Five globetrotting chefs have revealed their most memorable seaside eats, highlighting the diverse and culturally distinct dishes that pair best with sun, salt, and sand. From barbecued sweetcorn in India and custard doughnuts in Portugal to crab and banana pastels in Brazil, fresh coconut pulp in Mexico, seasoned rice in Antigua, and fried red mullet in Cyprus, these chefs share the beach foods they crave all year.
India: Barbecued Sweetcorn
Karan Gokani, chef and founder of Hoppers, describes Mumbai as a coastal city where the sea plays a huge role. During monsoon season, near Marine Drive, ladies squatting over small charcoal stoves roast corn to order. They finish it by scrubbing a lime dipped in salt and chilli mix across the hot corn. Gokani notes that while some now offer butter and cheese versions, the old-school way is simply grilled corn with lime and chilli.
Brazil: Crab and Banana Pastels
Ixta Belfrage, chef and recipe developer, prefers beach food from Salvador in northeast Brazil, where African influences are strong. She recommends pamonha (a cornmeal tamale filled with meat or cheese) and pastel (fried pasties). Her most memorable dish from a beach bar last year was a crab and banana pastel, which she describes as sensational, especially with hot sauce and Guarana, Brazil's cherry-flavored national soft drink.
Portugal: Custard Doughnuts
Marcelo Rodrigues, head chef at Primeur in London, recalls the first time he tried bolas de berlim (custard doughnuts) on a Portuguese beach. These fluffy, eggy, sugary doughnuts have a German origin, brought by Jewish refugees during World War II. Traditionally filled with creamed eggs, sugar, and milk, they are now sometimes filled with chocolate. Rodrigues notes the mystery of the vendors who hustle on beaches from May to September.
Mexico: Fresh Coconut Pulp
Adriana Cavita, chef and founder of Cavita in London, loves fresh coconut pulp sold on Pacific coast beaches like Jalisco. Women sell coconuts, first making a hole for the water, then cutting the coconut in half and scooping the pulp. They offer lime, salt, and spicy chili powder or homemade hot sauce. Cavita craves this sweet, spicy, acidic treat, which she cannot find in the UK.
Antigua: Seasoned Rice
Kareem Roberts, chef and cookbook author, emphasizes that the real Antiguan beach experience is seasoned rice, a one-pot seafood rice dish that must include salted pork. Some variations add salt fish, beans, octopus, cockles, or pigeon peas. Roberts recalls a specific cook-up rice with octopus, local spinach, and seasoning peppers, served in a styrofoam container with a plastic fork.
Cyprus: Fried Red Mullet
Hasan Semay, chef and presenter, remembers fresh red mullet from backstreet restaurants in Cyprus. The fish, lightly coated in semolina or cornmeal, can be grilled or deep-fried. Semay describes the aroma of prawn shells smoking over a barbecue and the simple meal of red mullet with quartered onion, rocket, salt, and lemon juice, evoking memories of his father enjoying the dish.
