THE Barbados team has been chosen for the 2014 Taste of the Caribbean competition, which will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida from June 28 to July 2.
Barbados currently holds the title of National Team of the Year in the annual competition which is staged by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.
Over the past few months, culinary pros from all over Barbados duelled out for a spot on the national culinary team. Their selection was based on the 2013 National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Competition and the Rums of Barbados MasterMixer Competition.
The senior chefs are Jason Joseph, Cobblers Cove Hotel; Willis Griffith, The Sandpiper Hotel and Antonio Sivers, The Crane.
The pastry chefs are Keisha Nurse, Cobblers Cove Hotel; Katrina Depeiza-Hall, Accra Beach Resort and Trenel Ifill, Hilton Barbados Resort, while the junior chefs are Trevon Stoute and Marvin Applewhite, The Cliff Restaurant.
Rohan Hackshaw of Sandy Lane Hotel and Philip Antoine of Waterside Restaurant are the two bartenders.
The national team will participate in culinary training sessions and practice events before it is decided in June which team members will compete against the region’s best at this year’s Taste of the Caribbean.
There, they will vie for honours including Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year, Caribbean Chef of the Year, Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year, Caribbean Bartender of the Year and Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year.
The Barbados National Culinary Team will be led by manager Michael Harrison from Cobblers Cove Hotel. He will be assisted in the training process by Chef Peter Edey of Caribbean Cuizine; Chef Creig Greenidge, owner of C.M. Catering, as well as several other culinary professionals.
There are also a number of chefs and bartenders who excelled during the on-island competitions and will attend training with the team members in order to get ready for the 2014 NIFCA competition.
In an effort to raise money for team expenses, the team will be hosting various fundraising events prior to the Taste of the Caribbean competition.
These events include The Gourmet Lunch Series, a series of monthly lunches starting March 25, and the Gourmet Taste at Holders, an annual all-inclusive event featuring the best restaurants and food and beverage suppliers on the island, scheduled for May 1. (PR)
