Mark your calendar for 9 p.m. Monday when the Travel Channel will air an hour-long episode of the hit Travel series “Bizarre Foods America” filmed on St. Croix. The episode, titled “St. Croix, USVI: Bull’s Feet in Paradise,” positions St. Croix and the territory as one of the world’s premier cultural and culinary escapes.
“The impact of a Travel Channel series like ‘Bizarre Foods’ filming in St. Croix is far reaching, particularly since the show’s episode will air more than once, engaging more than a million viewers in our unique Crucian culture,” Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson Doty said in a press release.
The show is estimated to reach more than 3.2 million potential travelers as it re-airs multiple times on the cable channel, generating an estimated total media value of $1.5 million.
In the episode, host Andrew Zimmern discovers a melting pot full of surprises when he visits St. Croix The episode’s synopsis provided by the Travel Channel reads, “The hard working people in this tropical paradise blend resourcefulness and diverse cultural backgrounds to create a flavor that’s all their own.”
“From herding a special breed of island cattle to chasing down land crabs to fishing for a shelled fish that can’t be caught with a hook, Zimmern gets a true taste of Crucian culture,” it continues. “Among the menu items: bull foot soup, shellfish liver, conch roti and breadfruit tostones.”
According to a press release from the Tourism Department, the show was filmed over a dozen days in January by a production team from Tremendous! Entertainment.
The production included working with story researchers to profile the territory’s cuisine, culture and personalities. Tremendous! Entertainment’s production team spent more than $150,000 on the island, employed seven local crew members and profiled Crucians in the episode.
Tourism will share online clips of the episode this week on Twitter at @USVITOURISM and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VisitUSVI in advance of the on-air premiere.
