SVG Culinary team leaves good taste with judges

The Vincentian Culinary team member can hold their heads high after a commendable effort at the just concluded Taste of the Caribbean culinary competition in Miami.

The nine-man team which was eliminated in the preliminary round of all the sections of the competition and given consolatory bronze medals as was all the other like teams, put forward a good showing in every section of the contest.{{more}} This was confirmed by the positive feedback they received from the various judges.

In the preliminary bartending contest, bartenders prepared drinks in three categories (Non-alcoholic, Vodka and rum), in five minutes each time.

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ representative Lennon Sprott, a first time competitor, impressed the judges. They liked the names and taste of Sprott’s drinks but found that he was trying to be too adventurous in the first (non alcoholic) round.

Sunset Cruise, Coral Reef and Tropical Heat were Sprott’s drinks in the respective categories.

Raymond Edwards of Trinidad and Tobago emerged as Bartender of the Year after the final round of competition.

In the culinary competition teams were given four hours to prepare dinners, including reviewing a mystery basket, writing a recipe and preparing a three course meal

Hundreds of onlookers watched as the meals were prepared by the teams side by side in makeshift kitchens in an auditorium. Aroma filled the air as each workstation emanated its unique salivating scents.

Foods prepared by each team were served to persons who attended a US$50 per person dinner.

St Vincent and the Grenadines prepared for an appetizer a red snapper cheesecake in a Dill Crepe Crust set on Greens with a Koenierpoed (A Surinamese spice), Vanilla Bean and Lemon Sauce accompanied by a papaya jam.

The Entree saw a pepper-rubbed Certified Angus Beef – Tri-Tip in a Chinese cabbage wrap accented with a Guava Pineapple Dressing. This was alongside a plantain herb stuffed pan seared Pork, flavoured with an Angostura Aromatic Bitters Marinade and served with a minted coconut Tomato sauce. Capping it off was a duo of Curried breadfruit and Mashed sweet potato pillar with Okra and carrots in a grilled Zucchini ring and a tempura Rosemary Garnish.

For the dessert, which was the judges’ favourite, the team prepared a spiced pumpkin cake with a fruited Angostura Cream filling garnished with Punche de Crème and a pumpkin seed Brittle.

The Judges commended the Vincentians aggressiveness of flavour and variety which they found fitted nicely together. The meats were well seasoned however the beef was to be undercooked, which took away the effect of the seasoning.

The okra also needed extra cooking which one of the judges chalked up to competition nervousness.

“I know that the fact that the okra was undercooked it had to be nervousness because I know that St Vincent people know how to cook okra,” said one of the judges.

The dessert got two thumbs up and one judge said that at first sight of it he said to himself, “now that is really Caribbean.” The punche de Crème was especially well received by them.

The team was also commended for their team work and distribution of responsibility in the kitchen.

Four teams advanced to the finals where the competition resorted to an individual format, with points being tallied for the teams.

Trinidad and Tobago was the eventual National Team of the Year, with Bahamas copping the Pastry Chef of the Year award.

The winner of the coveted Chef of the year award went to Puerto Rico’s Fernando Parrilla who told SEARCHLIGHT that winning the award is very special for him because it is appreciation for his hard work.

Using his wife Michelle to interpret, Fernando, 32, said that he always wanted to be a chef ever since his mother started teaching him when he was just 13 years old.

The final awards were handed out at a gala closing dinner last Tuesday night.

St Vincent was represented in the kitchen by Rodal Miller, Christopher John, Grifford Soelyn, Marrolin Ollivierre and Francelia Marksman, the team’s

manager.