Food & Drinking Culture

Bébélé is the soup that belongs to Marie-Galante as much as the windmills do. It is cooked from vegetables, tripe, pig's tails, and smoked bacon, and is considered a specialty of the island. Here, hearty food meets a sharp, fresh spirit that cuts through the fat.

At Easter, people on Guadeloupe cook matété, a rice dish with crabs that families gather on the beach. Blaff is the name for fish poached in a broth of lime, herbs, and chili pepper. For a sweet finish, there's caca bœuf, a pastry made from coconut and cane syrup, considered a specialty of Marie-Galante. Sweets like caca bœuf pair well with aged rum, whose vanilla and spice pick up the coconut notes. White rum is reserved for punch and for blaff, where lime brings fish and rum together.

The rum itself appears at the table as Ti' Punch, made from white rum, lime, and cane sugar. The recipe can be found under Martinique. On Marie-Galante, fruit punches are also common; Bellevue lists coconut, vanilla, and pineapple as flavors.

At Pentecost, the island fills with music. The Terre de Blues festival celebrates Afro-Caribbean and African American music and draws visitors from around the world. The Carnival of Grand-Bourg is considered especially cheerful and good-natured, a celebration where the whole island takes to the streets.

Visitors to the distilleries will find tasting opportunities and regional products in the shops at Bellevue and Père Labat. According to the houses, visits are usually possible without an appointment and show just how close the cane fields, the mill, and the distillery lie to one another.