Travels with Darley Martinique party at the French Embassy in Washington DC
Travels with Darley Martinique party at the French Embassy in Washington DC

The “Travels with Darley” Martinique PBS debut event at the Embassy of France celebrated the launch of the new season of the PBS series and special Martinique episodes. Rum tasting, dancing and a behind the scenes look at how our Emmy Award-winning team filmed in Martinique unfolded amid the splendor of the French Embassy.

US Editor Anne Kalosh of Seatrade Cruise News writes, “Nearly 200 guests, including travel agents, got a taste of Martinique at the impressive French Embassy. Wearing feathered Carnival masks and straw hats, they sipped rum and Champagne cocktails and savored dishes prepared by two Martiniquais chefs, one known as Chef Hot Pants.” Read Kalosh’s story.

Guests arrived at 6:30pm to enjoy Creole Royal cocktails made with Clement Rhum and mingle, before heading into the theatre for the episode preview. Once inside, the colorful emcee presented special surprises in store over the course of the night. A lucky guest would be winning a vacation for two to Martinique to stay at a four-star resort, Hotel Bakoua, one of the two hotels where our film crew stayed in Martinique. It’s located on a black sand beach overlooking Fort de France Bay… stunning.

Following presentations from the Martinique Tourism Authority Delegation, we showcased a special behind the scenes and exclusive episode preview, which was shown to the nearly 200 guests in the Embassy theatre.

Top social media influencers, along with journalists, diplomats and dignitaries, professors, TV and media professionals, hospitality and lifestyle experts, travel agents and the travel industry elite attended the preview bash, which next took us all into another beautifully decorated space. Chef Guy Ferdinand, otherwise known as Chef Hot Pants and who is featured in our PBS episode, and Chef Daniel Labone were slicing and dicing fresh tuna tartare and other Creole inspired canapés.

Accras de Morue, Pâté de Porc Créole, Crevettes Grillées, Sauce Chien and Blanc-Manger Coco-Passion were just a few of the delightful culinary creations for the final part of the evening, which included more wonderful rum drinks, dancing, a very cool photo booth, prizes and more.

It was the perfect way to kick off our Martinique episodes, one of which begins broadcasting on PBS stations in March, and the third season of Travels with Darley. Watch the episode on WHUT-TV, Howard University Television, on Thursday, March 16th at 9:30pm and on your local PBS TV station.