Michelle Elliot artist

The Saint Lucia born artist has created a hilltop retreat for art lovers, long lunchers and couples wanting to tie the knot Michelle Elliot and the Pink Plantation House

Take the road called Chef Harry Drive up to the top of the Morne hill above Castries and you soon begin to think that you may have made an error – the road is steep and windy and you are often met by someone driving down at speed in the other direction.

Yet the people on this road know a little secret – at the top you will find the Pink Plantation House.

After the craziness of Castries, you are ushered through the gate into a slice of paradise, a French plantation house that has been transformed from a derelict husk into a restaurant, inn and art studio. The Pink Plantation House is, as you would expect, pink – very, very pink. Yet the colour seems an inspired choice against the colours of the surrounding gardens and the brightly coloured artworks within.

Most of those people who brave the windy road up come here for a long lunch on the veranda, with partners, family or friends.

There are a handful of tables, covered with leafy tablecloths and set with fresh flowers and water jugs. Small, brave birds hop onto the chairbacks in the hope of grabbing one of the sugar lumps from the bowl.

Up here on the hilltop, you can see down to busy Castries, which seems a million miles away up here in the tranquil gardens.

The food is fresh and light. You might start with a salad of avocado, crisp leaves and salt fish or crab smoked with garlic and herb sauce and follow up with huge chargrilled shrimps with coconut curry sauce or pork tenderloin in creole sauce.

In the garden, you may spot an attractive, slim women with scraped back dark hair tending to the bright lobster claw flowers. This is Michelle Elliot, one of the two sisters who run Pink Plantation House and the artist behind much of what you see when you eat or stay here.

Elliott, was born in Vigie into a family of restaurateurs (they run the popular Coal Pot restaurant) and seafarers; her dad skippered the Brig Unicorn (see page 53) until it sank a couple of years ago. Her childhood was spent diving and running around barefoot picking fresh guavas and mangoes,

The house is filled with ceramics and silk screen prints, all designed and made by Elliott, who is self-taught. Her work draws parallels with the work of Australian artist Ken Done but is inspired by the flora and fauna of Saint Lucia and her carefree childhood spent by the sea. A more recent development is the addition of three rooms at the house and the venue is becoming increasingly popular for weddings.

For more information visit Michelle at www.facebook.com/The-PinkPlantation-House-1549657938653268/

I’ll drink to that When you are working on Lucian Time, you often end up having an hour or so to fill while waiting for a friend to arrive or a meeting to start. To fill the time, you could do worse than fill the minutes with a beer or cocktail

So what do you drink when you are in Saint Lucia?

Rum is everywhere here, as you would expect from a country that was so involved with the sugar trade.

Every bar will include their own version of rum punch and a variety of fruit daiquiris. Most bars will also have their own homemade spiced rum, laced with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, anything really to give it a bit of a kick. Then there is the ubiquitous Piton beer or locally brewed Heineken. The Windward and Leeward Brewery also brews up its own local version of Guinness but this Foreign Extra, at 7.5%, will come as a surprise to those more used to the Dublin variety.

There are swanky bars in the resorts favoured by the honeymooning crowd but one of the best ways to meet locals and enjoy the authentic experience of Saint Lucia is to drop into one of the country’s traditional roadside bars. You will easily recognise them; sometimes they are little more than wooden shacks but they are as highly colourful as their owners and you will find a warm welcome, a cold Piton and an experience that you will not forget in a hurry.

Typical of the genre is Irie Bar just by the beach on Church Street in Gros Islet. Its bamboo frontage, red, yellow and green décor and loud music make it unlikely that you will miss it. Running the show are Fransis and her son Andy and its worth writing off a few hours sinking chilled beers and finishing it all off with some homemade spiced rum. If you’re peckish, Fransis will cook up some mahi-mahi or other local fresh fish.

At the southern end of Reduit Beach, accessible via small road off Rodney Bay’s main strip, you come across Marie’s Fish Shack.

The shack has an enviable location on the beach looking out towards Pigeon Island. The eponymous Marie will be here but it is her daughters who will be running around getting you your drink. On our visit, she was busy braiding one of her daughter’s hair but was keeping a close eye on proceedings.

At the other end of the beach, close to the entrance to Pigeon Island you will find the Thirsty Parrot – a beach bar with wooden tables and million-dollar views. The mango daquiris are spectacular in taste and industrial in strength.

It is a friendly place. On one visit, we rocked up just as the bar was closing. They served us and just let us drink our cocktails in the bar even though they were heading off.

Marie’s Fish Shack on Reduit Beach

It is hard to imagine sitting on the water’s edge in Saint Lucia at sunset without a Piton in hand. Although Saint Lucia’s most famous beer now seems part of the fabric of the country’s society it is a relative newcomer to the country – it was officially launched in October 1992. No matter.

Piton – with its distinctive label showing Saint Lucia’s most famous natural landmarks – has won the hearts of locals and visitors alike and it now represents more than half the beer consumed in the country.

La bière Sent Lisi, as it is known in the local Kwéyòl, has a summery, golden appearance and a taste of sweetness, citrus and hops with a hint of malt and was officially launched in 1992 by the Windward and Leeward Brewery Ltd (WLBL).

The brewery, owned by the worldfamous Heineken Group, has a longer history and was set up in 1975 to take advantage of a welcoming government and Saint Lucia’s crystal clear water, an essential ingredient. In 2016, the company merged with Du Boulay’s Bottling Company to become the country’s leading beverage manufacturer, producing not only Piton but also moreinternational brands such as Heineken beer, Guinness, Coca Cola, Sprite and Minute Maid. In 2019, Piton won its third consecutive gold award for quality from the Monde Selection International Quality Institute.

“Winning the Gold Quality Award now gives our national beer a voice to speak to nations about the quality of our workers, quality of our standards and the overall quality of our products here on the tiny island of Saint Lucia,” said WLBL mainstream brand manager Sylvester Henry. Saint Lucia’s National Beer