Tastes of the Dominican Republic at ÀNI Private Resort /

When Christopher Columbus set foot on an island in December 1492 that he called Hispaniola, “Little Spain”, he must have thought that this New World was a paradise.

Glittering in the Caribbean, Columbus had discovered the richly fertile island now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Today, the ÀNI Private Resort awaits guests on the quieter and even greener northern coast of the Dominican Republic. During the guests’ stay, ÀNI introduces guests to the flavors of the Caribbean.

1. Fruits and nuts

Although guests of this private resort create their own itinerary, it makes sense to start with an early morning orientation walk through Rio San Juan’s rural and hilly landscape.

Guide Edison stops regularly to show how fertile this paradise is. Lemons glisten in the sunlight. Trees are laden with avocados, coconuts, mangoes, oranges and pineapples. Edison points to cashew nut trees and tall palm trees used to create the delicacy of a palm salad.

As the heat intensifies, the cattle look for dark pools of shade under the trees. The locals have even built a ladder so chickens can climb the trees to escape the heat.

2. The local Robinson Crusoe diet

In this lush landscape, there is always food for the locals. Plantains freely picked from the trees, then cooked and mashed make for a frugal and nutritious breakfast. There is a Robinson Crusoe feel to their daily diet, especially as goat stew is a favourite.

Breadfruit is also cooked and mashed as a vegetable for lunch or dinner. The mashing is such an integral part of the local cuisine that it is celebrated to the beat of one of the historic folkloric dances, performed one evening at the resort.

3. A Dominican breakfast

Guests tend to use the cooler early mornings to go hiking, take advantage of Edison’s offer of a guided coastal bike tour, play a few sets of tennis or swim in one of ÀNI’s two infinity pools before breakfast .

Breakfast, served in the residential villas Amber or Larimar, has a distinct tropical flavor with a buffet of nuts, seeds and seasonal fruits. If you choose local, you can order a Dominican breakfast special with cornmeal bread topped with fried cheese, fried onion and scrambled eggs. Alternatively, the kitchen can prepare English or Mexican breakfasts to order.

4. Cocktail Class

Each evening, as the sun begins to shine into the Caribbean, guests gather for a pre-dinner introduction to cocktail making.

First on the curriculum is an old-fashioned cocktail for cocktail connoisseurs, made in a special old-fashioned glass for the dark rum, angostura bitters and a splash of soda. Served with scoops of ice cream and garnished with grated chocolate and orange zest, they go well with ÀNI.

The second lesson in this cocktail class is a passion fruit margarita. Giving guests their Tom Cruise moment of vigorously but rhythmically shaking the tequila, passion fruit juice, lime juice and sweet syrup.

5.Chocolate

Back to that grated delicious chocolate. ÀNI’s chocolate is sourced locally from an organic cocoa bean plantation.

A dessert option for guests, who discuss their menus with the chef, is a DIY ice cream cone. Fitted with a mortar and pestle to hold the ice cream, guests add organic chocolate, bits of bitter orange peel and salt before pounding with the pestle to create their very own designer ice cream.

6. A beach barbecue

Relax on a sun lounger at ÀNI’s makeshift pop-up beach club in Rio San Juan, guests watch fishing boats return and smell the smell of the barbecue.

Hotel waiters deliver grilled lobster with herb butter and shrimp skewers with chimichurri sauce to a table shaded from the midday sun by white chiffon curtains.

7. Rolling cigars and tasting rum

A pre-dinner rum tasting masterclass gives guests the chance to choose from a range of 26 rum varieties.

In addition, guests try to grab a tobacco leaf and roll their own cigar. Their tutor warns that if a cigar is rolled up too tightly, it cannot be smoked. Most guests take longer to roll their cigar than the 40 seconds required by the maestro. Together with a partner he can produce 800 cigars a day.

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8. A Dominican lunch

A lunch served at Larimar Villa, overlooking the ever-changing colors of the Caribbean, introduces guests to typical Dominican flavours.

A chicken, vegetable and rice soup served with plantain chips leads to grilled red snapper with cilantro and coconut sauce. Since lunch is served family-style, guests also help themselves to grilled pork chops topped with pineapple glaze.

9. A cooking class

Juan, the chef, takes a class where he learns how to make a lightning fast fish ceviche.

Thinly sliced ​​red gurnard and lots of lime juice for the sour preparation are the secrets to which every chef adds chilli and coriander to taste.

10. A seven-course tasting menu

For a final farewell to the Dominican Republic, many guests choose a seven-course tasting menu with paired wines, served in a fairy-lit pavilion.

Starting with a gravalax flavor of salmon from the sea, the menu features a 24-hour filtered pomodoro soup from the land, veggies from the garden, shellfish on the rock, and tenderloin from the pasture.

The culinary journey continues with a gray goose vodka sorbet to refresh the palate before the final triumphant dessert of chocolate and bitter orange.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored by ÀNI Private Resorts.