Belly Full

“Reading this book makes me stand up and clap for the marvel, history, and joy these dishes represent to the Caribbean diaspora and lovers of its cuisine. With Belly Full, Lesley educates us on the painful history that produced the best food in the world.”—Gregory Gourdet, James Beard Award–winning chef/founder of Kann and Sousól and author of Everyone’s Table“With Belly Full, Lesley Enston whisks you around the Caribbean, a region of shared ingredients and differing ways of using them. I grew up in Saint. Lucia and have enjoyed a lifetime of learning the ways other nations treated the same ingredients of my youth. Lesley highlights eleven important staples of the region’s cuisine and invites you to island-hop in your own kitchen with wonderfully selected dishes. Bon app!”—Nina Compton, James Beard award–winning chef“In this rich and inviting text, Lesley Enston shows the world that the Caribbean—a region fractured by colonialism and for too long defined by its economic role as a tourist paradise—is a place of abundance and unique culinary cultures. There is so much love and deep research in how Enston presents the commonalities and differences.”—Alicia Kennedy, author of No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating“In Belly Fully, Lesley Enston shares the stories and flavors that have shaped her lifelong love affair with Caribbean food. From her mother’s effortless cooking style, infused with love and tradition, to her father’s culinary experiments with Trinidadian staples like curried chicken and souse, Lesley’s recipes inspire in the ways they approach, transcend, and unify cultural boundaries on page after delicious page.”—Hawa Hassan, author of In Bibi’s Kitchen

Lesley Enston connects to her Caribbean roots through cooking. After growing up in Toronto, moving to Brooklyn, and spending a few years in London, she settled in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She consistently prepares the dishes her Trini mother introduced her to, along with her favorite foods from around the islands, adding Scotch bonnet to everything. A seasoned home cook, Lesley shares the joy (and heat) of these flavors with friends and loved ones through her backyard dinner parties. Her young daughter, Desalin, now plays the role of sous-chef, enjoying the flavors her mother and grandmother cherish. Lesley’s recipes have been featured in Bon Appetit, Food52, and the New York Times.