Local chefs and bartenders interested in being members of the award-winning Barbados Culinary Team will have that opportunity when the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) Barbados Culinary Competition comes off this month.
The first leg will see the chefs cook-off on November 21 and 22, while the bartenders will be in action on December 5. The titles up for grabs include Chef of the Year, Bartender of the Year, Pastry Chef of the Year and Junior Chef of the Year. The deadline for entries is this Friday, November 8.
BHTA’s CEO Senator Rudy Grant explained, “The competition is held bi-annually and is open to BHTA members only. As members of the Barbados Culinary Team, winners will go through extensive training to prepare them to represent Barbados at local, regional and international culinary and bartender competitions, exhibitions and food and beverage events.
“This includes competing at the prestigious 2020 Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Competition, which takes place in June in Miami. There, they will compete for the honour of Caribbean Team of the Year, Chef of the Year, Pastry Chef of the Year, Bartender of the Year and Junior Chef of the Year, among other titles.”
Last year’s Team brought home ten awards, including the prestigious title of Caribbean Team of the Year in addition to Team Gold, Caribbean Bartender of the Year Gold, Silver in the Caribbean Chef of the Year, Junior Chef of the Year and Pastry Chef of the Year as well as in the Individual beef and chocolate categories. Other awards included Bronze in the Individual Seafood category and first prize in the US Meat Export Federation Contemporary Caribbean Street Pork Competition – Pork Belly category.
The 2019 Team is made up of Chefs Nicolas Ifill, Damian Leach, D’Sean Miller, Shanese Phoenix, Shamar Bishop, Jamal Whittaker, Junior Chef Kiara Riley, Mixologist Alexander Chandler as well as Team Manager Chef Henderson Butcher, Team Training Manager Assistant – Chef Glenroy Alleyne, Bartender Training Manager – Mixologist Ryan Adamson and Training Assistant – Chef Andre Nurse.
Taste of the Caribbean is the region’s annual premier culinary competition, food and beverage educational exchange and Caribbean cultural showcase which provides a forum for food and beverage professionals to gather practical information, develop skills and participate in innovative and exciting educational sessions. (PR)
