What is kallaloo?

Kal: Kallaloo is the Caribbean name of a vegetable that we call taro. It is also a vegetable dish that is native to Hawaii, which is the dish we serve here.

What exactly is Caribbean creole cuisine?

Gail: First of all, it's nothing like Louisiana creole. Our goal is to make typical dishes you would have on a Sunday afternoon in the Caribbean. Caribbean cooking is influenced by the settlement of other countries—England, India, France, Portugal, Lebanon, Spain, et cetera, which is why we call it creole. For instance, Trinidad dishes use lots of curries, Jamaican patties are influenced by English turnovers, and our steak with cabrales sauce—which is a Spanish blue cheese sauce—is served with black beans and rice.

How did you learn to cook Caribbean creole?

Kal: My wife is from Trinidad. For years I was a private chef and caterer, and every few years we'd travel to a different island in the Caribbean to explore the culture, food, flavors, and history.

Were there any dishes that didn't translate well to the American palate?

Kal: Our curried crab and dumplings had to be tweaked a little. In the Caribbean, dumplings are made to be stiff and chewy, whereas north Americans prefer their dumplings moist and soft. We experimented a bit, and chose a middle-of-the-road dumpling. We also toned down the jerk from Jamaica. It's still quite hot—and very tasty.