A Foodie’s Guide to the Top Flavors of Southern Belize

Belize Laru Beya Resort Placencia Peninsula

Forget Paris and put your trip to New York City on hold. The temperatures currently registered in both cities are high enough to make you realize that it’s not worth a visit to either city, despite their reputations as international cuisine hubs. Instead, head south to Belize where temperatures are cooler and where Caribbean breezes are so refreshing, you’ll enjoy every moment of your visit.

When your stomach commands you to try Belize’s most delicious cuisine, check into the property offering the best environment, deal, and perks: Laru Beya Resort. From your vantage point on the Placencia Peninsula, you’ll enjoy every benefit tourists crave, including an all-inclusive package that includes meals, transport and digs.

Why is Belize’s food scene so formidable?

Caribbean Culture and Lifestyle editors describe Belize as a culinary melting pot composed of Creole, Garifuna, Maya, Mestizo, and even Mennonite cooking traditions. Additionally, Belize is recognized for distinct ocean-to-table and farm-to-table movements. Both are beholden to locally sourced ingredients. Yes, you can also find other ethnic cuisines, but don’t look for a McDonald’s because you won’t find one American fast-food eatery in the nation.

What will you find in abundance? A street food scene that’s so diverse, tourists can sample cuisine originating in local eateries, shacks, and home kitchens serving up staples like fry jacks (fluffy, fried dough filled with cheese, beans, or eggs) or a ceviche that rivals recipes at white tablecloth establishments thanks to the inclusion of 100% organic local spices. Belize’s signature hot sauces that are a food group unto itself and there’s a burgeoning wine, beer, and spirits industry to discover as well.

What to look for on menus that deliver signature Belize tastes

We would need triple the amount of room to profile all the foods for which Belize is known, but these eight will make every “most popular dish” list you run into:

1. Rice and beans. A staple of Kriol cooking from Caribbean, African, and Maya food traditions.
2. Fry jacks. Also of Kriol origin, this dish will remind you of European fry breads.
3. Ceviche. Originating in Central/South America, Spanish/Mestizo colonizers say ceviche originated in Peru.
4. Tamales. Though different than original Maya and Aztec recipes, Belize tamales are yummy.
5. Escabeche. Find this stew recipe in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Filipino, Mestizo, Yucatec, and Maya cookbooks.
6. Hudnut. Referred to as soul-warming, this Garifuna dish has West African and Arawak roots.
7. Chimole. Known as “black dinner,” you’ll taste this soup’s Yucatec/Maya and Mestizo origins.
8. Johnnycakes. Treat yourself to breakfast breads brought to the Caribbean from North American colonies.

Taste your way around the Placencia Peninsula thanks to your accommodations at Laru Beya where food isn’t the only treat on the resort’s menu. There are specials to be had that save on the cost of your stay. Find them here: Bon appetite!