorate the streets.

Today we embark on a delicious journey through the flavors, cultures and histories that define this enchanting island.

All while unraveling adventures that await both the explorer and the vacationer.

We'll visit with local chefs as they prepare some of the island's favorite dishes, such as stewed papaya, okra soup, and stuffed Dutch cheese that promises to leave you you craving for more.

Man, this is really delicous!

All this for A Taste of History.

[Narrator] A Taste of History is made possible by [Three Little Birds b Bob Marley & The Wailers plays] ♪ Rise up this morning ♪ ♪ smiled with the rising sun ♪ ♪ three little birds ♪ [Narrator] The Caribbean all inclusive Sandals Resorts.

More information can be found at sandals.com.

Additional funding provided by Crow Vineyard and Winery on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Sip.

Stay.

Savor.

[Spanish-Caribbean fusion music] [waves crashing] [Misja] Welcome Chef Staib here at Sandals Royal Curacao.

Great to see you again.

It's been a quite a few years.

-Been a long time but you haven't changed one bit.

And you're such a lucky guy.

This is such a beautiful island.

-It is.

It's a great island, very multicultural.

And we're showing some real classic dishes from Curacao, coming from all the different nationalities from, you name it, from West Africa, to Africa, to Portuguese and Spanish, and of course, the Dutch.

-And most people don't realiz how much history is right here.

This very strategically locate island that was very important for the Dutch Empire at the time.

-For me, of course, being Dutch, it's a fun connection.

A lot of products are being brought in from Europe, from the Netherlands.

-It's got to almost mak you feel at home a little bit.

-Exactly.

-What you have up your sleeve today to show me?

-We're going to start today with the, papaya stoba.

It's a stew So that's a very different use.

It's traditionally made for a big family gathering.

So very classic here in Curacao.

-So today I'm your family?

-Absolutely.

-I'll eat it all.

Don't worry.

[laughs] -So we start with a little bit oil and a little butter.

-A Dutchman can never work without butter or cheese.

-Of course not.

-I know that [laughs] There are some yellow peppers, tomatoes, onions.

-You basically cut it pretty coarse for this dish?

-Correct.

It's a stew, so it's all goin to be nice and soft in the end Garlic.

And we put two bay leaves and a little bit of chicken bouillon.

-Bouillon, nice.

-And then we have a little bit of cumin.

Let that sweat a little bit.

And we have some green papayas.

-The green ones will cook through and the ripe ones come later so you have the texture of the papaya.

-Goes very well together.

It's a great sweet flavor but not overly sweet.

We have the carrots and some potato to go with it.

Tomato paste.

-Tomato paste to give it some body.

And I assume that goes well with a cold beer right.

-Correct.

Absolutely.

Definitely [laughs] [sizzling] Okay.

So we'll start adding the proteins.

This is the pigs tail.

For this purpose we just pre-blanch them.

-It's actually one of my favorit pieces of meat is a little pigtail.

And the ribs.

-That's the ribs -And it's traditional that yo use like three different meats.

More or less?

-Yes.

-With different cuts.

And you got the brisket here.

-Brisket, yea.

-Well, chef it's interesting.

The papaya is the name of the dish, but it looks like a lot of protein in there, huh?

-Yes, it is, but it gives it all good flavor.

The fresh papaya can go i and then we can add the water.

We can let it simmer down.

-Oh!

The aroma of the papaya and the different herbs you have in there makes it really good.

[upbeat Caribbean music] [boat motor] [Misja] So, we've got the ready product now we got it cooked down enough to reduce the liquids a bit.

And al the meats are nice and tender.

We serve it traditionall with white rice, pickled beets, pickled cucumber, fried plantain.

-So Misja, I can see that you put your culinary skills at work because at home, you most likely have a pot on the table with a pot of rice -It's a little bit more casual at home, yeah, of course.

-Wow!

Misja, for somebody who's never had it before, they might wonder how the papaya kind of works with all the different ingredients you got in there.

You know, you get the tanginess of the tomato, garlic, you got the cumin.

To explain it is very difficult.

It's almost- -It's unexpected.

It's a dish that doesn't really, for most people, doesn't belong in a stew.

-Correct.

-What I like is like, th Caribbean is a strong influence of sweet and savory flavors mixed together.

And this is a perfect combination like that.

-In my opinion, it's a feel good dish, and it really expresses the feeling of Curacao.

I've never been here before, as you know, but this dish will make me come back.

-You're always welcome, you know that.

-Thanks.

[Caribbean music] After such an incredible meal with Misja, I found myself wanting to see more of this magical island.

So let's go see what we can discover.

[Caribbean music] In 1634, the Dutch made a bold move, seizing control of Curacao from the Spanish.

Today, Curacao remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but stands as an autonomous country, charting its own course in governance and culture.

Joining me is a local guide who is ready to unlock the secrets of this incredible island.

Our first stop, Fort Amsterdam.

This historic stronghold not only defended against Spanish attacks, but also served as the headquarters for the Dutch West India Company's maritime activity in the Caribbean.

[Tirzah] Walter, welcome to Fort Amsterdam this beautiful yellow building behind us.

They started building it in 1635.

That's the first fort of the island.

-It was strategically a important place for the Dutch.

-There was even a wall around in downtown.

And everything happened in between the walls.

People lived here.

They worked here.

And nowadays, this Fort Amsterdam serve as the seat of the government.

-Tell me, do you know how many attacks against Curacao were launched?

-There were many.

Yes, That's why you have for example, Fort Beekenburg on the east side of the island.

Because there is a bay over there.

And that was one of the weak points of Curacao.

After a couple of years, the Dutch made Curacao a free trade island.

It was free for everyone to come to Curacao with their boats, to buy salt, to sell.

And most of the buildings are still standing.

For example, there is one behind me, the yellow building that was built in 1708.

So, Walter, for me, Curacao is an open air museum, old buildings part of the Unesco World Heritage.

You walk around through a museum because a wall tells you a story, a building tells you a story.

-I had plenty of time yesterda to talk to the driver a little.

While I eavesdropped on him, he goes anywhere from five languages, mixing them up and the same sentence he might say a couple of words in French and then in Dutch- -and then in Papiamento.

-And then Papiamento!

-I mix it up all the time!

In one sentence I can use four languages.

So it's pretty common here to actually switch from Papiamento, that's our language is not the dialect anymore.

It is recognized as a language.

-Is there a word or two tha I can learn really quick today?

One word that we love to use, here in Curacao is Dushi.

And it means sweetheart.

-Dushi!

-Dushi, how are you!

[Walter laughs] So, Dushi has different meanings actually.

We use Dushi also for the food.

Because the food is delicious then you say the food is Dushi -That's really great.

[Walter laughs] The best word of the island, Dushi.

[upbeat Caribbean music] [Bridge bells ringing] [Tirzah] Have you ever seen a floating bridge?

-Never.

-Never.

Well, you're standing next to one.

And it is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

It was built in 1888.

The name of the bridge is Queen Emma Bridge.

But also we call the bridge the Swinging Old Lady going from Punda to Otra Banda.

-How does it work when the boat comes down?

-When the boats come in the tower will tell them, 'Okay, it's allowed now to open the bridge.'

When you see an orange flag, you can stay there because it will open only maybe for 15 minutes.

-Like I seen some pretty big sized ships over there so when they go down- -You don't want to be on the bridge when the big ships com in, you're going to stay there for more than a half an hour.

And we have another bridge too, that's the Queen Juliana.

And that's the highest bridge in the Caribbean.

And the view of downtown is precious.

-What's intriguing to m is all those beautiful colors.

Wherever you look, there's a different color scheme.

More colorful than I remember Amsterdam.

-Exactly.

Amsterdam is not this colorful.

We have almost the same buildings or the architecture from Holland.

And actually it's because of this famous governor Albert Kikkert.

He said, 'You know what?'

'The glare of the sun in my eyes I will get headaches' because all the buildings were white.

'I want a law saying that every' 'building should be of any other color' 'then white.'

That was the end of the 1800s.

When he passed away we found out that he was part owner of a painting company in Curacao -Ahhh!

There it goes.

[Tirzah laughs] Those politicians, I'll tell ya.

[Tirzah laughs] [Caribbean music] I love visiting markets wherever I travel to.

Not only do I get to taste the flavors of the island, but you truly get to connect with the soul of the place.

And here in Curacao there's a unique gem you won't find just anywhere.

The floating market.

Picture this, several vendors park their boats right along the inlet in downtown Willemstad.

It's a colorful parade of fresh produce and local delights.

As you drive down the street, vendors are read to fulfill your shopping list.

[Vendor] Hermano!

[Walter] Or you can leisurely stroll and explore the offerings yourself.

From taro root to christophines, juicy watermelons to ripe papayas, this floating market is the ultimate one-stop-shop for all things delicious.

For the next stop, Tirza is taking me to the old market of Curacao.

In this historic market you will find local vendors whipping up the finest local cuisine.

[Tirzah] We are here in Plasa Bieu.

It's been here for more or less 100 and some years.

-Take a look at that -Look at this [laughs] -This is a feast for my eyes.

-So even the owner of this restaurant, she took over the restaurant from her mom 55 years ago.

-Wow!

-And her mom taught her to cook all of these dishes.

So more authentic than this, we will now have.

-What do we have here?

-Okay, here we have the beef stew.

Stews are a big part of our cuisine.

We have chicken stew, beef stew, steak stew, even the goat stew.

We love some stew.

-Conch stew I see.

-And the Conch.

And even this little wild cucumber we make stew out of it.

Or, with it actually.

And this is how it looks like.

-Can I smell it?

-Yea sure.

-Oh, yeah look at that.

-Smell like a cucumber.

-Yeah.

A tremendous amount concentration of flavor in there.

-So next to the stews we have the red snapper.

The red snapper, we eat it every day here in Curacao.

Almost every restaurant has a red snapper on the island because the ocean around us is very rich.

So Walter, have you seen okra as big as this one?

-No!

-Curacao okras.

With this okra we make the okra soup.

We call it also giambo.

And the soup has seafood in it.

-Octopus, mussels.

-Mussells, mahi mahi -Let me see here.

-Mmm!

-It's very slimy.

-Very slimy but you know what?

If you ain't ever had that before you might be surprised to see it - what is all that?

You know?

-Yea -But the flavors are very good.

The pigtail gives a tremendous amount of flavor.

Plus it adds to the gelatin as well in the soup.

[Tirzah] We have a lot o cactus growing here in Curacao.

-I see them in the countryside.

The big, tall one.

-Exactly.

And we have different types.

The Kadushi is the one that we make the cactus soup out.

So this is the Kadushi.

-Let me try it.

-Yes.

Mmm!

The Kadushi is dushi!

-You learned?!

-Well, you're teaching me!

-Oh my God!

So you're going to go back speaking Papiamento?

-Yea!

How could I get a better teacher than you?

[laughs] [sizzling] -I almost forgot our famous pumpkin pancakes.

I'm always saving the best for last.

-Absolutely.

Oh, beautiful.

-It's a beautiful, right?

Thick.

-Wow!

Is this one also dushi?

-Big time.

-Big time dushi!

-Big time dushi!

[laughs Man, this is really delicious.

-Raisins in it.

-A little cinnamon.

Let me tell you everythin that you showed me here today.

Looks like food from the heart.

-From the heart.

In this food market, you really have a taste of history.

[Caribbean music] [waves crashing] [Misja] Chef Staib, this next dish is called Keshi Yena, which is Papiamento for stuffed cheese.

So the dish originates from back in the days when the Dutch people would bring in the big cheeses from Holland on their ships.

They would be in these wheels like this size, for example.

-Well chef I can imagine tha after 2 or 3 months on a ship, a lot of mold had to be growing around.

-Just just a little.

Yes.

So when they arrived to Curacao, they would actually cut out the center, and then they would discard the outside because it had all the mold on it.

But the locals, they would gladly take it, clean it up, and then they would stuff it with different proteins.

And we're going to make a little version of that.

-You kno chef, it's actually very safe.

I mean think of Roquefort and many other cheeses, you know.

-Absolutely.

You know what they say right about cheese.

-Yeah.

-The stronger the smell the better they taste.

So I have a little bit of oil.

-Onion -A little bit of onion.

-What's next?

-Garlic.

-There you go.

-A little garlic.

And then we have the yellow pepper and the tomato.

-There you go.

-Beautiful.

And then we can do the capers and the olives and the silver onions.

Gives it a nice zing to the dish.

-Yep!

When does the plum go in?

-The plum can go now as well, yea.

-There you go.

[sizzling] -A little bit of tomato paste.

[sizzling] Work that in chicken bouillon.

-Bouillon, nice.

-We'll do the mixed seasonings.

A little bit of cumin.

-A little bit of cayenne.

-And a little curry.

And, and also a little connection with the Indonesian side of the Dutch heritage with the Kecap Manis.

You don't want to put too much in.

It's like soy sauce so it's quite strong.

-Now, the chicken, you roast it?

-The chicken is the whole roast chicken.

And then we pull it off the bone and shred it.

Chicken goes very well.

Add a little bit of stock.

-But could you do it with pork for instance?

-Pulled pork would be very nice.

Absolutely.

-I would think so.

So it's almost kind of like a 18th century taco.

[laughs] Isn't it?

-Yeah.

Without the shell.

We'll have to make the- -The shell is the cheese!

-Yeah Great job.

Then we can- -Oh, this is pretty interesting.

I just got an ide for my next party at my house.

-Oh, yeah.

This is a great dish Close it up, and then you pop it in the oven make it brown on top.

[Caribbean music] [waves crashing] [Misja] Okay, chef.

With this one we took out of the oven it was about 50 minutes.

And creates a nice golden crust on top.

-Beautiful presentation yeah.

-It's served with the Funchi Funchi is a cornmeal Caribbean Curacao style of polenta.

It's the basic like the second day when you have some leftover, you can fry it and serve it with the keshi yena And also the pickled cucumber and plantain.

And the beetroot goes really well.

-It's a beautiful, color combination too.

-It is.

-Wow.

Another surprise for my- -For your palate?

-Yeah.

[laughs] -Great flavor.

The combination of the sweet and sour.

Excellent idea.

Excellent executed by you and your team.

-Thank you, appreciate it.

We just fancied it up a little to make them individual.

-Well, that's you!

That's you.

I understand.

[laughs] You can leave nothing plain, that's your reputation.

-Thank you.

[Caribbean music] [boat engines and waves] [Walter] Food trucks in Curacao symbolize more than just convenient bites on the go These rolling kitchens connect locals and visitors alike to the community spirit that defines island life.

But it's just not a regular food truck.

Here we are celebrating the Caribbean.

In front of me I got a fantastic looking mahi mahi kebab.

And here is a Kroketten that the Dutch first brought along when they first settled the island and still today readily available.

And the Dutch eat it with a little bit of mayonnaise or mustard.

I'll just prefer it plain.

Now, Kroketten are many ways in Europe, done differently, where they have potatoes and other things in there.

This one over here just has beef.

Mmm!

Really delicious I tell you.

Nice and crunchy on the outside a lot of flavor inside.

It's beautiful.

We in the Caribbean so obviously we have plenty of seafood available.

Fresh mahi mahi kebab.

A little bit of Creole sauce.

Beautiful grill marks right in there, a little bit of brocolli, so we got some funchi here, a red onion, and it makes this dish just beautiful.

Wow!

Oh!

It don't It don't get better than that.

And for sure it could not get fresher than that.

Really delicious.

And healthy.

All this food made me really thirsty.

You know, the Caribbean is always nice and hot.

So let's see what Curacao has to offer as far as the beverage is concerned.

[Spanish-Caribbean music] [waves crashing] [Narrator] Blue Curacao liqueur holds a significant place in the history of Curacao, and has become a symbo of the island's vibrant culture.

The key ingredient that gives its distinctive flavor are the peels of the Laraha orange, a bitte citrus fruit native to Curacao.

[Gio] The first Europeans that came to the island were the Spaniards, right.

And they're also very well known for the oranges, especially from Valencia.

Back then, they took a lot of seeds of the sweetest one in Spain, and they planted a lot on the island.

After waiting some years, finally they got some fruits but the fruit turned to be very, very bitter, very acidic that even animals won't eat it.

So for a long tim the fruit had no meaning at all.

[Narrator] Centuries later, farmers on the island discovered that the peels of this unique orange, when thoroughly dried by the sun, released etheric oils with an extraordinarily pleasing fragrance.

In 1896, Senior and Compan was founded and began production of what is today know as the Genuine Curacao Liqueur.

[Gio] This building was built around the 1700s to trade in sea salt.

Back then, the sea salt was very, very valuable.

But at some poin the sea salt decreased in value.

It was aroun that time that the Senior family bought the property, and they were the ones that started with the liqueur business.

Now the flavor you will taste like orange flavor, but it's only the peel we use.

[Walter] Mmm!

[Narrator] In addition to the peels, the liqueur is distilled with fine spices like cardamom and clove.

To enhance the appeal, a bright blue hue was added, transforming it into the visually striking Blue Curacao that is known today.

[Gio] The blue colo is associated with the island.

You know, our clear blue beaches and our clear blue sky.

And Curacao was central of a lot of trades, and so people used to tak the blue one all over the world and became worldwide famous.

[Walter] Curacao liqueur is something that has always interested me because the regular liqueur is perfect for cooking, for desserts, for main courses.

I have a recipe that uses duck with the Curacao liqueur and many other recipes.

And the Blue, I used in my restaurant for 26 years to make our martinis daiquiris, coladas.

Mmm!

Unbelievable flavor.

Very refreshing.

As a chef and international traveler, this is one moment tha I will cherish for a long time, because being at the source, there's nothing better.

Spectacular.

Now let's venture to a local restaurant known for their mixology and culinary excellence.

Mosacana Bar and Kitchen embodies a philosophy of celebrating the island's vibrant culture in a welcoming atmosphere.

[Wesley] Chef Walter, welcome to Mosacana Welcome to Curacao.

Bon bini.

How we say it over here.

-Wesley, I'm so impressed that you're taking time out for a Saturday night as a restaurateur talking to a restaurateur- -Thank you, likewise.

-And I've never been to Curacao it's my first trip.

I'm very impressed.

-Well we try to give people the flavors of the region on the plate and in the glass.

So on the plate we do a fusion of Latin Caribbean with Asian components.

And then in the ba we try to always be true to who we are, making sure that the flavor of the region comes back in your glass.

So we use your sugar cane spirits, agave spirits and pisco.

-I love the plates.

-Thank you.

-It looks just spectacular.

Your ceviche, the octopus, and your barbecue ribs there.

-Yes.

-What kind sauce?

-We do a sambal rum glaze.

So sambal of course is the Indonesian hot sauce.

It fits into our- -to the Dutch heritage, sure!

-Of course the rum, some ketchu comes through some brown sugar, fried onions some scallions and sesame seeds.

-It's a spectacular presentation.

-The octopus has always been also one of our mainstay dishes.

It's Latin American with Spanish Portuguese heritage because it has a sofrito, which is, of course, a condiment of really slowly braising bell peppers, onions and such.

The salsa criolla, which is a nice relish with onions, peppers, etc.

We have some chorizo, which is alway a classic combination with pulpo and then also a classic Curacao ingredient or dish.

It's the funchi.

-It's nice you make it very small and then you fry 'em out.

-Yes, it's nice and crispy.

This for me is the way how to eat funchi.

-Oh, oh!

-A little bit more flavor.

-Oh!

Give it up, give it up.

[laughs] -If you don't like flavor, don't come to us.

-Well, actually, you enlightened me and I'm- I'm honestly, I' so glad to meet a restaurateur that has not forgotten his roots right here.

-Appreciate it.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

[Caribbean music] [waves crashing] [Misja] To finish off this fun menu we are making a Tutu.

Tutu is a very classic Curacao dish that goes very well with Creole fish.

So you have the mix of cultures coming through again.

So we have the black-eyed peas.

Soak them overnight with a few cloves of garlic in it.

Evaporated milk.

Basically break it up so you can actually mix it with the cornmeal.

-Not necessarily have to be completely pureed.

-No, no.

-So, pieces- -You want to have some pieces in there.

It's okay.

-Gotcha.

-Coco Lopez to have a little sweetness.

Coco Lopez is a cream of coconut.

-Cinnamon.

-A little bit of cinnamon.

It's time for the cornmeal.

-So he's got to stir it very gently under, you'll see it.

Just like this.

And you want to make sure of no lumps because it's not good eating if you get a lump of cornmeal.

Then mix it up really good.

And the butter last moment just for flavor, right?

-Butter to smooth it out a bit and give it the richness.

-Let me see here.

Oh!

I wouldn't add nothing else to it.

Perfect.

-Our sous chef, they fried up a nice red snapper for us.

That's a great accompaniment to the Tutu.

-The presentation is beautiful and I've been around the block a while, bu you always learn something new.

You know chef?

-That's the best thing about this profession, right?

-Yeah.

-You never stop learning.

-It was truly a spectacular day for me seeing so many new things that I thought maybe I knew but obviously I didn't know.

You know?

It's been spectacular, I'll tell you.

[laughs] Really.

It was great.

-Well, I want to thank you for coming.

It's been an absolute pleasure doing this with you.

-In the beautiful Curacao It can't get no better than that All this for A Taste of History.

[Caribbean music ends] [Narrator] A Taste of History is made possible by [Three Little Birds b Bob Marley & The Wailers plays] ♪ Rise up this morning ♪ ♪ smiled with the rising sun ♪ ♪ three little birds ♪ [Narrator] The Caribbean all inclusive Sandals Resorts.

More information can be found at sandals.com.

Additional funding provided by Crow Vineyard and Winery on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Sip.

Stay.

Savor.

Viewers can find DVDs and cookbooks at atasteofhistory.org, including the all new A Taste of History Cookbook, complete with step by step instructions of recipes seen on the show.

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