On a recent evening in New York City, the Grenada Tourism Authority hosted an intimate dinner party at the home of Chef Alexander Smalls (right) to introduce a new culinary partnership. The gathering, which included Hon. Lennox Andrews (left), Minister for Economic Development, Planning, Tourism and ICT, Creative Economy, Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries and Cooperatives, media, travel advisors and a host of business partners, offered guests a sampling of the flavorful dishes to come from this collaboration as well as details on the partnership.

St. George’s, Grenada W.I. – June 8, 2023 – Known as the Spice Isle of the Caribbean, the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) has launched a culinary partnership with renowned Chef Alexander Smalls to raise its profile as a leading culinary destination.

The partnership will involve a Master Class with local chefs, recipe development showcasing Grenada’s spices and cacao, a Tastemaker event featuring celebrity and influential chefs, a Fireside Chat with Grenada’s leaders in food security, agriculture, and sustainability, and the Spice Replanting Program.

Alexander Smalls, both a Grammy and Tony award-winning opera singer, is a James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, author, and culinary activist. He is the visionary of the restaurants, The Cecil, which won Esquire magazine’s best new restaurant in America, New York City’s first Afro-Asian-American Brasserie, and its sister jazz club, Minton’s, the birthplace of BeBop in Harlem. He is the founder and curator of Alkebulan, the first African Dining hall in the world opened in Dubai in 2021, visited by over 24 million people. There are plans to open future Alkebulan concepts in London and Harlem, New York coming soon.

Chef Alexander Smalls commented, “I’m excited because the Spice Island concept is near and dear to the work that I do. I look forward to bringing a congress of chefs to explore the island and to create partnerships on the ground with local vendors and restaurateurs. We’ll also be creating a series of engaging and interactive video content that will excite the locals, as well as the global community that should know and celebrate Grenada as we do.”

“The soil of Grenada is rich and produces some of the best spices in the world. The partnership with Chef Smalls will elevate awareness of Grenada as a top culinary destination in the Caribbean with a variety of new events and experiences geared to entice the taste buds of visitors and locals alike,” said Hon. Lennox Andrews, Minister for Economic Development, Planning, Tourism and ICT, Creative Economy, Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries and Cooperatives.

“We are absolutely delighted to embark on this partnership with Chef Smalls,” said Petra Roach, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority. “His pedigree not only speaks for itself, but his creations offer delicious memories that are unforgettable. We know culinary is a big reason why people choose the places they travel and we intend to make it known that there are no greater bites to be had than in Grenada.”