The Culinary Champs of PAN 2018 (Region One)
Published:Tuesday | August 28, 2018 | 12:00 AMKrysta Anderson/ Gleaner Writer
Sunny skies shining on lush greenery. Children at play and the smell of smoked goodness permeating the open air. Region 1 of PAN 2018, hosted by CB Foods, had a flaming start at Folly Oval in Portland last Saturday afternoon.
The event saw foodies from near and far come out in their numbers to ignite their palates with savoury jerk chicken. Pan experts from Portland, St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew, Trelawny, St Catherine, St Mary and St Ann put their chef skills to the test, jerking up crowd-pleasing favourites of leg and thigh, or breast and wing.
With so many options to choose from, eager hands lined up to receive the hot and ready culinary commodity. Wrapped foil became the event's new toting accessory. Meanwhile, judges were seen tasting the chef's finished products to determine who would go through to the finals.
The day, however, wasn't just about chicken lovely chicken. Copperwood had patrons desiring more of the mouth-watering variety. Bad Dawg dominated taste buds from delicious bursts of flavour with each bite of their hot dogs. And National Bakery drew a crowd of staple lovers who could not get enough of their offerings.
The children's village was a hit among the young, who revelled in the amusements of face-painting and a bouncy house. And by nightfall, entertainers Beenie Man, Kevin Downswell and Govana lit up the stage with their trailblazing performance.
The highlight of the night came with the announcement of the winners. The Miracle 'Lick Di Pot' sauce competition saw Andrew McNeil of St Ann in third place, Marlyn Blake of St Mary coming in second, and Davia Douglas of Portland topping the list. The first-and second-place winners of each parish receive $40,000 and $20,000, respectively. The winning listings are as follows: Delroy Graham in second and Cordolyn McLaughlin in first place from St Thomas, Antonio Morrison in second and Annette Murphy in first place from Kingston and St Andrew, Marvin Kenyon in second and Jason White in first place from St Catherine, Jahmuki Barnes in second and Jerome Barrett in first place from St Ann, Nordie Bryan in second and Kareen Johnson in first place from St Mary and Richard Grant in second and Mario Bailey in first place from Trelawny. For Portland, Patricia Banton came second while David Watson collected the first place prize. The wild card for the competition went to Chadwick McDonald of St Catherine.