I ate at Rihanna's favorite fast-food chain in Barbados, Chefette, and the menu is better than McDonald's

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There's a lot to choose from on the menu at Chefette. Rachel Hosie/Insider
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  • On a recent work trip to Barbados, I visited the island's popular fast-food chain Chefette.

  • It's considered the Bajan version of McDonald's and is loved by Rihanna.

  • Serving pizza, fried chicken, rotis, and burgers, not to mention lots of ice cream, there's something for everyone at Chefette.

  • Like any other fast-food establishment, it's not fancy, but it's tasty and fun, and I can see why Rihanna loves it.

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Barbados may be known for its stunning beaches and ubiquitous rum shacks, but there's one other establishment you can't miss if you visit the Caribbean island: Chefette.

Known as the Bajan McDonald's, the distinctive yellow and purple fast-food chain has 14 locations all over the island, and it's beloved by kids, adults, and celebrities alike.

Proud Bajan Rihanna has long expressed her love of Chefette and is regularly spotted there when she's back home.

In 2020, Drake visited Barbados and, according to locals, frequented Chefette while there. He even suggested that a future album might be inspired by the chain in an Instagram post.

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fast-food fan, but after hearing rave reviews on a recent work trip in Barbados - every local I spoke to seemed to have a fondness for Chefette, having been an integral part of childhood for many - I knew I had to make a stop at the fast-food restaurant.

On a recent work trip to Barbados in October 2020, I kept hearing rave reviews from locals about the fast-food chain Chefette.

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I visited Barbados to report on its remote-work visa that welcomes digital nomads. Rachel Hosie/Insider

Rihanna is known to visit Chefette when she's in Barbados, so I had to give the fast-food restaurant a try when I found myself on the island.

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Rihanna is a fan of Chefette. Robert Kamau/GC Images

The musician posted an Instagram photo of a chicken nugget from her 2013 visit to the fast-food chain.

There are 14 Chefette locations in Barbados, and each branch looks slightly different. I visited the Black Rock branch with my friends Emma and Ben, two digital nomads I met during my trip.

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The Chefette location in Black Rock looks like most other fast-food restaurants. Rachel Hosie/Insider

There was hand sanitizer at the entrance but no temperature check, something I had found commonplace in other hospitality venues in Barbados.

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I found hand-sanitizer stations in many public spaces during my trip. Rachel Hosie/Insider

In accordance with government guidelines, we wore our masks while walking around and ordering, as did the staff.

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We removed our masks to eat, of course. Rachel Hosie/Insider

Deciding what to order was a challenge. The menu has burgers, pizza, rotis (wraps with a meat or vegetable filling), fried chicken in various guises, and more. We were overwhelmed by choice.

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Like any other fast-food establishment, Chefette's menu is displayed above the counter. Rachel Hosie/Insider

After ordering a selection of items, we went to sit down in the empty restaurant. It was early afternoon, so it soon started to fill up as schools finished for the day. I didn't notice any enforced social distancing, but people seemed to spread out themselves.

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There was a slide outside for children. Rachel Hosie/Insider

Our order was soon ready so I went to pick it up from the counter. We'd gone for a chicken roti, burger, pizza slice, and chicken nuggets and fries, plus BBQ and garlic sauces ($0.38, or 0.75 BBD, each).

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The pizza, chicken nuggets, burger, and chicken roti at Chefette came in colorful containers. Rachel Hosie/Insider

The packaging was a mix of cardboard and foil, and continued the bright, colorful theme - including a Breast Cancer Awareness pink box for the pizza.

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Chefette's bright-pink Breast Cancer Awareness packaging stood out. Rachel Hosie/Insider

First up, I tried the all chicken roti, which cost $5.25 (10.50 BBD). I saw roti - a common street food on the island - all over Barbados during my visit.

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Chefette's chicken roti was my favorite menu item. Rachel Hosie/Insider

Roti first came to the Caribbean through Trinidad and Tobago, where it arrived "by way of indentured servants from the Indian subcontinent in the 1800s," according to The Washington Post. Local online magazine Taste Barbados says "the history of roti in Barbados goes back to around the 1950s or 1960s with the wave of migration of Guyanese people to Barbados."

As Taste Barbados points out, roti is more commonly enjoyed as a wrap in the Caribbean country: "Typically in Indian culture, a piece of the roti is broken off and dipped into curry, or whatever the roti is being eaten with, and then scooped up and eaten. However, in Barbados, the curry, meats, and vegetables are usually placed inside the roti and then wrapped up."

According to the same article, Chefette is the most popular place to buy a roti, with many of the country's visitors buying frozen rotis from the fast-food chain to take home.

The Chefette roti - a wrap with chicken curry filling - was delicious. It wasn't very spicy and the wrap was nice and thin, with plenty of chicken filling.

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The roti had a generous amount of filling. Rachel Hosie/Insider

Onto the quarter-pounder beef burger, which cost $4.88 (9.75 BBD), the patty was thicker than McDonald's, but I found that it was a little dry.

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I preferred the roti to the burger. Rachel Hosie/Insider

Next up, I tried the pizza slice, which cost $5.25 (10.50 BBD). I loved the generous amount of cheese and pepperoni. The base was a little bland, but later in my trip I ordered a whole pizza for delivery, and it was much better: greasy, but in a highly delicious way.

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I preferred Chefette's pizza when I had it delivered. Rachel Hosie/Insider

The chicken nuggets, 12.50 BBD ($6.25) for six, were more breaded than ones from McDonald's but I liked the crispy coating and the chicken was tender. They were served with a bread roll and crinkle fries.

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I followed Rihanna's lead and ordered the chicken nuggets. Rachel Hosie/Insider

For dessert, we sampled Chefette's ice-cream selection. There were many different flavors and toppings, and you pay for each individual item: $2.25 (5 BBD) for a one scoop cup, $3.97 (7.95 BBD) for two scoops, and $0.63 (1.25 BBD) per topping.

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Chefette's ice-cream selection included maple almond, strawberry cheesecake, coconut, and more. Rachel Hosie/Insider

From mini M&Ms to Reese's Pieces, the toppings were great and the servings were generous. We really liked the cookies and cream (which tasted like Häagen-Dazs with lots of cookie) and caramel (deliciously creamy), but were less wowed by the chocolate flavor's icy texture.

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Ice cream was a fun way to end the meal. Rachel Hosie/Insider

On the whole, I loved Chefette. It's cheap, cheerful, and tasty. I'd go back for the chicken roti alone.

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I'll be ordering Chefette's all chicken roti next time I'm in Barbados. Rachel Hosie/Insider

I'm not a huge fast-food fan, but there was something about Chefette that has left me with a real soft spot for it. I thought the menu was more diverse than other global fast-food chains, serving pizza, fried chicken, burgers, rotis, and more.

I'd love to go back to Barbados in the future when travel is safe again, and when I do, I'll definitely be following Rihanna's lead and getting my Chefette fix.

Read more:

I traveled to Barbados from a high-risk country and had to quarantine upon arrival, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat

Digital nomads living in Barbados share what it's like to work remotely in paradise during the pandemic

I worked remotely in Barbados for 3 weeks and now I want to become a 'digital nomad' all over the world

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).

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