Come hungry: Barbados Food and Rum Festival launch serves up a taste of what’s ahead

Free launch at Stade’s Rum Visitor Centre on October 10 brings together food, mixology and Bajan music

There is something about good food that makes you want to call somebody. A friend who would love the first bite. A relative who insists they know where to find the best version. Someone who was only supposed to stay for a little while, until the music started.

On Saturday, October 10, that invitation leads to Stade’s Rum Visitor Centre, where the Barbados Food and Rum Festival will host its free public launch from 2 p.m. Come hungry, bring your friends and settle in for an afternoon of food samples, live cooking, mixology and Bajan entertainment.

Under the festival theme “Barbados Is on the Menu”, the launch offers an early taste of the celebration taking place from November 5 to 8. It also puts the people behind the flavours within easy reach, giving the public a chance to watch, taste and discover what Barbadian culinary talent can do.

Chefs Adrian Cumberbatch and Shanice Pheonix will take part in live cooking demonstrations, while Philip Antwone and fellow mixologists will bring their creativity to the glass. Free food samples will give guests something to enjoy as they move between the demonstrations, catch up with friends and take in the afternoon’s activities.

The soundtrack will be just as Bajan. Adrian Clarke, RPB, Shanta Prince, SugahRhe and Hypasounds are on the entertainment line-up, with a surprise act adding another reason to stay a little longer.

In the year of Barbados’ 60th anniversary of Independence and 5th year as a Republic, the launch makes room for the everyday pleasures that help tell the island’s story: sharing food, enjoying music and finding good company around a table. Those experiences sit at the heart of a festival that celebrates both familiar flavours and the fresh ideas of the people working with them.

“Food has a way of bringing us together in Barbados. We share it, we talk about it and we remember the people who made it for us. That is part of what we want people to experience at this launch: the pleasure of coming together and enjoying the creativity of our chefs, mixologists and performers.

“As we celebrate 60 years of Independence and 5 years as a Republic, there is so much to be proud of in the talent around us and for this occasion I am speaking about our culinary talent. We invite Barbadians and visitors to come out, bring their friends and enjoy a taste of what is ahead. Barbados is on the menu and there is a place for you.”

The festival will see familiar Barbadian ingredients will take on delicious new forms, with chefs and mixologists drawing on the island’s flavours and food memories. From inventive desserts to rum cocktails featuring local fruits and spices, guests can discover fresh interpretations of the tastes they know and love.

Their stories reflect the curiosity running through this year’s festival: familiar tastes carrying memories of home, with enough invention to make people pause and look again. Beyond the festival venues, the island’s food story continues at roadside stops, neighbourhood bars and kitchens where a recommendation still travels from one person to another.

The October 10 launch is an invitation to begin that conversation together. Watch something being made, taste something new, find a favourite song and enjoy the company you came with.

The Barbados Food and Rum Festival Launch takes place on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Stade’s Rum Visitor Centre from 2 p.m. Admission is free.