While Vanuatu certainly boasts its fair share of great places to grab a bite, there’s far more to our Pacific paradise than just dining out. Our beautiful islands offer a feast of other culinary experiences for food lovers, from coffee roasteries and boutique distilleries to immersive cooking classes that bring local flavours to life. There's plenty to delight the curious, cuisine-obsessed traveller. 

Here are some suggestions if you’re spending time on Efate.

All your chocolate dreams come true

Take a deep breath when you walk into the shop at the Gaston Chocolat factory, and you’ll feel like everything is okay in the world. The smell of this pure, single-origin chocolate made from Vanuatu cacao is rich, intense, and more than a bit magical. Founder Olivier Fernandez and his team work closely with farmers on the outer islands, supporting them through the entire process, from harvesting the cacao to turning the beans into silky bars of chocolate - talk about dedication to quality and community. Although the Port Vila café was damaged in the recent earthquake, you can still visit the factory located near Port Vila airport, where you can see the chocolate-making process firsthand (a tasting room and café are on the way soon). This is chocolate with heart - and 100 per cent a taste of Vanuatu. Do not leave the country without several bars for your family back home.

Get cookin' 

Spend the day with Chef Marcus at his cooking school, Papaya Loco, a beautiful beachside property with some of the clearest waters you’ll ever see (it also has accommodation on site). Marcus is of Portuguese descent but has spent time learning traditional Ni-Vanuatu dishes from local Mamas and teaches his version to class participants (he runs Portuguese cooking classes, too). You’ll learn how to make local favourites like Simboro or Tuluk, guided by his warm, enthusiastic, fun teaching style. Then, you’ll sit down to enjoy your creations with a glass of wine at the couple’s gorgeous outdoor table. A delicious lunch like this, followed by a swim in that crystal-clear sea, will make you feel like you’ve won the life lottery.

  

The best cuppa on the island

Looking for a great brew? Go straight where it’s roasted at Tanna Coffee. Grown on the rich volcanic slopes of Vanuatu’s Tanna Island, their 100% Arabica beans are hand-picked, sun-dried, and roasted to perfection in Port Vila. You can see the full journey via a guided tour from green bean to flat white at their vibrant café and roastery, charmingly set in a restored historic church. It’s more than just a coffee stop - it’s a celebration of Vanuatu’s rich agricultural heritage and the people who bring it to life. Tanna Coffee has a heavy focus on empowering and improving the lives of individuals and families in remote communities, so when you buy those bags of beans to take home, you know you’ve helped local people in the most delicious way possible.

To market to market

While the main markets by the water in Port Vila are still in the process of being reinforced and reinstated post-earthquake, you’ll find plenty of small produce markets wherever you go. Fresh bananas, papaya, pineapple, coconut, luscious fresh greens, and root vegetables are piled high in woven baskets, ready for you to take back to your accommodation. It’s not only a great way to try some of the local bounty grown in this incredibly lush fertile land, but also a fascinating peek into everyday life.

A top tipple 

The volcanic soils of Efate, combined with its pure rainwater and salt-laced ocean breeze, create ideal conditions for growing exceptional sugarcane, and that’s what 83 Islands uses to produce its award-winning rum (in fact, they’ve pretty much created an industry from their demand). Working in close partnership with over 150 small-scale local farmers, this proudly local-focused company is all about crafting high-quality, small-batch spirits. Take a tour of their distillery, starting at the old-school cane-crushing machine before moving through to the fermenters and copper stills. You’ll finish - as all good tours should - in the bar, where you can sample a tasting flight of their rums, gins and liqueurs. Many of their spirits are infused with flavours drawn from Vanuatu-grown ingredients - think coffee, pineapple, cucumber and citrus - a truly local sipping experience.

Written by by Alexia Santamaria