Before any plate ever reaches a guest at Anne-Marie Leach’s pop-ups and events, her signature bright, welcoming smile sets the tone for an experience rooted in radical warmth. The Barbadian culinary creative, whose bubbly, generous energy makes every visitor feel like a long-time friend before they take their first bite, is set to take center stage at the highly anticipated 2026 Barbados Food and Rum Festival’s Liquid Gold Feast grand finale on Sunday, November 8. Leach will bring a curated spread highlighting homegrown Barbadian ingredients including native coconut, cassava flour, and freshly foraged local herbs, with a handful of surprise finishing touches she has kept tightly under wraps to delight first-time tasters.
Leach’s entire culinary philosophy is anchored in a formative, nostalgic memory: the velvety, comforting breadfruit cou cou her grandmother used to make, infused with a hint of cream. What stuck with her far more than the flavor itself was the quiet, tangible sense of being cared for that the dish carried, a feeling she has spent her career working to replicate for every diner who tries her food. “The dishes I serve now may look nothing like my grandmother’s home cooking, but my core goal is to pass on that same warmth and generosity that I felt at her table,” Leach explains.
A graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary program in Ottawa, Leach built a rock-solid foundation of technical skill before carving out her own distinct culinary voice, centered on reimagining beloved traditional Barbadian dishes through plant-forward, creative twists. Her independent venture Meraki Mindfully Made, which followed earlier community-focused work through the Yummy Mummies culinary collective, prioritizes making every meal feel intentional and full of care, turning simple, locally sourced ingredients into unexpected, memorable bites. Her talent has already earned her international acclaim: she was part of the Barbadian team that took home the People’s Choice Award at the 2024 DC Embassy Chef Challenge, representing her country on a global stage.
One of her most celebrated recent creations wowed crowds at the festival’s Rise and Rum event, where she served a fully vegan take on the iconic Barbadian staple pudding and souse, crafted using locally grown mushrooms. So seamless was her reimagining that many diners swore they had eaten traditional pork-based pudding and souse, a particularly staggering feat in a nation where the Saturday staple inspires fierce loyalty and generations of family tradition. For Leach, the biggest reward of the dish was seeing lifelong meat lovers enjoy her plant-based creation so much they said they would order it again.
Leach has recently poured extensive time into experimenting with underused local cassava, developing cassava flour cookies with crisp edges, soft, tender centers, and a subtle kick of native Barbadian spice. At the upcoming Liquid Gold Feast, she will pair her signature cassava flour with fresh local coconut to craft a dish that balances comforting, familiar texture, the bright aroma of freshly picked herbs, and a zesty, vibrant finish on the palate. Hosted at CARIFESTA House in Waterford starting at 7 p.m. under the theme “These Fields and Hills”, the grand finale event aligns perfectly with Leach’s passion for unlocking unexpected new layers of flavor in ingredients Barbadian households have loved for generations. The wider 2026 Barbados Food and Rum Festival runs from November 5 to 8, a schedule that coincides with the country’s celebrations of 60 years of independence and five years as a republic.
For Leach, the ideal reaction from festival attendees is delightfully straightforward: “I know that ingredient, but I’ve never had it quite like that before.” Even for guests who swear they are too full for another bite by the end of the feast, Leach’s warm smile and playful invitation to make that last mouthful count will be impossible to turn down.