The Jamaica Pegasus: ‘Hotel of Champions’ - Takes the Taste of Jamaica Culinary Competition by storm

The chefs at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel are usually busy cooking up ­delectable dishes at the hotel, but 14 of them recently took to the Taste of Jamaica stage at the Montego Bay Convention Centre to ­showcase their culinary prowess and creativity.

Hosted by the Culinary Federation of Jamaica on October 13, the annual Taste of Jamaica competition saw over 300 chefs participating in 25 categories. The Jamaica Pegasus hotel entered 13 categories, including Chef of The Year, Pastry Chef of The Year, Junior Chef of the Year, Chicken, Lamb, Seafood, Bartender of The Year, Beef, Team of the Year, as well as the Crème Brûlée, Cheesecake, Punch, and Butchery.

The chefs won a total of six top awards along with a cash prize. The most prestigious awards, The Chef of The Year, was awarded to Nickal Stenneth, the Pastry Chef of the Year was awarded to Michael Ellis, the Bartender of The Year was awarded to Dwayne Barnett. Vanessa Mighty was the overall winner for Lamb and Vegetarian category, while Lucette Mclean and Shannakay Walcott were awarded as the Top Servers. Apart from these awards, chefs also received bronze and silver medals in the other categories.

Sous Chef and team lead Patrice Malcolm, in highlighting the ­importance of the competition, said “the objective of Taste of Jamaica is to offer fellow chefs a professional platform to showcase, exhibit, hone culinary skills and raise the overall Jamaican culinary art with international standards”.

Malcolm, who also assisted in training the staff, said “the chefs had to be extremely dedicated to winning, because training was usually done early in the mornings before work and even after work.”

The chefs entered the competition this year well trained and experienced, as they were no first-timers to the competition.

Two-time winner Pastry Chef of The Year, Michael Ellis said “I tried not to be complacent, winning once was great but I always want to improve my skills and further build my brand as a pastry chef. It is not easy winning back to back titles because it requires a lot of dedication and hunger”

The journey to this competition was no easy feat. Chef of the Year, Nickal Stenneth concurred, stating that being in this competition he had to balance work and practicing. “I’m really happy my time and effort paid off.”

Jamaica Pegasus hotel general manager, Peter Hilary being very proud of his staff said “they deserve it! The chefs are really passionate about their art and have amazing leaders guiding them every step of the way”.

Hilary added that they are not only building themselves but Jamaica, ”I am sure it was a valuable experience for all them and they will surely maximise their potential and growth in the tourism sector”.

The hotel has been entering the Taste of Jamaica competition for seven years and has received numerous accolades since. Executive Chef, Mark Cole noted that when his team wins, it’s even greater for the hotel, as the chefs learn more creative ways to do dishes and to improve the quality of the food provided at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

Winning in the Taste of Jamaica competition also opens up the opportunity to land a coveted spot on the National team for the prestigious Taste of the Caribbean Competition, presented by The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, held in Miami every June. Over 12 Caribbean nations compete annually for top accolades.