Private villa - great food???
 

I have a foodie question. We recently stayed in a very high end private villa in Jamaica ( not hotel based ) and the food was just average. I am trying to plan another villa trip and am wondering if Jamaica is just not a great food destination. My other choices are Anguilla and St. Thomas. Thanks for your help!!

Oh Donna,

Jamaica is a "great food destination" !

I have stayed at many villas there, both North shore and South coast.

Would you tell us the name of the villa, and some of what you were served ? What you liked and disliked ?

Anguilla has many great restaurants, but if you liked a villa vacation, Anguilla's villas are usually not staffed.

If you'll share more detail, I may be able to help.

Marion

I love Jamaican food too, and have had some wonderful meals at private staffed villas...but perhaps your taste isn't to J'can food? Or your cook just wasn't great? OR....

What did you have and not really like?

I don't want to name the villa but it is very expensive and touts itself as one of the best in the Caribbean. They didn't serve local food until we asked for it ( it was good! ). One night they served us what they called steak which was like our roast beef. We had a Jamaican barbeque which was bland. One lunch was spaghetti with meat sauce ( not what we wanted in 85 degree weather! ) I don't know if we had the regular chef since it was low season but the menu we had did not match what was told to us. One night we snuck in to the kitchen to look for snacks and saw lots of boxed mixes for the breakfast breads and brownies we had been served. The villas I was looking at are Amanoka and Keela Wee II ( which is just opening ) b/c I need 7 bedrooms. On Anguilla, I'm getting info on bringing in a chef and staff but it's just so much more expensive. We want to eat in most nights b/c it's a pain to transport 14 people out to dinner every night. Hope this explains the situation better. Also, this is for my 40th birthday so I want it to be great!!!!

Interesting. When we have stayed in a villa in Jamaica (maybe 5x now) we have had a sit-down with the cook on the first day about meals.

She may have stocked up for the first day, but even then we were asked what we wanted to eat and what to have on hand before we came down.

At the sit-down the cook asked us what we liked, about food allergies, etc. We then could either shop ourselves, send her shopping, or shop together (I always do the latter, I enjoy the market a lot).

The last time we did a villa there were 4 couples and we all chimed in about what we liked. We agreed that we loved J'can food and that she should have a lot of leeway as to how to cook things but we specifically requested lobster one night, fish another, oxtail stew another, curry chicken, etc.

For lunch we didn't want to sit down but asked her to make tuna salad and similar munchies we could just help ourselves to as we liked breakfast late. For breakfast we always had ackee and saltfish or eggs/bacon, once or twice pancakes, always fresh fruit and toast.

I would never have asked for, or expected, spaghetti in Jamaica!

I guess I'm wondering why this conversation didn't take place in your case and if you were able to be involved in menu planing or shopping decisions?

I completely agree with everything Liza has expressed.

Often your booking agent will ask about specific likes and dislikes and convey your preferences to the staff...at least for the first few meals. If not, he/she should, because villa cooks are most anxious to please and shopping in the dark for 14 would certainly be intimidating.

An early discussion with your cook is a must do. Since you are such a large group, maybe you should discuss what you want, make some lists/notes before departure and have your choices/preferences at hand, for your cook.

I asked for the name of the villa to find out what part of the island you visited. If near MBJ or Kingston it's easier to procure some of the upscale foods you seem to enjoy. As you go off the beaten track, the markets are often understocked.

But fruit and vegetables are plentifulul, island wide :-)....sometimes even on the property.

Just one last comment. No need to sneak into the kitchen....it's your kitchen while you're there and I have learned a great deal by observing Jamaican cooks at work :-)

I hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration !

Marion

Thanks for the input! I was not the one in charge of the planning on this last trip which was right near Montego Bay, by the way. We were asked about allergies and food preferences and menu suggestions were presented. Unfortunately, those were not what showed up at our table. We asked for more authentic food and finally got some which was good.

Dear Donna M.
Just a friendy, sincere suggestion. Have you checked out a villa the Halfmoon in Mobay?

"those were not what showed up at our table. We asked for more authentic food and finally got some which was good. "

I wonder if they thought you wanted American style food until you told them you preferred local cuisine?

Now you know, it's probably about communication.

I'd say most Jamaican chefs cook Jamaican food really well, some have other specialties. In fact, I often ask them what they consider their specialties to be and ask them to make those.

Would recommend you look into taking
over the entire Mar Blue property,
8 bedrooms/3 pools, oceanfront,private restaurant for guests only -- with a chef/owner the major draw for major foodies. Major foodies will take issue
with most food/chefs in the Caribbean
since we're spoiled and expect more
than pretty pictures on a plate/we want
to taste the soul of the food and
the country. Mar Blue is on the South Coast of island in Treasure Beach, an area very much the opposite of MoBay --
it's country, 2.5 hours away from
resortlands. The food is exemplary, one of a kind for island.
But that doesn't mean you can't get wonderful food elsewhere. It just takes
some pre-planning since hunting/scavenging for supplies, seasonality, a different set of taste buds and traditions, and often a pre-conceived notion of what Americans or English or Canadians like or dislike
are all on the table to be discussed in advance. Think of yourself being presented with 14 strangers from another country to cook for and the
enormity of the issues might daunt anyone. We just booked a cookbook
editor into Mar Blue btw -- ironic
since the chef is finishing up a
new cookbook. One of his specialties
is goat, done about 12 ways, all
innovative.

I've never stayed at a villa in Jamaica but I wanted to tag along on TIverton's post about Mar Blue. My husband and I stayed there back in 2005 and the food we were served there was about the best food we've eaten in the Caribbean. I think renting out the entirety of Mar Blue is an excellent idea!

I just read your trip report and it does sound great except for your description of the beach. We are a group of 14 and half of the group have never even been to the Caribbean so one of the most important things on my list is an amazing beach. We like renting villas rather than staying in hotels b/c we like the privacy. In Anguilla, we rent unstaffed and go out for dinner but with such a large group a staffed villa seems the way to go. We've been to Anguilla twice and loved it but I thought I'd check out other islands too ( specially b/c Anguilla is so much more expensive! ) Thank you everyone for your input!!!

Silent Waters is also very beautiful

Silent Waters is the villa in the original question! Unbelievably beautiful but the food was just average. I'd love to hear from someone who had a better experience there. Also, with 7 couples, we would have to share bathrooms which I would prefer not to have to do.

I like using villas. Have you checked out Windjammer Landing. We hired a chef there by the name of Jeffrey. Excellent food! We were given many choices and he went food shopping and we throughly enjoyed the meals!!!

Opps. Forgot to mention that Windjammer Landing is in St. Lucia.

Thanks for the info but on their website the largest villa seems to be a 3 bedroom. I am looking at 7 bedroom villas where we ( my husband, myself and our best friends mostly from high school! ) can just hang out with fruity drinks and float in our own pool at midnight with no one else around!

They have built larger villas. You might have to call or did you consider taking 2? Another thought would be Villa Capri 9/10 bdrms or Serendipity or Brigand Hill all in St.Lucia?

Cove Castles and Temenos in Anguilla could accomodate 7 couples. You'll find a magical beach, gourmet chefs/food available as everything needs be imported (nothing but fish found locally) but not much of a sense of local (i.e, you could be anywhere). The pricing for the fantasy is considerable as well as Anguilla is now the new St.Barts.
Finding a villa with 7 bedrooms/7 baths that is not attached to a resort can be difficult (I can think of only one, Rio Chico, attached to Sandals on Jamaica's north coast). If Jamaica intrigues, you might look into the cluster of Barbara Hulanicki-restyled villas and cottages
at Goldeneye, similar to the Balinese
style at Silent Waters. Or taking over The Caves in Negril, both up to
'foodie' interests and standards.

The villas at Moondance in Negril are outstanding. They will cook whatever you want, the food is not even close to what you get at The Caves, but the accomodations and location are, for me, worth the trade-off.