With years of experience under her belt and the reputation of being one of the best chefs in the country, Amy now has made the move from executive chef to entrepreneur/restaurateur as she has opened her own restaurant, Wild Mango's. The instant you bite into one of Amy Knox's creations you know why she has won Belize's prestigious Chef of the Year twice. As the name implies it, her food is hot, spicy and infused with Latin flavors – Totally WILD!

With her new restaurant, Amy has created a more casual dining environment and offers affordable dishes which everyone can enjoy in a cool setting by the beach. She describes her food as ‘new wave Latin' being a blend of flavor from the Caribbean including taste from Cuba, Mexico and Argentina.

Our first sample for lunch was that of the variety of ceviche that Amy has on the menu. Wild Mango's experiments with different types of ceviche, not the traditional conch that most restaurants and bars offer. Set on our table was the 3 Amigos Platter which is a three shot sampling of any ceviche on the menu. The Fire & Ice Ceviche is tuna marinated and tossed with coconut milk, Serrano chilies and cilantro served with plantain chips. This ceviche is served cold but the Serrano chilies do heat things up in your mouth. Also on the platter are the Mazatlan Ceviche – Grouper with cucumber, sliced onion and habanero served with cassava chips, and the Belizean Shrimp Cocktail – although not a ceviche, Amy does add a twist to the regular shrimp cocktail which is served with corn tortillas.

After our taste buds were awakened by the spicy ceviches, Amy served up some more tasty treats for us to sample. The hot and crispy Pulled Pork Taquitos are amazing; they are served with a smoky roasted red pepper coulis and cilantro sauce. Spicy fish and shredded chicken are stuffed inside delicious Empanadillas that are served in a spicy tomato salsa and if you like conch, don't miss out on the Conch Fritters served with a Caribbean Remoulade sauce. Then came the Coco Loco Shrimp – Large coconut marinated shrimp dipped in a coconut batter and fried. Served with a citrus mustard sauce your taste buds do go ‘loco' on you.

Our last unique creation served was the Tequila Flamed Shrimp which is stacked avocado, black bean and pineapple salad, savory shrimp flamed with tequila on three layers of tostadas. We also sampled a dinner platter which was the delicious Grouper a la Plancha which is a savory grilled jerk grouper with a papaya-pineapple salsa served with plantain chips and yellow rice.

Amy's menu is loaded with a variety of platters and what made the dining experience unique was the fusion of flavors in which Amy blends sweet salsas with spicy, yet not too hot, seasonings. Of course all her salsas and dipping sauces are her own creations.

At Wild Mango's Amy brings to the casual customers the taste of a 5-star restaurant at prices that your wallet can afford. The restaurant opens for lunch from 12p.m. to 3p.m.; serves cocktails and snacks between 3p.m. & 6p.m. and dinner from 6p.m. to 9p.m. (Closed on Monday).

Other items on the list you should try for lunch are the Cuban Pulled Pork & Grilled Jerk Chicken Wraps, Baja Fish Taco, Mango's Mongo Burrito and a variety of soups and salads. For dinner try the Bahamian Grilled Chicken Kebabs, Carne Asada, Cochinita Pibil, Rum Glazed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Camarones or Langostas Criollos.

*Desert anyone? Try the Warm Apple Empanadas, Banana Chimichanga or Coconut Flan. Mango's Bar offers great tasting Martinis, Cosmopolitans, Coladas, Mojitos, Margaritas, Daiquiris and Smoothies.