Restaurants

While it is great that the raw materials for making fantastic Caribbean food can be found all over London, that largesse is not reflected in the quality of our restaurants in the city. Most of the Caribbean food outlets are takeaways, selling mainly Jamaican jerk (spicy chicken) and curry goat of varying quality; there are only around ten decent restaurants where you can find a range of Caribbean dishes. Unfortunately, Caribbean cuisine in London still isn’t very sophisticated. This is probably because most of the chefs and restaurateurs have little idea of how much Caribbean food has moved on in the Caribbean. I’ve had to explain to a lot of my British friends that there’s more to Caribbean food than jerk chicken, and I point to the diversity of Trinidad’s cuisine which has been shaped by a number of ethnic influences.

Trinidad and Tobago’s 1.5 million population is dominated by descendants of African slaves, plus the Indian indentured workers who came after slavery was abolished. The use of ground provisions, offal (particularly oxtail and pigs’ trotters), and caramelised sugar to make stews can be attributed to the Africans, while the Indians have contributed a unique style of curried dishes, and flatbreads called rotis.
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Unfortunately, there aren’t any fully Trinidadian restaurants in London but you can find very good Trinidadian roti in London. One of the most popular dishes in Trinidad and Tobago, roti is usually served like a wrap, with fillings such as curried potatoes, channa (chickpeas), meat or seafood. The most commonly eaten roti is the dhalpourie roti, which is stuffed with ground dhal, or split peas.

Roti-making is highly skilled, and one of the best places to see the artisans at work is at the Roti Joupa (12 Clapham High St, SW4 7UT; 020 7627 8637). This takeaway has only been in existence for five years, but in that short time, owner Vash Mathura and his team have raised the bar for Trinidadian roti in London. Mathura, who comes from Debe in south Trinidad, where there’s a huge Indo-Trinidadian community, has roti-making in his blood. He learned his craft from older relatives, particularly his grandmother who also owned a roti shop for many years.

Visiting the shop on a Saturday afternoon can be like a reunion, as Trinis from all over London and as far away as Scotland come to Clapham to have a taste of home. The clientele is not strictly Trinidadian or Caribbean, as Mathura says about 40 per cent of his regular customers are Kiwis, Aussies, South Africans and Sri Lankans.

What makes the Roti Joupa stand out from the other roti shops in London is Mathura’s attention to detail, his insistence on using the best quality ingredients and making sure his roti is freshly made. There’s a bit of theatre to having a roti there, as customers can see them being stuffed, rolled out and cooked on the huge cast iron griddle, so there’s no doubt that the food is very, very fresh. On average, a roti can set you back a fiver, which is an absolute bargain for something so filling and nutritious.

Back in Trinidad, there’s also a strong Chinese tradition, thoughTrini-Chinese food does have a special ‘Creole’ flavour that is markedly different from what I’ve tasted elsewhere. One of the mainstays of Trinidadian Christmas cuisine is a delicacy called pastelles, which are small meat-filled cornmeal pasties that many believe were introduced by Spanish colonisers between the late-fifteenth and early-eighteenth centuries. They exist in some form or another throughout Latin America and are more commonly known there as hallacas (pronounced hayacas); I’ve yet to see them in London. The Lebanese community in Trinidad is also growing, and that growth has resulted in the emergence of more and more Lebanese restaurants.

Being a Trini foodie in London has its good points, and I’ve found that I can successfully use traditional British produce to create some Trini-styled dishes. Take game for example: I’ve used curry powder from Trinidad that’s specially formulated for use with duck and goat to make delicious quail curry. I’ve also substituted venison for beef in a Trini stew recipe which involves caramelising sugar then adding the meat to give it a deep brown hue and a strong flavour.

Even at the tail end of winter, the ingredients are available to cook a rich stew or a comforting soup to fill my heart with warm Trinidadian memories.