caribbean

My husband and I have been lucky visitors to the gorgeous island of Anguilla and we have eaten at Blanchard's. The restaurant is gorgeous and the food was wonderful. After reading the book and visiting Anguilla 3 times in the past year, it was interesting to meet the people in the book. Anguilla is a very close knit island of approximately 9000 people. When I read the book and talked to the "belongers" in Anguilla they told me a different story about the Blanchards. The book leads the reader to believe that the Blanchards were walking on these gorgeous beaches and just decided to start a restaurant. The truth is that the Blanchards owned a restaurant called Mangos on the island and sold it!! They made a lot of money and then came back to open Blanchards. Shabby Davis is a wonderful Anguillan who was kind enough to do several things for the Blanchards. In fact, the whole Davis family is remarkably kind and sweet. Many of the people in the book were never asked first if they opposed their names being used in the book. Unfortunately, this was not good PR for the Blanchards. They should have been honest about what really happened on the island and understood the cultural and language differences between Americans and Anguillans. I was disheartened after I found out several things about what really occurred during the Blanchards opening and running their 2 restaurants in Anguilla. Anguilla is a terrific island with wonderful people. We need to be considerate of them and not spoil their island. I found that I was viewing the Blanchards in a totally different way.... as true capitalists!!! They seem to be only out for money and themselves.

Reading this book, you are taken to the world of Anguilla, a small Carribean island where it is so beautiful that they don't need a weatherman. The Blanchards started up a restaurant bearing their name years ago on this island heaven and it became one of the highlights of the Western Antillies. In this book, you are taken through their journey, their lives together, of building a restauarnt of a fine reputation.

I MUST ADVISE: The book is cannot be fully appreciated unless one actually travels to Anguilla to experience the happy and peaceful mood of the entire island and to actually meet the Blanchards to see how lovely people they are.

It can be seen that at the beginning of the novel, it is pointed out that although, yes, the Blanchards had already started a restaurant, Mangoes, before their current one, it would not be discussed for the means of telling the story. Also, just because Melinda and Robert's name both appear on the cover, and just one is the narrator, it does not mean that they both didn't write the book together, sharing their experiences and building the structure for the book.

This trip to the beach will be one you never forget....

This book is a journal of the first year in the lives of a couple who decide to cash in their chips, sell their house in Vermont, and start a restaurant in Anguilla. Although they've had some experience in the food service industry before, having started a reasonably successful company that makes bottled sauces, they had no idea about the challenges that might face them when trying to run a business in a foreign country and culture.

Their first task upon arrival in Anguilla was to find a suitable location for their restaurant. They soon discovered that the way to find a property in Anguilla is not through a real estate office, but through connections and backroom deals, sealed with a handshake. As they moved on to the renovations and supply stage of their business, they were shocked to find out that they couldn't just run down to the local Home Depot to get construction materials. Slowly, they became aware that things are done differently in Anguilla, and one reason why prices for tourists are so high is that most everything must be shipped in from Miami and pass customs at great expense.

It's very fortunate for them that Melinda is a great cook and Robert is handy and knowledgeable in so many areas, and most important of all, that they have a healthy relationship based on trust and wanting to keep each other happy. Many people would never have the courage to even attempt what the Blanchards have done- -they would sit down first, make some calculations on the back of a napkin, check with the local business people to find out about tax laws and suppliers, and give up before they ever got started, realizing that the venture would be hopeless. But the Blanchards aren't planners, they don't agonize over what disasters the future may bring, and as a result, with fortune smiling upon them, their little business venture seems to fit in fine in Anguilla.