From Sugar Cakes to Chef at Petite Anse – Meet Chef Max.

“By the time I was in primary school I was making sugar cakes and tamerin balls to sell at recess. I’ve always liked to cook,” beams Max, his white chef’s hat perched on his head to make an occupational statement. And what is not to like about this personable 52-year old cook? According to Wendy Hartland – an artist and author of Great Grenada Recipes who has lived on the island for 50 years – people don’t come more authentic than R. M. Maxwell, known simply as Max.

“My aunt — Miss Pearl — raised us, my two brothers and me. It was tough because we didn’t have a lot of money. We had to work hard, but we survived. On the weekends I would also sell newspapers, but mostly I supported us with my cooking. You could say I was born a salesman.” Max developed a system of cooking in one pot and then dividing it into meals for the day. “It was just the easiest way to do it.”

So when the other kids were out limin’ — a delightful Grenadian expression for “hanging out and not doing much of anything” — Max spent his after-school time fishing and selling his catch to the neighbours. He also made various concoctions that he would sell on the weekends or at special events. People got to know him and his food and they started to put in orders. “The money would be used to buy the next batch of ingredients. The profit-margin was low, because otherwise people wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”

“Then when I was about 15 or 16 I went to my teacher and said, ‘I know what I want to do so I’m going to leave school to do it’ and that is when I started my bakery-hopping career. Green’s Bakery was my first job. There I learned to make a roti wrap, and that became my signature dish. If you mention my name anywhere on the island or in St. George’s people associate “Max” with roti.”

“I learned by watching, listening and doing. After the bakeries I branched out into working in restaurants. I started peeling potatoes in a place called Nutmeg. It was very popular and always full. Locals, people from the yachts, everyone ate there. From there I went on to work at various restaurants all over the island. I picked up skills as I went along, always challenging myself to try different things. To experiment with food and to try different tastes and various spices. To really cook, you have to be able to feel it. To sense what flavour goes with what. And to assemble it so that it all works.”

This mainly self-taught chef now runs the kitchen at Petite Anse, an idyllic boutique hotel tucked away on the northern coast of the island near the town of Sauteurs. Any fruits and vegetables not grown at the resort are purchased locally, so everything is just-picked fresh.  

 

Enjoy a drink on the terrace overlooking the ocean and get Max to make a recommendation from the menu of the day.

The three starters could be Callao soup, salt fish fritters or a cold-cut platter. Mains on offer will include a selection of fish, chicken, pasta or meat. If you want to try a Max roti, call ahead and get him to prepare it for you. Or if you want to make it at home, here is his recipe:

Max’s Roti Wrap Recipe
1 lb. all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
I cup of water

Mix all ingredients into dough and leave for 10 minutes.

Flour the table, roll it out and cut into 10 balls. Leave for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil 1 lb. of yellow split peas in 3 inches of water. Add chopped garlic, onions and peppers. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until firm, but not dry. Pass through a fine strainer and season with salt and pepper.

Put 1 tablespoon of the pea mixture in each dough ball and leave for 10 minutes. Roll out the dough balls until they are about plate-size. Cook for about seven or eight seconds on each side in a frying pan.

Fill with the mixture of your choice.

Getting There

According to Tripadvisor Petite Anse is Grenada’s “best-kept secret.” The locals in the area, however, all know Miss Annie and Mr. Phillip, so just ask and they will point you in the right direction. The best way to appreciate Max and his menus is to stay for a few days.

If you are coming from St. George’s for a day-trip, Petite Anse is about an hour to an hour and fifteen:

Rent a car and pick a route. You can go up the west coast, across the Grand Etnag Forest Reserve or around on the east coast.

Stand on the road and flag down a local bus. These mini-vans ply their trade up and down the coast, as the locals get off-and-on for short hops. It is a wonderful way to mix and mingle and gain a cultural appreciation of life in Grenada.

Contact Justin Louison, local tour guide and taxi operator in St. George’s. Home telephone: 1-473-443-5056
Mobile: 1-473-403-7184
E-mail: jlexotic01@hotmail.com

A one-way trip to Petite Anse – with a running commentary – is about $60USD. Get him to wait or have someone at Petite Anse arrange for a taxi to take you back.