HAITIAN COOKING WITH A RHODE ISLAND TWIST

The Aubourg family emigrated from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Providence, RI. Bichara, the oldest sister and family chef, often cooks with her “sister” (her cousin by marriage) Fabiola. Their cooking combines their regional roots, Fabiola from the North of Haiti and Bichara from the South. No meal is complete without pikliz, a spicy and acidic condiment which can provide a kick to a bowl of rice and beans or a balance to the richness of Macaroni au Gratin, Haitian mac and cheese. Fabiola and Bichara feel blessed to combine the staples of Haitian cooking with a wider variety of ingredients available to them in the U.S.

In Haitian cooking, recipes are passed down orally in Haitian Creole, typically from woman to woman. In the kitchen, Fabiola and Bichara reflect this tradition, speaking to each other in a mix of Creole and English as they cook the foods of the women who raised them. In a culture where cooking and family recipes are in the domain of women, Bichara and Fabiola use food as a way to teach their high school aged sons, who are not fluent in Creole, about the homes they left behind.

Join the women of the Aubourg family, Bichara, Fabiola, and Claude Michelle, as they prepare rice and peas, pikliz, macaroni au gratin & poule en sauce in their home kitchen.