On Wednesday morning, June 28, the National Culinary Team of Anguilla topped the list of winners of the Silver Medal in the 2006 Taste of the Caribbean competition held at the Hyatt Regency in Miami the evening before.

The Anguillian chefs at work in Miami

All available tables for the Anguilla dishes were quickly taken as many people attending the culinary competition scrambled to experience the work of the island’s Executive Chefs on Tuesday evening. They were particularly keen to do so having read and heard so much about the island’s fine cuisine and in some cases having actually eaten at a number of leading hotels and restaurants while visiting the small but up-market tourist destination.

Anguillian cheerleaders looking on

Even competing chefs from the other islands milled around the Anguillian chefs’ cooking area, joining curious spectators in catching a glimpse of their menu and preparations. As for the actual tasting of the Anguillian cuisine, team captain, George Reid, commented that it was always the case for various persons to flock the team’s tables to sample the cooking. He thought his chefs gave a good performance but said there was a need for improvement in such areas as coordination, plating of food and preparation of desserts. Team Manager, Wilbert Fleming, also stated that the team did very well and was known to be a leader in local and Caribbean cuisine. Trudy Nixon, Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, said the team “did some wonderful cooking” and was now looking at where they had fallen short of attaining the Gold Medal. She also noted the rush for the Anguillian cuisine and the interest in the same by the other chefs.

The Anguillian chefs receiving Silver Medals from CHA President, Berthia Pearle

The Anguillian team, which last year also won a Silver Medal, did not make it to the finals. The twelve chefs who went on to compete in the finals were from Curacao, the Bahamas, Trinidad and St. Martin/St. Maarten. Lavon, the Anguillian bartender, won a Silver Medal and was one of five who went on from the preliminaries to the finals.

The Anguillian chefs receiving Silver Medals from CHA President, Berthia Pearle

The Anguilla Culinary Team comprises George Reid, Executive Chef at Cap Juluca (Captain); Dale Carty, Executive Chef and Owner, Tastes Restaurant; Deon Thomas, Executive Chef and Owner, Deon’s Overlook Restaurant; and Dean Samuels, Pastry Chef at Cap Juluca along with Lavon Richardson, Bartender at Altamer Resort. Their Manager is Wilbert Fleming of the Anguilla Great House.

Guest at one of the Anguillian tables

The team’s dinner menu began with chilled breadfruit pineapple ginger soup with tomato cardamom coulis, Scotch bonnet conch ceviche with citrus essence breadfruit crisp and coconut cilantro oil & balsamic reduction, pepper corn breadfruit pork, Colby cheese, rotti style crepe, perfumed with mild Caribbean curry.

The main course comprised lamb stew with prunes & pearl onions in a plantain ring; seagrap smoked pork with ginger Angostura molasses glaze accompanied by yucca Tania mango mash, a bundle of jerk vegetables and crispy yucca chips.

The dessert comprised warm chocolate coolant with a wasabi spiced banana soft center and mint, pyrat rum, passion fruit jelly, coconut anglaise and strawberry coulis.

Guest at another of the Anguillian tables

The competing teams were from Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Martin/St. Maarten, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the US Virgin Islands.

One of three Anguillian tables

Rick Crossland, Senior Vice President of Culinary Development for Bahama Breeze and Head Judge of Taste of the Carbbean, was quoted as saying: “It’s exciting to watch these masters at work, as they sift, chop, sauté, reduce and garnish indigenous Caribbean ingredients to create artistic, mouth-watering delicacies, right before your very eyes. It’s especially interesting for me in my role at Bahama Breeze, because we really try to bring the freshness and variety of the Caribbean to American dining. Our menu offers seafood, chicken and steaks with the flavourful and colourful ingredients of the Caribbean.”

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