Caribbean cuisine is best known for boldly spiced preparations of simple ingredients. Though it benefits from easy access to an enviable array of fresh seafood, it’s generally humble in nature and esteem. As for cocktails, the popular vacation region’s reputation doesn’t often go far past poolside resort drinks. But this is not the case in French Saint Martin, where a legion of classically trained chefs bring serious technique and a passion for the purest ingredients to a pocket of the sea where well-heeled visitors arrive hungry for the crème de la crème. The undisputed culinary powerhouse of the Caribbean, Saint Martin launched a showcase festival of its diverse cuisine, La Festival de la Gastronomie de St. Martin, in 2021 and it’s attracting plenty of attention across the island and beyond as it enters its fourth edition this fall.
The culinary festival is the brainchild of Discover Saint Martin, the tourism board of French Saint Martin (not to be confused with the Dutch portion of the island to the south, where the island’s primary airport operates). Saint Martin Tourism Board Director Aida Weinum says it was initially conceived simply to highlight the best of the island through a friendly competition but has since ballooned. Today, it’s a 12-day celebration packed with seminars, workshops, dinners, parties, and multiple categories of specialized competition, including mixology, barbecue, private chefs, and food trucks.

There’s no entry fee to participate in festival competitions, keeping access widely available to all levels of island chefs, mixologists, and venues. And the exposure is tremendous. Marine Folcher, co-owner of reigning Best Table champion (the top prize festival-wide), Del Arti Ristortante, finds the benefits of participation go beyond the attention she attracts from tourists during the festival.
“It’s making us known to the local population residing outside the Anse Marcel area, too,” she says, noting that the restaurant was something of a hidden gem known primarily to neighborhood residents before winning top prize at the festival—quite a feat for an Italian restaurant on proudly French turf.
In a relatively unique boon to Saint Martin businesses, not only is participation in the festival’s competitions free, partnership with the tourism board is, too. While many national tourism boards funnel visibility and business to preferred partners, that often comes at financial and time costs that aren’t always attainable for many smaller businesses. For Folcher, partnering with Discover Saint Martin is a no-brainer.
“There are no fees or obligations and it brings great visibility online and on social networks,” she says. “It gives us direct contact with more visitors and the local population during events like the culinary festival, too. There’s no reason for me not to partner with the tourism board.”
While gratis partnership may be rare internationally, the benefits are similar anywhere. For Saint Martin, Weinum explains that the first step is simple registration with the tourism board’s website, and it’s open to all. From there, the board not only advertises these businesses online and increases their local profiles, but highlights them to key contacts visiting the island.
“We always partner with bars and restaurants when we welcome media, influencers, and travel agents,” she explains. “They get this important visibility, and they don’t need to pay for it. A very recent example was an initiative where we invited more than 60 travel agents to discover the island during the month of June. The goal was to showcase our accommodations, restaurants, bars, and other businesses, and we did this by bringing them to venues that have partnered with us. When they go back to their respective countries, they direct their clients to those same restaurants, bars, and activities that they experienced personally.”
Partnership with tourism boards worldwide is rarely quite as freely accessed as it currently is in Saint Martin, but it remains a worthwhile endeavor for many restaurants and bars competing for attention in a crowded market. Similar to joining a chamber of commerce, a strong relationship with local, regional, or even national tourism boards can not only bring greater exposure to a small business, but more lasting exposure than a fleeting mention on a popular TikTok account or a single great review in a local paper.

Even if exposure in a national media outlet doesn’t seem to make sense to a remote, local business on the surface, it’s important to consider the nature of the digital landscape. Search engines (like Google) prioritize businesses that are mentioned, and especially linked, in reputable outlets, pushing these otherwise unknown businesses higher up the results ranks when local users are searching for the best place to grab a cocktail or have a meal. More national attention, even if it’s seemingly irrelevant to a business’s actual customer base, drives more premium local web presence thanks to the nature of search engine algorithms. And that drives local customers.
And, of course, involvement in board-led events like largescale festivals puts partners at the forefront of local and national attention, especially as they increase in scale like Saint Martin’s ever-growing culinary festival.
This year’s event runs November 11–22 and will include even more chefs and restaurants, new competition categories (including the one Folcher is most looking forward to: pizza), more celebrity chefs and mixologists, and an expanded schedule of intimate workshops for both adults and children, including new night workshops.
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