Dominica: Home of the Nature Island Food and Drink Festival

Roseau, Dominica – (June 3rd, 2015) Dominica presents the Nature Island Food and Drink Festival, 4 days of culinary excellence and passion. Organized by Vetivert Inc., the festival to be held from July 1st – 4th 2015 incorporates Island Chef Cook-Off Competitions, Mixologist Competitions, Culinary Arts and Ital Food Symposiums and expos and a Farm to Table experience for kids.

The festival which has been in operation since 2012 is ideally placed within the summer months taking advantage of the summer tourism rush and prefacing other local festivals such as Dive Fest, held in July. In 2015, the festival will see the introduction of experiences for children, incorporation of health conscious foods, utilizing trends towards whole and raw foods, and fusion cuisine.

Producer of the Festival, Carla Armour, explains that, "The festival seeks to excite persons about using local produce in new and interesting ways in fusion with international concepts and products, to raise the standard of food and drink offerings". In doing so she explained that the culinary arts will be recognized as an internationally marketable heritage and tourism niche. This year, the Nature Island Food and Drink Festival features Toronto based Chef Carlos Laville and New York based Chef Stefan Shillingford. Health and wellness activities will also form part of the Festival, which culminates on Saturday July 4th, with the Island Chef finals and cook-off competition and Mixologist face-off finals.