Aruba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Maarten/St. Martin share top culinary honors at Taste of the Caribbean 2005
San Juan, Puerto Rico (July 8, 2005) - Looking for the best food and drink on your next Caribbean vacation? Look no further than Aruba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Maarten/St. Martin. All produced top winners at the Caribbean Hotel Industry’s Taste of the Caribbean showcase last week in Florida. During three days of live professional competitions, teams of Caribbean chefs, pastry chefs, and bartenders put the spotlight on Caribbean cuisine and tourism at the Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference, CHIC 2005, held at the Hyatt Regency in Miami.
The Franco-Dutch island of St. Maarten and St. Martin dominated the national teams category with a gold-medal performance and the highest scores overall, which earned them honors as the 2005 Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year. Puerto Rico’s Carlos Portela, from the Ritz-Carlton Resort and Spa, was selected as the 2005 Caribbean Chef of the Year, while Aruba’s Geert Van Mil of Divi Resorts demonstrated his personal best in patisserie, winning the 2005 Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year award. Completing the sweep, Rakesh Madoo from Trinidad and Tobago took home the highest honors in mixology, earning himself the 2005 Caribbean Bartender of the Year award.
“Caribbean cuisine is a true representation of the rich and diverse cultural influences that color our region,” says Berthia Parle, president of the Caribbean Hotel Association. “A cuisine so intertwined in the region’s own roots is a vehicle for the professional development of Caribbean nationals, but also an instrument to strengthen and expand the local economic sectors, such as tourism, as well agriculture, and manufacturing.”
Having won culinary contests in their home countries, teams of chefs competed against those of other countries at Taste of the Caribbean. During qualifying rounds of live kitchen competition each team received a mystery basket of ingredients from which they prepared a three-course meal for 25 people in under four hours. Competitors received point scores according to standards for professional competition set by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), which provides clear criteria for excellence and is unaffected by the relative levels of the competitors skills.
Competitors in the bartender competition prepared a variety of drinks to demonstrate their creativity, skills, personality, and showmanship. During preliminary rounds bartenders have ten minutes to prepare three portions of a rum cocktail, a vodka cocktail, and a non-alcoholic drink. During the final round they have thirty minutes to review the contents of a mystery basket, then design and prepare a cocktail of their choice.
All teams receive detailed critiques of their performance from competition officials, which adds a professional development component to the event.
Taste of the Caribbean strives to promote the development and refinement of contemporary Caribbean cuisine, its signature food style, which uses indigenous ingredients, and the interpretation of Caribbean culture and traditions by food and beverage industry professionals. While maintaining a focus on professional development, the event also seeks to promote tourism by enhancing the food and beverage experience offered to visitors by Caribbean resorts and restaurants.
Disclaimer: The information in this article/release was accurate at
press time; however, we suggest you confirm all details and prices
directly with vendors.
HOME | HOTELS | VILLAS | CRUISES | ACTIVITIES | SHOPPING | RESTAURANTS | MAPS | SPECIALS | YELLOW PAGES | NEWS
