Cooking, Haitian

Haitian cuisine is a Creole cuisine that originates from a blend of several culinary styles that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely African, French, Indigenous, Spanish, and Arab influences. Haitian cuisine has some similarities with "criollo" (Spanish for 'creole') cooking and similar to other Caribbean cuisine, but differs in several ways from its regional counterparts. Flavors are bold and spicy, demonstrating African and French influences, with notable derivatives coming from Indigenous and Spanish techniques. Levantine influences have made their way into the mainstream culture, due to an Arab migration over the years forming a community of shared Arab descent. Years of adaptation have led to these cuisines to merge into Haitian cuisine.