Cultural diversity reigns at regional culinary competition

SIXTEEN TEAMS of Caribbean chefs, pastry chefs and bartenders elevated Caribbean cuisine to an art form during three days of live professional competitions before an audience of approximately 1,000 people, at Taste of the Caribbean 2006, held during the Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference (CHIC) 2006, at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida, recently.

CONTRIBUTED - Taste of the Caribbean winners, Trinidad, pose with Rick Crossland of Bahama Breeze (left) and immediate past president of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Berthia Parle (third right) during the 2006 competition at the Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference in Miami.

The awards, highest honours for food and beverage professionals in the Caribbean region, culminate the annual showcase for the development and refinement of Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine, presented by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).

The top honour in mixology went to Paul Peterson, with the St. Maarten/St. Martin National Culinary Team, who earned the 2006 Caribbean Bartender of the Year. In the culinary competition, Chef Hans Van Triest, with the Curaçao Culinary Team, was named 2006 Caribbean Chef of the Year, having scored the highest marks in the preliminary and final rounds of competition; meanwhile, Chef Tracy Sweeting, from the Bahamas National Culinary Team, swept the highest scores in patisserie, winning the 2006 Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year Award.

GOLD MEDAL PERFORMANCE

Team Trinidad and Tobago dominated the National Teams Category with a gold medal performance and the highest scores overall which earned honours as Caribbean National Team of the Year 2006. The team is composed of chefs Raymond Joseph, Bernard Long, Debbie Metivier, Tricia Oliveire, and Sabrina Rosales. This is the second overall win for Trinidad and Tobago, whose culinary team also garnered Team of the Year honours in 2004.

CULINARY COMPETITION

Team awards, following the qualifying rounds of culinary competition, were presented as follows: Bronze medal ­ Bonaire, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and United States Virgin Islands; Silver medal ­ Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico; Gold medal ­ Bahamas, Curaçao, St. Lucia, St. Maarten/St. Martin, and Trinidad and Tobago. Further, Team Bahamas received the Hans Schenk Commemorative Award for the Most Innovative Menu of the competition.

Special awards were also presented to Team Barbados ­ Spirit of the Competition; St. Maarten /St. Martin ­ Most Innovative Dish, Coconut Trilogy Dessert; Puerto Rico ­ Best Use of Certified Angus Beef, Ropa Vieja; and Trinidad and Tobago ­ Best Use of U.S. Cheese, Roasted Cheese and Okra Choka.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

The competition brought 16 teams of chefs, who won local culinary contests in their home countries, to Taste of the Caribbean 2006, for qualifying rounds of 'live kitchen' competition in which each team prepared a three-course meal for 35 persons in under four hours. The menu is designed from a 'mystery basket' of ingredients, whose contents are not revealed until the beginning of the competition.