Here are a list of countries - Mexico, India (southern bit), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Jamaica. What they have in common is that they all at the same latitude as the Dominican Republic, and all have similar climates - at sea level that is. The advantage the Dominican Republic has is that its mountains go up to over 13,000 feet, and it has a number of mountain valleys with unique micro-climates. The result is that all these places grow similar crops such as rice, coconuts, mangoes and other tropical fruits. The Dominican Republic, by virtue of its high mountains, can add chocolate and coffee to these, and in the cool mountain valleys a whole number of temperate crops such as apples, potatoes, and strawberries.

The difference between these other places and the Dominican Republic is that they have developed a indentifiable cuisine that can be identified with those places, and they have developed a distinct food culture. It is quite astonishing that the Dominican Republic, with its productive seas, tropical lowlands and cool mountains, and its history of mixing Spanish and French colonial legacies with West African slave histories and a smattering of indigenous influences, has spectacularly failed to develop a national cuisine that you would want to eat.


Much is made in places like France, Spain and Italy about how many of the classic great dishes, like Paella, Pizza, and Cassoulet are essential poor peoples dishes. They take cheap, locally available ingredients and add some innovation and pride to produce something magical. The array of cheap, locally ingredients here is amazing. I was passing through the market today, and alongside the onions, potatoes and apples from the mountain valleys were passion fruit, papaya, limes, plantain, and lots of other things that I don't know the english word for. I even had my first taste of raw cocoa bean straight out of the pod - a waxy texture, the flavour was dry, very bitter, but intense, fruity and definately chocolately.

The bit crucial ingredient missing from Dominican cuisine is care and enthusiasm. Despite the abundance of potential flavours, or because they have been spoiled by it, Dominicans seem to just view food as calories, rather than something to be enjoyed. All the many comedors I have been eating in seem to produce the same food - rice, beans, and chicken (fried or boiled), sometimes accompanied by the flavour-vacuum that is plantain. There is no attempt to be different, innovate, become known for producing a dish that is different or better than all the other comedors in the area. It is often quite greasy, which is OK because it lowers the potential for food poisoning - any bacteria that survived being immersed in hot oil will be killed by cholestorol poisoning. There is no sensitivity or delicacy, everything is boiled or fried until it has given up any potential for flavour or nutrition. Up market establishments are rarely better, they just have air conditioning rather than clackety fans, but the food is equally bland. It is frighteningly depressing, if it wasn't for stimulation from the roadside fruit sellers my tastebuds would have killed themselves long ago out of boredom. I find it amazing that countries such as France can breed thousands of types of types of beans, with unique flavours and textures, yet the Dominicans cannot be bothered to go past two - they probably think that it is already excessive.

This is in the city, I will soon move and live up in the mountains, where there is no tropical fruit, and I will be away from the valleys that grow temperate fruit. Where I will be going they grow coffee and some spices such as nutmeg and cinammon, but because the roads are bad, they can only import dried, non-perishable goods such as rice and beans - no tropical fruit! That is ok, I here you say, as you will be surrounded by spice production and some of the world's finest coffee, but unfortutely Dominicans ruin good coffee by saturating it with sugar until it is so sweet your teeth go numb, whilst the spices seem never to make the journey from the tree into the cooking pot. Rice and beans it is for me.

This has been by far the second most depressing thing about field work (la novia ausenta being number one) and it is driving me mad. If only the Dominicans could take some sort of pride in their food, think about how to cook and make the most of what they have, sensitively coax and cajole flavour into their dishes, not crudely bash it out. If only they could change their food culture towards one that produces a cuisine, like India, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Mexico, it will be a far nicer place to live. So far all it has made me do is vow to go somewhere else for fieldwork next time.