Pernot is chef and owner of Cuba Libre Rum and Restaurant, which has locations in Washington and three other cities. He’s taking local residents on a five-day trip to Havana in April (and is working on a second trip) to explore the island’s evolving cuisine.

What will you be doing [in Cuba]? We’re going to be visiting farms. We’re going to be visiting some markets where the people in Havana go to shop for food. We’re going to visit paladares and a culinary school. This is all about food. A lot of eating, a lot of drinking, a lot of cigar smoking.

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