ANGUILLA’S CULINARY TEAM, BARTENDER DID WELL

The National Culinary Team and the Bartender from Anguilla did very well at the “Taste of the Caribbean 2003” competition at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios from October 2-5.

The Anguillian Chefs at work. L-R: Nadia Gumbs, Shawn Hodge, Sherman Niles and Vaughn Hughes

The team culinary team comprised Vaughn Hughes (Captain), of both Georges Restaurant at Cap Juluca and CuisinArt, Sherman Niles, Shawn Hodge and Nadia Gumbs of Pimms Restaurant, Cap Juluca.

Team Manager Wilbert Fleming

Their Manager was Wilbert Fleming of the Anguilla Great House. They won a silver medal at the Caribbean Food and Beverage Awards of Excellence and were among eleven Caribbean nationals.

Speaking about their winning menu, Fleming said they selected the snapper because it was a Caribbean fish widely used in Anguilla. They wanted to add a little bit of flavour and started with an Anguilla Rum, banana and soursop sauce which blended well with the fish and a spinach combination. It was topped with fried cassava (yucca). “On the main course we did whole chicken cooked in two ways,” he explained. “We de-boned the chicken and stuffed the breast with lobster with roasted peppers to enhance the colour in the centre and then we sliced that and put it on the plate. The rest of the chicken was done into a curry stew. On the plate by itself it was not that pretty so we made fried plantain baskets and stuck the curry chicken in them to make a nice presentation.

“The vegetables we used were fried eggplant with avocado and we stuck them together in a mould, so we had a nice crispy texture combination. Ours was a well-balanced and nutritious plate. “Our dessert was coconut and sweet potato dumpling which was steamed in nice spices that really enhanced the flavour of that dumpling and we had raisins that gave us a good colour. We had a guava ice cream and an Anguilla rum sauce… What happened however was that we put it in the freezer but it melted. We were able though to take the ice cream and make a sauce out of it along with guava and rum sauce on the plate with fresh guava and the dumpling.”

Several diners at the Anguilla tables expressed delight with the Anguillian menu.

Bartender Alex Ballin in competition

In addition, Alex Ballin, Bartender at the Pumphouse earned honours in mixology. She undertook her role with much confidence in front of the watchful eyes of judges and other onlookers. She earned a silver medal in the Bartender Competition and an award for the Most Creative Non-Alcoholic Drink for her concoction, “Mango Massage.”

The awards, highest honours for food and beverage professionals in the Caribbean region, culminated three days of events at Taste of the Caribbean. It is an annual showcase for the development and refinement of contemporary Caribbean cuisine, sponsored by the Caribbean Culinary Federation (CCF) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).

“The sense of comaradie among the participants was outstanding,” said CCF President. Peter Rousseau. “We demonstrated our personal best and exchanged skills and information with a network of professionals, members of the press and the public, all of whom share a common interest and culture of our region. It was an inspiring and educational experience for everyone who attended.”

One of the Anguilla tables at which the diners enjoyed the menu

The competition brought teams of chefs to Taste of the Caribbean 2003, for qualifying rounds in “live kitchen” contest in which each team prepared a three-course meal for 40 persons in under four hours.

Teams in the preliminaries and individuals from Gold medal teams which advanced to the finals competed for point scores. This was according to standards for professional competition set by the American Culinary Federation, not against each other. The scoring system provides clear criteria for excellence and is unaffected by the relative levels of the competition skills.

The next competition will be held in Puerto Rico in June 2004.

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