Krioyo Cuisine: The Dishes to Taste in Curaçao

In Papiamentu, krioyo means creole. It is the name Curaçao gives its local cooking, born of four centuries of encounters: the slow-simmering craft of West Africa, cheeses brought by the Dutch, the legacy of a Sephardic community settled on the island since the 17th century, and produce from nearby South America. The result skips the formalities: generous plates where stew meets cornmeal. Here are the dishes to know before you sit down to eat.

Stobá, the island's simmered soul

Stobá is the founding dish of krioyo cooking: meat simmered for hours with onion, tomato and spices until the sauce turns deep and rich. The most emblematic version is kabritu stobá, made with goat, a full-flavoured meat that slow cooking renders tender. You will also find it with beef (karni stobá), and a little pumpkin or carrot sometimes softens the whole. It almost always comes with funchi or rice, so nothing of the sauce goes to waste.

Keshi yena, heritage in a cheese crust

Often called the national dish, keshi yena (stuffed cheese, in Papiamentu) is a shell of Edam or Gouda filled with spiced chicken, olives, capers and raisins, then baked. The dish is said to date back to the era of slavery, when discarded cheese rinds were stuffed with leftovers to make a full meal. Born of necessity, it has become the pride of the island's tables, and today it appears in local lunch spots and on hotel menus alike.

Funchi, pastechi, arepa di pampuna

Three names to remember, from breakfast to snack time:

• Funchi, a firm cornmeal polenta, comes alongside stobás and grilled fish; fried into sticks, it makes a dangerously good snack.
• Pastechi, a fried turnover filled with cheese, chicken or tuna, is the local breakfast par excellence, best eaten at a snèk counter early in the morning. It is also the treat you bring to the office on your birthday.
• Arepa di pampuna, a pumpkin pancake spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, often studded with raisins, is eaten sweet at breakfast.

Pika and batido, the table and the glass

On almost every local table sits a jar of pika: onions and hot peppers, often Madame Jeanette, steeped in salted vinegar. Add it as you please, and carefully, to stobá and fish alike. To wash it all down, a batido is an iced juice blended to order with fresh fruit, mango, papaya, tamarind or soursop, with water or milk depending on the fruit. The best ones come from small snack bars and roadside trucks.

Where to taste krioyo cooking

The first stop is Plasa Bieu, Willemstad's old market: under a market hall in Punda, local cooks serve stobás, fried fish and funchi at lunchtime only, roughly from late morning to mid-afternoon, at gentle prices. Come early, the pots empty fast. For a farm brunch with local inspiration, head to Hofi Cas Cora, inland from Willemstad. At the far western tip of the island, the restaurant at Playa Forti serves local dishes facing the sea at Westpunt. And to widen the table, browse our restaurant selection.