I Went to the End of the Road in Trinidad and Found a Village Eating 'Food of the Gods'

Good morning from Trinidad and Tobago. Today, I am heading deep into the mountains of Trinidad. My destination is a remote village called Brasso Seco. If you look at this place on a map, it is literally the end of the road. You cannot go any farther. This is as remote as you can basically get on the island, and I am here to try traditional, village-style Trinidadian food.

Squeezing Fresh Pods in the Rainforest

Before reaching the village, we stopped at the Las Lapas Lookout to witness arguably the best view in the entire country. Parrots were flying around the mountain peaks. The mountain air was completely crisp. But the real magic started when we arrived in the village and were handed a welcome drink served inside a fresh coconut. It was a blend of soursop, mango, and coconut. The straw? Just a hollowed-out stem of a papaya tree.

Brasso Seco was formerly a massive cacao estate. Raw chocolate is everywhere here. Our guide grabbed a bright yellow pod growing straight off the side of the road, cracked it open against a hard surface, and handed me the raw beans inside.

Look at the color on that pulp. It is thick, white, and slimy.

I popped a raw bean into my mouth to suck off the pulp. The result? Incredible. It tastes absolutely nothing like finished chocolate. It is sweet, intensely tropical, and wonderfully tart. This raw pulp is historically known as Theobroma cacao, which translates directly to the "food of the gods". I can totally see why they call it that. After tasting the raw pulp, we sampled the roasted cocoa nibs. They are nutty, deep, and taste like pure chocolate without a single grain of sugar.

The Mud Oven Masterpiece

Next, the village ladies invited me to get creative and bake my own traditional bread. They set out a massive spread of local ingredients like grated pumpkin, oats, cornmeal, and freshly grated cocoa. I mixed a handful of wet pumpkin and grated cocoa straight into my flour dough. We shaped the loaves and slid them directly into a massive, wood-fired dirt oven.

The aromatics are incredible.

The bread baked for exactly twenty minutes over the crackling logs. The dirt oven infuses the dough with an intense, smoky wood flavor. Slicing into it fresh, the crust cracked beautifully, releasing a rich wave of steamed pumpkin and toasted chocolate aroma.

A True Creole Feast

For lunch, the ladies laid out a magnificent Creole feast. We had a rich corn pie made with cornmeal and cheese, and a beautifully tender smoked chicken cooked over local wood.

But the star of the plate was a dish called dhalaloo. It is a unique local creation that mixes earthy spinach bush with yellow split peas. It is incredibly creamy. I loaded my plate with a massive spoonful of homemade pepper sauce. Every single family has their own secret recipe. This version had a beautiful, bright tanginess that cut right through the heavy, smoky meats.

We finished the afternoon liming by a cool mountain river, sipping on homemade coconut wine and a wild, plant-based cannabis wine. I have lived 32 years of my life without ever experiencing the real flavor of fresh cacao like this. I am completely in love with this country.