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Famed foodies! Jamaica chefs cook up a storm in Carib competition

Published:Thursday | July 4, 2013 | 12:00 AM
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Curaçao's entry in the cheescake competition.
Team Jamaica's second cheesecake entry that won a silver medal.
Team Jamaica's gold-winning cheesecake dessert.
Marinated pan-seared tri-tip steak served with coconut-crusted spicy provision croquette, vegetable purée, island boi slaw, and curried beef sauce.
Spicy Angostura aromatic bitters tri-tip beef stew, served with a savoury provision pone and topped with a rum spice quenelle of cream cheese, accented with a cinnamon crisp. Chilled pan-seared tri-tip beef and vegetable souse accompanied by a beef and mango chutney.
Seared jerk-flavoured tri tip of beef with mango salsa, curried mashed sweet potato and breadfruit tamarind reduction.
Seared snapper and sea scallops, tomato cucumber and watermelon salsa, potato 'risotto', julienne snow peas, lemon grass butter sauce, Chile oil, and plantain crisp.
Grilled grouper with okra and corn ragout, coconut crusted scallop with tomato jam, spinach polenta, pepper oil, carrot in two textures, caper buerre blanc, and fish sausage.
Coconut cream poached jerk spice rubbed snapper fillet stuffed with crabmeat. Plantain cake, ginger glazed cherry tomato and curry vegetable purse.
Suriname's Michel Marlon Blackson puts the finishing touches on his cocktail during the non-alcoholic bartending competition.
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Garfene Grandison, Assistant Lifestyle Coordinator

The competition has come and gone and Jamaica surpassed last year's medal tally of nine, walking away with 13 medals at the Taste of the Caribbean competition featuring some of the region's best chefs and cuisines showcased by 10 Caribbean national teams. Each team competed for top culinary honours over four days at the Hyatt Regency in Miami. Kick-starting the competition were Jamaica's very own Rochelle Grindley from Usain Bolt's Tracks & Records and Gian Stewart from Sandals Royal Plantation, who entered the Individual Seafood Mystery Category. Each contestant got a total of two hours from start to finish to prepare one meal for display. Within the first hour, the chef's collect the necessities from the ingredients table, after which they go through a process called 'mise en place' (advanced preparation) and then recipe writing. After the initial hour, the recipes are submitted to the judges. In the final hour, the chefs got the opportunity to prepare one dish for presentation and final viewing. The team competition went through a similar process, but instead they were given four hours to prepare a three-course meal for 35 guests. Dwight Cross entered the Certified Angus Beef competition where he competed against 10 other countries, including Trinidad, Suriname, Bahamas and Curaçao. Melissa Fletcher also competed against 10 other countries in the non-alcoholic bartending competition. Other countries in the bartending competition included Puerto Rico which is usually a strong contender, Bonaire, Antigua, Barbados, US Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Suriname, Trinidad and Curaçao. Despite going a bit over the five-minute time limit, Fletcher produced her signature Golden Eye cocktail that was presented to the judges. Team Jamaica also took part in the ice-carving competition, cheesecake competition, pastry Chef of the Year, Chef of the Year, other bartending competitions, the Taste of the Islands Caribbean festival the Junior Chef of the Year competition. For more on the winners in each category, see Sunday's Outlook.