Wallblake Airport was a scene of much jubilation on Tuesday this week when the top award-winning Anguillian chefs, in the Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Competition held in Puerto Rico last weekend, returned home to a resounding welcome. Wild cheers and dancing greeted them as they disembarked from the American Eagle aircraft, compared only to when the judges of the competition announced that they had won a Team Gold Medal and would go through the finals.

The Anguillian team won a record number of medals including Caribbean Chef of the Year for Glendon Carty and the long-awaited Team Gold.

Among the large welcoming crowd at the airport were Governor Alistair Harrison and Minister of Tourism, Victor Banks, who is just back from New York where Anguilla won three CTO Media Awards. “It certainly demonstrates what we can achieve if we take the time to do it right,” Mr. Banks commented, adding that the team could not make it without the many sponsors who made sure that the culinary team was supported in this effort. We are very proud of you. When you get commended and awarded, Anguilla and the tourist industry get commended and awarded. I am sure that the Minister of Social Development, through training and education, is very proud that a number of Anguillians who had the opportunity to be trained within the system, have now excelled and have brought us back the Gold.”

Governor Harrison congratulated the team and referred particularly to Glendon Carty who is now the Caribbean Chef of the Year. He said it was a remarkable achievement for Anguilla and it was wonderful to welcome back the team. Other brief speakers were President of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, Sherrille Hughes, Trudy Nixon, Executive Director of the AHTA, and Dean Samuel, Team Manager, all of whom who spoke in glowing terms about the culinary success of the national chefs.

When love and skill work together expect a masterpiece, was the slogan adopted by Anguilla’s National Culinary Team this year and, according to an article by Trudy Nixon, “they were absolutely right to do so.”

The competition was organised by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), a non-profit organisation representing the interests of the entire Caribbean region’s hotel and tourism industries. In 2008 the competition was unavoidably cancelled, but 2009 saw resurgence and renewed enthusiasm in, and for, the Taste of the Caribbean Competition.

Thirteen Caribbean countries competed throughout the weekend, with each country represented by three Chefs, one apprentice Chef, one Pastry Chef and one Bartender. The thirteen national teams hailed from Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Grenada, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Maarten/St. Martin, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands.

The level of energy and excitement at the competition was contagious. From the team briefing where all the Chefs met for the first time in their colourful national shirts – to the final awards ceremony where the top accolades were handed out – the pace of the competition never slowed.

Taste, as the competition is affectionately known, is designed to reward both team and individual efforts and was created to encourage creativity and professionalism in Caribbean Chefs. The judges, in summing up the event, said that the level of competition could be described in one word: “phenomenal.”

Anguilla was very proud to field a young and mainly Anguillian National Culinary Team to compete this year. The seven team members were - Captain: Glendon Carty, Ripples & Cap Juluca; Chef Darren Connor, CuisinArt Resort and Spa & DaVida; Chef Justin Hughes, Cap Juluca and Sirena Resort and Villas; Pastry Chef Colin Yearwood, CuisinArt Resort and Spa; Apprentice to Team: Lauren Perkins, Veya; Bartender Catherine Niles, Cap Juluca; and Team Manager, Executive Sous Chef, Dean Samuel, Cap Juluca.
In order to understand just how much the Team achieved this year it is important to understand how the Competition works. The Cooks and the Bartender compete separately but their scores are counted as one for the overall title. Catherine Niles, Anguilla’s bartender is a two time veteran of the competition and she kicked off Anguillas bid for gold on Friday evening, by competing for the best Rum Based Drink. Her drink was called “Pyrat Dream” and was a delicious combination of Pyrat XO, Pyrat Savage and juices. Catherine who is famous at Taste now for her sartorial style - dressed up as a Pyrat (complete with Eye Patch) and all the members of the Team, plus other supporters from the Anguilla roared support and waived Anguilla and Pyrat Rum Flags. During her time on stage the Anguilla team (dressed in Pyrat tee-shirts) handed out samples of Pyrat XO to the huge audience who pronounced our Anguilla Rum a winner.

On the next day of competition the 13 teams of Chefs competed ‘Iron Chef style’ using a mystery basket of ingredients in a tiny temporary kitchen. Our team had 4 hours to cook a 3 course meal for 30 persons. 24 meals were served to dinner guests and the other 6 meals were given to the judges. The Chefs are allowed one hour to come up with a menu, write it accurately and select all the food items they need from the community kitchen before the ingredients are removed. Adding a new level of difficulty this year the Judges insisted that the Chefs used all or part of 20 key ingredients. The Chefs are observed constantly throughout the 4 hours they compete by the “kitchen judges’ who watch them for team work skills, time management, waste management, cleanliness & hygiene.
At a given time the Team must have their starter ready to serve, 20 minutes later they must have the entrée ready and the dessert must follow 25 minutes later. If they are late for any of the courses they lose points. Once the dishes are prepared they are handed over to the “taste judges’ who assess the dishes against many criteria including presentation, accuracy/relation to menu, use of Caribbean ingredients, creativity and of course colour, aroma and TASTE.

Excitement was high as Anguilla’s supporters (including the Apprentice Culinary Team) watched the Team perform. This year the Teams were cooking in a huge exhibition hall with dining tables set in the middle of the room and viewing areas in front of every station. It made for an exciting and interesting environment. The Apprentices reported that the Chefs had come up with a great sounding menu, were working well as a team, looked incredibly organised and had perfect timing. As the 30 identical starter plates left their station looking both colorful and mouthwatering – we all knew we were in with a chance to win a Gold medal.

Apprentice Team members Jordel Gumbs, John Richardson, Jonathan Hughes and Lester Gumbs spent their time checking out the competition and made sure we swapped dishes with other islands to check out the competition. President of the AHTA Sherille Hughes, Karimah Bethal Carty, Sous Chef from the Anguilla Community College, Godfrey Carty, Wil Fleming of the Anguilla Great House and myself and Gilda from the AHTA were all in support – making sure that every country’s effort was dissected and sampled. As Anguilla’s spectacular dessert – featuring an Anguilla Shaped Tuile and 3 chocolate dolphins to decorate the plate appeared on time we heard a collective ‘ahh’ from the Audience – and we knew we had a winner…

In the afternoon, as the Chefs were preparing to cook Catherine Niles was competing with her Vodka based drink “Dusty Tamarind-tini” and Non Alchoholic drink “Jungle Cooler” – once again Catherine performed wonderfully and had a gorgeous complimentary outfit for both drinks. The Anguilla supporters waived flags and screamed encouragement as she mixed the drinks in front of 3 judges, a huge crowd of supporters from other islands and of course the press. Catherine is a star and had the crowd on her side.

Day Two of the competition starts very early. We all attend an Awards breakfast where the first set of Medals and Awards are handed out and the announcement made as to which teams continue on in the ‘Final’ the individual competitions for Chefs and Bartenders. Last year Anguilla made it to the Final for the first time – and we were determined to do it again.

Tension was high as the Awards and Medals were announced. The huge ballroom at the Caribe Hilton was full to bursting with Chefs and Bartenders hoping to make it to the finals. The MC. Chief Executive of the CHTA Alec Sanguinetti cracked jokes and got the crown going. As he handed out Bronze and Silver Medals we realised that Anguillas chance of Gold was growing stronger and stronger. When he finally announced that Anguilla had won a Team Gold Medal and would go through to the finals of not only the Individual Chef Competition but also the Individual Bartender Competition the Anguillian contingent went WILD.

We went through to the final 4 with our first ever Team Gold medal alongside ‘the big boys’ Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. All of these teams have consistantly won Gold Medals and got through to the finals. In qualifying for the Finals we beat destinations like St Martin, Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia and many other islands for one of the coveted spots.

There was no time to celebrate as the Team had to get ready for the individual competitions which started at 11.00am. This time the Chefs (Glendon, Darren and Justin) had to cook 3 portions (entrees) from a mystery basked. They had one hour to prepare and one hour to cook. Once again they had to use all or part of the key items provided. The Pastry Chef (Colin) had to cook 8 portions of his dessert – this recipe had already been provided as part of the work the team does in preparation for the competition. Our Bartender, Catherine Niles, with yet another change of clothes, also had to work with a mystery basket. The Supporters dashed backwards and forwards between the Chefs and the Bartender competition and excitement levels were high. Everyone was confident and relaxed because we had the comfort of knowing that Anguilla had a Team Gold already. All the competitiors gave a strong performance and handled themselves with grace and professionalism despite their nerves.

The final team activity was the Team Managers Presentation. Dean Samuels gave an excellent presentation entitled “Relishing the Pots of Paradise – the evolution of Anguillian Cuisine” to a interested audience. During the presentation which gave examples of Anguillian food then and now and he also handed out ‘Cochinias’ which he had made specially for the competition and which Gilda had wrapped prettily in Anguilla colours.

The long day of competition culminated in a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony. The event was hosted by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and all the delegates enjoyed typical Puerto Rican food and entertainment. Lester Gumbs, a member of the Apprentice Team carried the Anguilla Flag in the beautiful parade of flags ceremony that begins the proceedings. The Anguilla tables also hosted 2 colleagues from the Bonaire Hotel and Tourism Association, Marian and Sarah, the Anguilla Tourist Board Rep in Puerto Rica, Mrs Raquel Enchandi, and her daughter, Anguilla’s number one fan “Lourdes” and James, Petal and Garvey from Cuisinart Resort and Spa. The atmosphere was electric as everyone waited for the top awards to be announced.
Dean Samuel was first up winning 3rd place (out of 13 contestants) and a Bronze Medal for his entertaining Team Managers Presentation. He was followed by Catherine Niles who not only won a Bronze Medal but also got a special award for “most creative drink and costume” much to the delight of the audience. Then it was time to award Pastry Chef of the Year - Colin Yearwood, who was competing for the first time came second and managed to get a magnificent Silver Medal for his wonderful “Pumpkin Pannacotta”. Then there was a small gap in the medals for Anguilla as Trinidad picked up “highest scoring team” before the final (and most highly sought after award was announced) the individual Chef of the Year. All three Chefs did an amazing job and received medals. Darren Conner picked up a Bronze, Justin Hughes (competing for the first time) picked up a Silver and then the crowd went crazy as Glendon Carty went on stage to collect his individual Gold medal. There was one other Gold medal winner in the category – a Chef from Trinidad - so you could cut the atmosphere with a knife as we waited to hear the magic words “and the winner of Caribbean Chef of the Year is….Glendon Carty”. The words came and the Anguilla contingent and all our friends and supporters went absolutely kissing, hugging, dancing and jumping and waving. It was the first time an Anguillian Chef had won this title. It was the first time a ‘small’ island had won the title and our colleagues from other islands were generous in their support and congratulations. It was an amazing night and an experience that everyone who was privileged to be there will remember forever.

On behalf of the Team I would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has helped make this success possible. This includes all the past Anguillian Medal Winners, Competitors and Managers- their hard work, professionalism, commitment and support made this happened.

And a finally a sincere thank you to organisations that funded, supported and sponsored the Team to get to the competition: American Eagle, Anguilla Rums, Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, Anguilla Tourist Board, The Department of Youth and Culture, Cap Juluca, Cuisinart Resort and Spa, Ripples Restaurant, The Masons, Veya Restaurant and all the other individuals that attended fundraising events, supported our efforts and believed in us.

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