The Birthplace of our Chef of the Month, Chef Ron Duprat

In order to learn more about our Chef of the Month, we thought it might be helpful to educate our readers about his birth place. Ron Duprat was born in Mare Rouge, Haiti. It is located in the northernmost region of the country, with a population of almost 450,000 and an area of about 2,200 square kilometers. The closest major cities to Mare Rouge are Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Carrefour and Guantanamo.

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Here are some facts about Haiti from CNN.com:

Haiti, in the West Indies, occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. About the size of Maryland, Haiti is two-thirds mountainous, with the rest of the country marked by great valleys, extensive plateaus, and small plains.

Population: 9,893,934 (2013 estimate)

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Ethnic Groups: Black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

Official Languages: French, Creole

Money: Gourde

Haiti produces: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, and wood.

National Sport:  Soccer. Haiti first competed in the World Cup in 1974.

Other Facts:

Haiti is the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean. Hayti is the Indian name for the country and means “land of the mountains.” The mountain peaks reach over 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).

Haiti is the second oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States.

One of the most popular foods in Haiti is Griot, a fried pork dish. We thought you might enjoy this great looking recipe from Haitian-Recipes.com.

Griot (Fried Pork)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of pork
• 1 hot pepper
• 1 tsp of parsley
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1/2 tsp of rosemary
• 1 tsp of Adobo® seasoning salt
• 1 lime
• 1 orange

Description

• Cut the meat into medium sized pieces.
• Wash thoroughly with the lime and/or sour orange juice.
• Season well with Adobo seasoning salt, rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic powder, pepper and let marinate for 4 hours (or overnight for even better results).
• In a saucepan, cover meat with water and boil over medium-high heat until water evaporates.
• Stirring occasionally, continue to cook until meat is tender.
• Remove the meat and set aside.
• In a skillet, heat oil and fry each side to brown evenly.
• Serve hot with banan peze and diri kole.

Are any of our readers from Haiti? Please share a fond memory from back home, or your favorite dish from the country below!