Amazing Coconuts at Cocofest

By Lindsey Turnbull

Cayman’s fifth annual celebration of the humble coconut took place last Saturday at Pedro St James, a family-orientated afternoon of food and festivities all centred on one of Cayman’s most important means of sustenance from days gone by.

It’s always an excellent day out for foodie families because the event brings together an ensemble of local producers who use coconut, in its many guises, to create amazing food ready for sampling, often unavailable in supermarkets. The Caymanian staple of fried fish and fritters was a welcome sight for visitors upon entrance to the Pedro St James grounds, fried in coconut oil to impart a lovely aroma and flavour to the dish. The popular Powder Monkey Gourmet Treats stall was doing a good trade in their coconut pineapple marshmallow fluff, not to mention their coconut and vanilla marshmallows in bags. The Farmfresh.ky team also had an array of coconut-inspired goodies such as their coconut oil that comes in a wine bottle, as well as simple coconut water and sugar cane, straight from the plant.

As well as the gourmet treats, there were lots of activities on hand to entertain young ones, including a bungy jump trampoline and other bouncy castles that most kids made a beeline for. Cultural shows on the uses of coconut throughout Cayman’s history also took place, as demonstrated by local artisans, and music filled the air for the afternoon.

Admission was only $5.00 per person (children under six were free), with every dollar for each entry fee benefiting the fantastic Meals on Wheels Cayman, an entity that serves 245 meals every day and which has around 100 volunteers working for it, in order to ensure that Cayman’s homebound senior citizens and other disabled people in the community don’t go hungry.

“Meals on Wheels is thrilled to have been chosen as the beneficiary of the 2020 Coco Fest,” volunteer Jennifer West said. “This family event provides us with an excellent opportunity to bring awareness of our work in the community, allow individuals and families to register as volunteers, and raise much-needed funds to help us feed seniors and homebound throughout Grand Cayman.”