Roots & Kulcha
Before there was the chef, there was Sean Kuylen the musician performing in Garifuna bands in my hometown of Dangriga Town, Stann Creek District. The music was Punta where the new twist and genre ‘Rock’ was added to the traditional Punta drumming pattern when Master Pen Cayetano introduced the electric guitar to the Garifuna drums. At that time in the late 70’s and early 80’s, new technologies were all the rave. Throughout my childhood, there would have been several times technology was introduced enhancing our traditional way of living. At age 7 my family got its first television, then cable, then a tape recorder, CD and in school everyone wanted to learn typing on a keyboard! It was an incredible time of enhancing the traditional way of life for a then, unknown Belize. Like music, food also suffered from fusion or rather, confusion-cuisine adding foreign and synthetic elements mimicking and imitatingInternational Cuisines. But like most trends and fashion, they tend to revert to the original and so did our drumming and music and later food. Suddenly buzz words reverted from Rock and Electronic to unplugged, indigenous, authentic, acoustic and traditional. In music, my band brothers drop the electric drum machine for the original sound of the primero and segunda drums, added the donkey’s jaw bone and turtle shells, reduced the tempo and the Garifuna Collective was born performing in over 30 countries in 5 continents to date and have been part of the most celebrated Garifuna albums of all time, including the critically acclaimed Watina album recipient of the coveted Womex and BBC World Music Award and voted on Amazon as the Number One World Music Album of all time. The Garifuna Collective
Its all Theater and we are all on Stage
Perhaps it was my musical journey or my time at Disney World as a culinary intern, but my two careers of music and food are interchangeable and 100% pure theater and drama. Seeing the music make the shift, I realized that imitating cuisines would never be my path. Creating the concept and menus for Slate and Sap then had to be indigenous, authentic, Maya, replacing electric blenders with the Mano a Metate and Hana (Garifuna mortar and pestle) to stimulate all the senses of smell, taste, touch, hearing, sight and a sprinkle of umami. Sap is inspired by the Sapodilla trees producing chewing gum and the Copal Resin, a Maya sacred incense that flirts with your sense of smell throughout the property. Slate uses the natural rock as her theme and plating and is the home of the traditional Pibil, burying of the Pig and H’men ceremony where the drums, fire and story compliments our tamales, moles, hand made tortillas purposely seasoned salt, Maya pepper and pixie dust.
Ask any server and they will say Chef is very particular about the music playlist, the lighting, the mood, the stories and man does he have a story for each dish! Order the Chechem Chakah at the rum bar and hear about the Hero Twins and the poison woods and of course order the antidote created by the forests with a hint of anise, bittaz bark, herbs and rums. Speaking of rums, enjoy the Ranger’s Reserve, the King Vulture, the Añejo and Kayn Rum – our true Spirits. Cocktails like the Salty Potlicker, Don Elijio Panti-Ripper, a real life Maya Herbalist and Healer Don Elijio Panti Spiritual Maya Healer and Mr. Ramsey’s Mule, a Belizean Kriol legend Mr. Ramsey’s Mule are all cocktails that can only be enjoyed here where they have a home and a true sense of place… and that’s by design!
The Winning Recipe
No lobsters nor conch, but farmed tilapia and shrimp. A bold statement for a Chef but with good reason! A No Bar Code philosophy created and even tattooed on my forearm, a constant reminder of my mission where all our foods come from the tree and in-season and not with stickers, bar codes and NEVER imported. Chef Sean Kuylen No Bar Code Ted X
This self-inflicted challenge dictates that all the fruit, vegetables, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, eggs and milk will come from a radius of not more than 15 miles as the Chachalaca flies. A mission and contract with myself and therefore a bonding promise to guests. Fortunately, I would not have made such a BOLD statement without being in a most fortunate global position and geographical location like Hidden Valley where our coordinates sits across from Tiger Run Farms, Spanish Lookout, Natural Spring Water of the Chiquibul and the Mountain Pine Ridge and the incredible and fertile village of San Antonio Cayo for produce and where majority of our team members reside, who are also all authentic Yucatec Maya. Coincidence?
So yeah, I admit, I cheated!
I made a bold statement that I selfishly knew was extremely easy to fulfill. I gathered and harvested the perfect storm of human, nature, produce, wildlife, thunderous waterfalls and morning fog and packaged it into an experiential dining experience of nourishing Conscious Cuisine that can be experienced here and here alone. Wanting more, I added the Milpa Tour where you become a farmer for the day, Mixology, Culinary Master Classes and our newest creation, Xibalba, an experiential culinary and immersive journey through the Maya Underworld through food, story, sacrifice and blood letting ceremonies. In November of 2025, only two and a half years after opening our doors, our wonderful team was bestowed the award for Restaurant of the Year by the Belize Tourism Board. It is humbling but more of a confirmation that, like Garifuna Music, being authentic and true to self was, is and will continue to be the winning recipe.
Think Global, Cook Local
Chef Sean Kuylen
