THE Bajan style of cooking, or rather the style that Barbadian men bring to cooking, will be on display next weekend.

Bajan Men Can Cook, an annual event held by the Barbados Association of Bermuda, will test the culinary skills of its male members as they prepare some of the more popular dishes from the Caribbean island, for tasting.

The event, which is being held on the same day the country celebrates its 36th year of Independence from Britain, is open to the public.

"There's a myth out there that men can't do anything in the kitchen," said Crown prosecutor Graveney Bannister, a member of the association's management committee. "When people hear about men cooking many feel they have to come and see (whether or not we're capable).

"We'd like to dispel that myth. We'd like to say that some of the best cooks are men - although they obviously learned those skills from their mothers. In Barbadian culture, most men learn three basic things - to cook, wash and to iron. Most are brought up that way. If they're caught on their own, most can cope."

To be staged at the Anglican Cathedral Church Hall, Bajan Men Can Cook has a greater focus than its members' skills, Mr. Bannister said.

"It's a celebration of culinary art, of food. We Barbadians love to eat. Many of the dishes (to be prepared) are our traditional ones, those which have evolved over centuries. Barbados was a former British colony known largely for its sugar production and alcohol.

"The indentured servants and the slaves who worked on the plantations didn't have a lot of ingredients, but managed to come up with inventive ways of cooking. In the years since, the mix of cultures (as people emigrated to Barbados) has resulted in a chohob le pot, a potpourri of sorts."

There are approximately 300 Bajan men currently working in Bermuda in a variety of professions - from teachers to police officers, to chefs, to members of the judiciary. Many will put their cooking skills to work next Saturday, preparing those dishes their island is best known for. For Mr. Bannister, this means coconut bread and - if diners are lucky - his specialty.

"One of my specialties is coconut bread, but I'm very good at chicken," he explained. "There's one recipe that I perfected over the years while I was a (law) student in the United Kingdom. I have a certain technique for my 'deceased bird' which makes it better than finger-lickin' good.

"This is the fourth time we've held this (event) and I expect this year to be as good as or better than previous years. In Barbados, we have a way of cooking that gives our dishes a distinctive flavour. It's from the spices, the preparation. It takes a certain talent.

"The food we're proposing to prepare is savoury - scuclulena, pork prepared Barbadian-style, fish, chicken and vegetarian dishes also. Most (men) will marinade the meat for their dishes the night before and wake early in the morning to prepare it."

Videos will also be shown of a major annual Barbados celebration, the Cropover Festival - a tribute to music, art drama and food - held to commemorate the last reaping of sugar cane during the end of July and beginning of August.

And for sceptical diners, those who upon tasting a dish might doubt that a man's hand was involved in its preparation?

Said Mr. Bannister: "I would only trust that our friends be faithful, loyal and honest and don't pass on the food of their spouses."

Bajan Men Can Cook runs from 11 a.m. through 8 p.m. at the Anglican Cathedral Hall on Saturday, November 30. Offering a variety of Bajan dishes, tickets are $15 per plate.

For a sample of Barbados recipes, interested persons may go to the web sites of the island's local newspapers, the Nation and the Advocate.