Best New Caribbean Scoop: Gorgeous Turks & Caicos Fun At Food & Wine Festival

Do you crave a tranquil and gorgeous island getaway that boasts a bounty of culinary pleasures? Quest solved! The Caribbean’s 38-square-mile Providenciales — a relaxing oasis of serenity and unspoiled nature — in the Turks & Caicos Islands serves up tasty treasures year-round at its many resorts and restaurants. For extra gourmand gusto on the very soon horizon, visit during its notable 12th Food & Wine Festival, held October 14 through 16. An annual event, this in-person fest — paused during the previous two years due to the global pandemic — joyfully returns with fresh smiles. Stellar chefs, winemakers, distillers, devoted foodies and wine aficionados will attend, flying in from far-flung locations, to toast and savor delectable treats at hot spots near the pristine, cashmere-soft, white-sand stretch of 12-mile Grace Bay Beach. Multiple cuisine and cocktail experiences will be curated by Grace Bay Resorts, an independent developer of deluxe Providenciales properties, including Grace Bay Club, Rock House, Point Grace and West Bay Club.

Highlights: Who, What and Where

Dining Delight. Miami-based Chef Niven Patel (who is passionate about farm-to-table eating — so much so that he runs his own farm) masterminds the much-heralded new Orno Restaurant in Coral Gables, Florida. He is set to work his kitchen magic at a four-course Caribbean-Indian dinner in the Infiniti Bar & Restaurant of Grace Bay Club, the first luxury all-suite resort in the Turks & Caicos. Chef Patel’s bold, inventive fare will be accompanied by six wine-pairings from LVE Collection, owned by Oscar and Grammy Award-winning musician John Legend, whose label is a collaboration with Napa, California’s Raymond Vineyards.

Whisky and Gin Applause. Located on the north coast of Providenciales on a 14-acre oceanfront site, Rock House is a new cliffside resort with 46 guest lodgings (poolside studios to seaside two-bedroom villas), a 350-foot secluded beach and a 100-foot infinity pool fashioned on a 25-foot limestone rise. There, for the festival, Scotland-based master distiller Brendan McCarron will entertain and educate participants via a heady whisky mixology lesson, as well as unveil a tasting of Arbikie, the world’s first carbon-neutral gin.

Food Trend Talk. Asheville, North Carolina-based, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Meherwan Irani (of the Chai Pani Restaurant Group) will appear virtually at the in-person symposium, illuminating cutting-edge culinary news, cultural exchange and diversity in the hospitality industry, which will be at Point Grace, a rejuvenating multi-villa retreat influenced by West Indian architecture. Lisa Brown, senior brand manager for LVE wines, will also add verve to the panel presentation.

Wine-Food Pairings. Grace’s Cottage Bar & Restaurant at Point Grace will orchestrate wine-pairings with small-plates combo flair.

Champagne and Cocktail Brunch. On a neighboring private isle, an intimate feast will unfold at COMO Parrot Cay, a hideaway resort with a wide selection of rooms decorated in contemporary beach-house vibe on 1,000 acres and more than four miles of beachfront. The event is partnered with James Beard Award-winning chef and cookbook author Michael Schwartz (of the Genuine Hospitality Group).

Women In Wine Luncheon. Situated on 850-feet of Long Bay Beach, The Shore Club, with its suites and generous-sized villas, an indulgent spa and overall emphasis on wellness, is the prime scene to salute a Women In Wine gathering that features interesting tastings and beverage industry speakers.

Proceeds from the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival help support the Little Chefs Program, which provides culinary training, education and development for aspiring young chefs in the Turks & Caicos Islands.

For more info and inspiration about vacationing in the Turks & Caicos, go here.