Guadeloupean cooking is Creole at its heart — African techniques and spicing, French structure, Caribbean ingredients — with East Indian influences woven in through the colombo curry that appears on nearly every menu. It is one of the better food cultures in the Caribbean, and eating well here doesn't require spending much.
The staple is fresh seafood. Look for blaff (fish poached in seasoned broth), chatrou (octopus stew), stuffed land crabs (especially around Easter, when the crabs migrate), and accras — fried salt cod fritters that appear as snacks and starters everywhere. Féroce d'avocat, a fiery paste of avocado and salted cod, is the quintessential bar snack to eat with rum.
Colombo is the Guadeloupean version of curry, brought by South Asian laborers in the 19th century and now fully absorbed into local cooking. It's made with chicken, goat, or fish, and the spice blend (colombo powder) is sold in every market. It's milder than South Asian curries but aromatic and rich.
Bokit is the street food of Guadeloupe: fried bread split open and filled with grilled chicken, ham, cheese, egg, or whatever combination you want. You'll find bokit stands at markets, beaches, and roadside stalls. It's cheap, filling, and excellent.
For sweets, tourment d'amour is Guadeloupe's most distinctive pastry — a small tart with a coconut and jam filling, originally from Les Saintes. Every bakery on the islands sells them, but the best are still found on Terre-de-Haut.
Rum: Guadeloupe produces rhum agricole — rum distilled from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses — which has a grassier, more complex flavor than most Caribbean rum. The best producers are on Marie-Galante (Bielle, Père Labat) and Basse-Terre. Ti-punch, a short drink of white rum, cane syrup, and lime, is how Guadeloupeans start a meal. The proper way to order: "chacun prépare sa mort" — each person mixes their own.
Markets are the best place to eat and shop. The covered market in Pointe-à-Pitre sells fresh produce, spices, rum, and prepared foods. Saturday mornings are the most active time.