Aruba is often praised as a go-to spot for destination weddings, honeymoons, and family vacations.
However, its culinary scene is growing, and the Autentico Aruba Culinary Festival is helping bring Aruban cuisine to the global stage. The festival just celebrated its third year, from Oct. 3-11.
Local restaurants and hotels, including Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, participated this year, along with world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson, who gave attendees a taste of the global flavors he’s known for.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, Black Bride attended an exclusive Supper Club hosted by the Aruba Marriott culinary team with special guest Samuelsson. Aisling Seberry, director of sales and marketing at Aruba Marriott, dished on the hotel’s role in the festival.
“Every year, the Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) partners with one hotel for their press event, which is really the opening of Autentico,” she said. “So our event was a nod to the 1930s supper club in partnership with ATA and Marcus Samuelsson.”
Samuelsson’s curated menu included kifto (smoked wagyu beef, spiced butter, caviar), Swediopian (chili-cured char, shimaruku, rye), and, for the main dish, lane snapper ayaca style (banana leaf, sweet corn, cashew, arroz morro, curry). Guests could also choose a vegetarian option.
“I cooked in Aruba before, so I’m very excited to be back,” Samuelsson told the intimate crowd.
“I was a young chef on a cruise ship, and we used to come here every 4-6 weeks, and to come back here as an invited guest chef is such an honor for me. I think what Autentico is doing is really important on many, many levels.”
The Marriott culinary team led by chefs Cristiano Guidetti, Rollyn Angela, and Diego Palacios also curated a menu featuring herencia criollo (stewed local goat, culatello, pica de papaya), marea caribe (lobster cream, local microgreens, crème fraîche, basil oil), and an assortment of tropical desserts.
The festival also hosted workshops, seminars, bucket-list experiences, and a restaurant week. Adding some of these events to your honeymoon itinerary is a no-brainer.
During the last two days of the festival, guests flooded The Pavilion in Oranjestad to immerse themselves in dynamic dishes the restaurants prepared for that weekend.
Restaurants served healthy portions of their dishes, including a birria pincho from Flux, wagyu meatballs from La Florenita, and keshi yena, a traditional Aruban dish made from a hollowed-out rind of gouda cheese, from Aruba Experience Café.
Aruba may be a small island, but its flavors are big and bold. As Autentico gains popularity, the world will no doubt take notice of its contribution to the Caribbean culinary scene.
For couples planning a honeymoon, it’s a reason to add a few meals to the itinerary and maybe time the trip around next year’s festival.
