Phaidon is delighted to announce the publication of The Caribbean Cookbook by chef Rawlston Williams. The latest addition to Phaidon’s culinary companions and years in the making, the 432 page book offers an expansive view of a cuisine that is too-often reduced to a handful of familiar dishes such as rum punch and jerk chicken. Grounded in decades of personal experience and on-the-ground research, Williams’ culinary manifesto sets out to correct that imbalance.
Rawlston Williams was born and raised in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, he grew up in a vegetarian household and learned about food through handed-down expertise. This instinctive teaching is instilled throughout the book, guiding readers to recognize authentic texture, aroma, and ingredients. When writing this book Williams travelled extensively, meeting with home cooks and local chefs from across the Caribbean.
The collection spans regional classics and local favorites: from Dominica’s callaloo soup to Puerto Rican mofongo; Saint Lucia’s green fig salad; Haiti’s seafood creole; and Aruba’s cashew cake. Williams includes dishes that carry historical meaning, such as Haiti’s Soup Joumou, once forbidden to enslaved Haitians and now a symbol of independence. Each recipe is paired with his insights including historical, cultural, and culinary context.
Organized by ingredient and technique, the chapters move from marinades and preserves to soups, grains, vegetables, seafood, meat, baking, desserts, and drinks. Evocative ingredients such as citrus, nutmeg, coconut, tamarind, pimento, pineapple, and rum appear throughout – with spices the stars of the book anchoring, elevating, and bringing depth to the dishes.
The Caribbean Cookbook offers international readers a full repertoire of the region’s cooking and an expansive account rooted in history, technique, and everyday cooking. It a celebration and a cultural account of a cuisine defined by creativity, resilience, and depth.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Rawlston Williams is a Caribbean chef with a deep passion and knowledge for his region’s food culture. Born in Kingstown in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, he has lived in New York since 1987. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, for many years he was the chef-owner of the award-winning Brooklyn restaurant The Food Sermon, which focused on dishes inspired by Caribbean cuisine. Drawing on decades of lived experience and extensive research across the region, Williams documents a cuisine often overlooked in global food publishing.
Nico Schinco is an award-winning photographer based in New York City. His food and travel images have been published widely, including in two James Beard Award-winning cookbooks.