Taste of St. Croix

Taste of St. Croix is the island's premier food-and-wine event: one night, dozens of the island's kitchens under one roof, each cooking to win your vote. Restaurants, chefs, caterers, farmers and drink makers set up booths and compete for awards while ticket holders graze from table to table with a glass in hand. The 26th edition ran on June 11, 2026, at Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort & Casino. It sells out every year, so this page is the working reference — what the night is, how it runs, what tickets cost at last check, and how to plan a trip around it.

What Taste of St. Croix is

Once a year the island's food scene gathers in a single room for an evening of tasting and competition. Local chefs, restaurants, caterers, farmers and beverage distributors each take a booth, cook their strongest dish in small tasting portions, and serve it to a paying crowd who wander the floor sampling everything. Winemakers, rum distillers and brewers pour alongside them. A panel of judges scores the food, and the guests cast their own vote, so the night doubles as a party and a contest.

The organizers describe the goal simply: put the best of St. Croix's cooking in front of as many people as possible in one sitting. Over more than two decades the event has grown from a local showcase into one of the larger food-and-wine gatherings in the region, drawing islanders, visiting chefs, food writers and travel media. For a visitor, it is the single fastest way to meet the whole island kitchen at once — the fine-dining rooms, the roadside cooks and the caterers you would otherwise need a week of driving to find, all serving in one place on one night.

How the evening works

The format is a walking tasting. Your ticket is the price of admission and, once inside, the food and drink at the booths are yours to sample — you move at your own pace, revisit the tables you liked, and pace yourself against a lot of small plates. Booths line the resort grounds and the beachfront, music plays, and the crowd dresses up and stays late. It is a standing, grazing, social evening rather than a seated dinner.

Layered on top of the party is the competition. Each participating kitchen enters its dish in one or more categories, and two sets of results come out of the night. A panel of judges tastes and scores in each category and names winners. Separately, every guest gets to vote, and those votes decide the People's Choice award — the one prize the crowd controls. Winning either is a real credential for a small island restaurant, which is why the cooking on offer is a genuine best effort rather than a sampler platter. Recent judging panels have mixed island expertise with outside palates: the 2026 panel included a veteran local chef with nearly five decades in kitchens, a food-industry director, a Virginia winery operator and a recording artist who co-owns a restaurant.

The competition categories

Entries are judged across eight categories, which together cover most of what a Crucian kitchen does. At last check they were Beverage, Soup and Stew, Vegetarian, Local Fare, Appetizer, Entrée, Dessert and Presentation. The Entrée award is treated as the headline prize of the night; Presentation rewards the booth that plates and stages its food best; Local Fare is where traditional island cooking competes on its own terms.

Naming past winners is the clearest way to show what wins. At the 24th edition in 2024, which drew a reported six to seven hundred guests, the awards ran as follows.

The People's Choice prize has a habit of going to a crowd-pleaser: Carambola Beach Resort took it in 2024, and back in 2019 a plate of brisket, pork chops and scalloped potatoes from Double D's Roadhouse Grill drew the longest line and won the vote. Winning also carries a small material reward in some years — for the 2024 edition, a government grant of $25,000 was distributed to participating restaurants as awards of $500 and $1,000, which for a one-booth kitchen is real money.

What you'll taste

The spread is as wide as the island's kitchens. On one table a resort chef plates a composed appetizer; on the next, a home caterer serves a pot of soup or stew that has been in the family for years; a few steps on, a bakery pushes out dessert. The Local Fare category keeps traditional Crucian cooking at the center of the night — the kallaloo, the stewed meats, the fried-dough plates you would otherwise chase down at roadside booths, here served by cooks trying to win a ribbon. Vegetarian is its own category, so plant-based tasters are not left picking around the edges. Presentation pushes every booth to plate with care, which is why the food photographs the way it does. Because portions are small and the field is large, one ticket is a survey of the whole island menu in an evening: fine-dining technique and grandmother's recipe, side by side, judged on the same floor. The deeper background to the traditional half of that spread is in the Crucian food guide.

Wine, rum and beer

The drinks side of the night is as much of a draw as the food, and it is where the "wine" in food-and-wine earns its place. Distributors pour wines from their portfolios, and the island's own drink makers show up in force. St. Croix has a deep bench here, and each has its own visitor experience worth a separate trip: the Cruzan Rum distillery in Estate Diamond has made rum on the island for generations, the Captain Morgan visitor center anchors the island's largest rum operation, Mutiny Island Vodka at Sion Farm distills vodka from breadfruit, and Leatherback Brewing runs the island's craft brewery. Mixologists build cocktails at booths of their own, which is why Beverage is a full competition category rather than an afterthought. If a rum flight or a brewery tour is on your list anyway, the Taste is a preview of the whole island's bar in one evening.

A nonprofit with a purpose

The event was founded in 2001 by two local restaurateurs and has run for more than twenty years since. It is organized as a registered nonprofit, and the community-benefit angle is central rather than decorative: the proceeds fund grants and donations to local programs and organizations. The organizers report returning more than $350,000 to the community over the event's run, and the event's own materials have put that figure above $400,000. Money also flows directly to the kitchens that take part, through the grant awards described above. So the ticket you buy is partly a night out and partly a donation to the island's food community — the restaurants get exposure and grant support, and local causes get a check.

That charitable core is also why the island's food world turns out for it. For a chef, a category win or a People's Choice ribbon is marketing that lasts all year; for the nonprofit, a sold-out room is the fundraiser working as designed. The two goals reinforce each other.

History and origins

Two local restaurateurs started the event in 2001 as a way to show off the island's cooking and raise money at the same time. It grew steadily from there into one of the better-known food-and-wine gatherings in the region, to the point where it now draws visiting chefs, food writers and travel-media attention alongside the local crowd. The event has also proven durable through bad years. In 2019, weather forced a postponement, and the rescheduled night went off so well that local coverage framed the second attempt as the charm. Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and the pandemic that followed disrupted the island's event calendar broadly, and the Taste was pushed off its usual home at Divi Carina Bay for several years before returning in 2026. That it came back at all, and came back to its original resort, says something about how firmly the night is fixed in the island's year. The organizers billed the 2026 return as a relaunch, a signal that the event intends to keep running.

The move from April to June

For most of its history the Taste was an April event, held in the middle of the month at the tail of high season. Recent editions moved the date. The 2026 edition was held on June 11, and the organizers have listed future dates as still to be announced, so April can no longer be assumed. This matters for planning: if you are timing a trip around the Taste, confirm the current year's date from the official channels before you book flights, because the event has proven willing to move.

The venue has moved too. The Taste was long associated with Divi Carina Bay, but hurricane recovery and the pandemic pushed it to other homes for several years. The 2026 edition was billed as a return to Divi Carina Bay — the organizers even styled it a relaunch — the first time the event had been back at that resort since it was displaced. The practical takeaway is the same as with the date: treat the venue as confirmed only for the edition you are attending, and check the current listing rather than an old article.

The venue at Divi Carina Bay

Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort & Casino sits on the south-east coast of the island, on Turner Hole Road toward the East End, a stretch of quiet beach away from the two towns. It is an all-inclusive resort and the island's casino property, which makes it a natural host for a large ticketed evening — it has the grounds, the beachfront and the parking to absorb several hundred guests and dozens of booths. On a normal day its dining is oriented to package guests rather than walk-in visitors, so it is worth knowing that the resort you see hosting the Taste is not an everyday à-la-carte restaurant stop; its place in the island's dining map is covered in the fine dining guide. For the Taste, the beach setting at dusk is a large part of the appeal.

Tickets and prices

Tickets are sold in advance and the event sells out, often well before the date, so this is not a night you can decide on at the last minute. There are two tiers. General admission gets you in the door and access to the food and drink booths. A VIP ticket adds a separate reception with its own wine tasting, early entry ahead of the general crowd, and access to the after-parties. VIP is the tier that tends to disappear first.

Prices have crept up over the years and should be treated as a guide, not a quote. The table below shows what tickets ran in past editions at last check; confirm the current price when tickets go on sale.

Tickets in recent years have been sold online and through a local pickup office; the organizers publish the on-sale date and outlets each year on the event's own site and social channels. Because supply is capped by the venue, the reliable move is to watch for the on-sale announcement and buy the day tickets open, especially for VIP.

Who comes

The Taste is one of the island's social nights of the year. Locals dress in their evening best and treat it as a reunion — the food community, the business crowd and a good slice of the island turn out, greet each other across the booths, and stay for the music. It is a see-and-be-seen evening in the friendliest sense, and a visitor is welcome in the middle of it. Alongside the home crowd, the event pulls in people from off-island: chefs from the wider Caribbean, food writers, travel journalists and social-media types who come for the same reason you might, which is that a lot of good cooking is gathered in one place. For a guest, the mix is part of the value. You are not at a tourist function laid on for cruise passengers; you are at the party the island throws for itself, with a plate in your hand and a vote to cast.

How to attend

A few habits make the night go well.

• Buy far ahead. The event sells out; VIP goes first. Set a reminder for the on-sale date and buy immediately. There is no reliable door sale.
• Come hungry, then pace yourself. There are dozens of booths and you will want to try most of them. Small bites, water between tastings, and a plan to circle back to favorites beat trying to eat everything at once.
• Dress island elegant. The stated dress code is a mix of elegance and comfort — resort-dressy, not black-tie. Wear shoes you can stand and walk in; part of the event is on grass and near sand.
• Plan for a drink or three. This is a tasting with open pours. The organizers advise that it is not a children's event, and under-18s are discouraged because of the alcohol and the crowds.
• Sort your ride first. The island has no rideshare service, cars keep to the left, and Divi is a fair drive from either town. Arrange a taxi or a designated driver before you go, and carry cash for fares and tips — see money and tipping.
• Vote. Your ticket includes a People's Choice vote. Taste widely before you cast it; that is the whole point.

If you cannot get a ticket

The Taste sells out, and plenty of visitors miss it. The island's cooking is available year-round without a ticket, and the same kitchens that compete are open on ordinary nights. Start from the fine dining guide for the higher-end rooms and the Crucian food guide for the traditional plates the Local Fare category celebrates. Town-by-town, the Christiansted and Frederiksted restaurant guides list where to eat. And for the closest thing to a private Taste, a private chef will cook a multi-course island menu in your villa — several of the caterers who compete at the Taste do exactly this the rest of the year. For the food-fair version of the same idea, with traditional cooking sold from tents rather than judged from booths, aim for AgriFest in February.

The island's food-event calendar

The Taste is the headliner, but it sits inside a full year of eating events, and stacking a trip against two or three of them is easy. The short list, in season order:

• AgriFest — mid-February at Estate Lower Love. The Virgin Islands agriculture and food fair, and the best single day for traditional plates, produce and livestock.
• Taste of St. Croix — the June evening this page covers. The chef-driven, ticketed showcase.
• Virgin Islands Paté Festival — also June, at the agricultural fairgrounds, and a low-cost, family-friendly counterpart devoted to the island's fried-dough street food; the full story is in our pate and johnny cakes guide.
• Mango Melee — July, at the St. George Village Botanical Garden, a mango-season fair with tastings, a mango-eating contest and local vendors.
• Crucian Christmas Festival — the year-end carnival, running from Christmas week through the first days of January, whose food fair and village set up on the Frederiksted waterfront.

Because the Taste and the Paté Festival both fall in June, that month has become the island's food-travel window; the full month-by-month view is in our June guide. If your dates land in spring, the April guide and the master events calendar track what has moved and what is fixed.

Facts at a glance

Every line below can change year to year; confirm the current edition before you plan around it.

Questions guests ask

When is Taste of St. Croix held?

For most of its history it was a mid-April event. Recent editions moved it: the 26th edition was held on June 11, 2026, and the organizers list future dates as to be announced. The safe assumption is that the date is not fixed. Before you build a trip around it, confirm the current year's date from the event's official site or social channels, and book flights and a villa only once you have it. June has become the working guess, but do not treat it as settled.

How much are tickets and where do I buy them?

There are two tiers, general admission and VIP, with VIP adding a reception, wine tasting, early entry and after-party access. In recent editions general admission ran roughly $95 to $125 and VIP $150 to $175 at last check, though prices rise over time, so verify the current number. Tickets are sold in advance, online and through a local pickup office announced each year. There is no reliable door sale, so buy as soon as tickets open.

Does it sell out?

Yes, reliably, and often well ahead of the date. VIP tends to go first. This is the single most important thing to know: the Taste is not a night you can decide on at the last minute. Watch for the on-sale announcement, and buy the day tickets are released if it matters to your trip. If you miss it, the island's restaurants and a private villa chef cover most of what the Taste offers, minus the crowd and the competition.

What is included with a ticket?

Admission covers the food and drink at the participating booths — you sample as you go rather than buying dishes one by one — plus the music and the party. General admission gets you the main event. VIP adds a separate reception with its own wine tasting, early entry ahead of the general crowd, and access to the after-parties. Your ticket also includes a People's Choice vote, which is worth using: taste widely first, then cast it.

What should I wear, and can I bring kids?

The dress code is described as island elegant — a mix of elegance and comfort, so resort-dressy rather than formal. Wear shoes you can stand and walk in, since part of the event is on grass and near the beach. The organizers advise that it is not a children's event and discourage under-18s because of the open alcohol and the size of the crowd. Plan it as an adults' evening out.

How do I get there without a rental car?

Divi Carina Bay is on the south-east coast, a fair drive from both Christiansted and Frederiksted. St. Croix has no ride-hailing apps, and traffic runs on the left, so arrange a taxi or a designated driver in advance rather than assuming you can hail a ride at the end of the night. Because this is a tasting with open pours, a driver you are not is the right call. Carry cash for the fare and tip.

Planning it from your villa

A villa is the natural base for a Taste trip. The event is a late night with open pours, so coming home to your own space beats a hotel checkout the next morning, and a full kitchen lets you eat light before and recover slowly after. Our East End villas put you on the same side of the island as Divi Carina Bay, a short drive from the venue: The Cerulean sits out toward the East End, and the wider villa collection is managed by people on island who watch the event calendar and can tell you the day tickets go on sale. Ask us when you book — timing a stay to the Taste, or to any of the island's food festivals, is exactly the kind of planning our team does.