8 Foods You Must Eat In New Caledonia

Cuisine in New Caledonia is beautiful marriage between island-style, Melanesian tastes and the very best of French flavours and flair. Just like in France, food, coffee and wine are all important aspects of the local life in this Pacific nation and they take these things very seriously. Be sure to get a true taste of New Caledonia with these unique dishes you must try.

Bougna

Bougna is the most traditional dish you’ll find in New Caledonia and a great example of the local Kanak cuisine, rather than French influence. It’s made of chicken, lobster or fish mixed with root vegetables such as yams, sweet potatoes and coconut milk, wrapped up in banana leaves. The parcels are then placed into an earth oven where they cook over the hot rocks. This style of cooking is common in the Pacific Islands, although the ingredients will vary between the nations.

Civet de Rousette

Mangrove oysters and crab

Mangrove oysters and crab are frequently found throughout New Caledonia. Like most seafood in New Caledonia, the oysters are usually served in a natural state with a simple vinaigrette while the crab is frequently accompanied with a mayonnaise or aoli.

Coconut crab

The coconut crab is particularly unique to the Loyalty Islands, where they have become a local specialty in Ouvea. The crab, which is also found on the island of Niue and some other parts of the Pacific feeds off coconuts. Its pincers are incredibly strong as they need to have the strength to crack open the coconuts to survive. It’s usually served as a coconut curry.

Vol au vent des fruits de mer

A seafood vol au vent is a French influenced pastry dish. It’s a bit like a seafood chowder in a puff pastry casing. It usually consists of mussels, New Caledonian prawns, fish fillets and scallops, combined in a cream sauce before being dished into the pastry shell.

Bulime/Ile of Pines snail

On the Isle of Pines, the local delicacy is a snail endemic to the island. Known as the bulime, it is usually cooked in soups, added to bougna, or simply with garlic and herb butter.

New Caledonia blue prawns

The famous litopenaeus stylirostris is a rare blue prawn which has become a famous delicacy worldwide. It’s believed the blue hue comes from the prawns feeding on plankton in the turquoise New Caledonian lagoon. The blue prawns grown in New Caledonia must meet a strict set of criteria including low density farming and no antibiotics or other treatments to boost growth. With this careful breeding ground, the blue prawns have been able to uphold the highest standards of quality, making their way on to some of the world’s top menus.

Venison

The mainland of New Caledonia, Grande Terre, is practically famous for its venison. Deer hunting is extremely popular in New Caledonia, with the Javan Rusa Deer targeted every year between July and October, as they are a major pest on the mainland. Therefore, it’s no surprise venison is a popular dish among locals. It’s often made into skewers, stewed, put in a salad or turned into a ragout.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.