It’s a cultural smorgasbord! It’s as varied and rich as the several cultures that together make up Belize cuisine. Belizean food can be as peppery and fiery as the heat of the tropical sun, or as cool and refreshing as the crystal clear Caribbean waters that wash the Belize shores.

The foundation of Belize Cuisine, the famous Rice and Beans cooked in coconut milk and served with your favorite meat accompanied by potato salad. Or it can be as light and bright as the hundreds of birds that sing in rainforests, or as savory and earthy as the dozens of wildlife that roam her acres of primary forest (many of them now protected species, so no eating of off-season game meat and the Hawksbill turtle is always a no-no for turtle soup or any menu item!).

With the addition of immigrants from India, mainland China, Nigeria and neighbouring Central American countries over the years, Belizean cuisine also now has an added international flavour.

And, particularly with the gastronomic rise in tourism in the past five years, European cuisine, as well as American favourites, has become as readily available as the stalwart Kriol (Creole) rice-and-beans, Latino chimole, Mayan caldo, Garifuna hudut or East Indian curried favourites – all dishes which, incidentally, can today be considered pan-Belizean. Are you beginning to get hungry?