SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Bobo Bergstrom, director of culinary services at the Windjammer Landing Village Beach Resort, St. Lucia, was named Caribbean Chef of the Year 2003 for his individual entry in competition for the Caribbean Food and Beverage Awards of Excellence among 11 Caribbean national teams, held October 2-5, at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios.

Jing Shi, of The Ritz Carlton Rose Hall, Jamaica, won Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year 2003. Hiram Avila, of Caribe Hilton, Puerto Rico, earned highest honors for mixologists and the title Caribbean Bartender of the Year 2003. Rohan Henry, Sans Souci Resort & Spa, Jamaica, nabbed Ice Carver of the Year 2003. Jamaica swept the National Teams category, demonstrating excellence in all phases of the competition with the Highest Point Scores overall and winning Gold Medal.

The competition brought teams of chefs, who won local culinary contests in their home countries, to Taste of the Caribbean 2003, for qualifying rounds of "live kitchen" competition in which each team prepared a 3-course meal for 40 persons in under 4 hours.

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

Chefs, bartenders, organizers, and sponsors of Taste of the Caribbean 2003 in Jamaica, concur that the most significant feature of the three-day regional food and beverage event was the process of interaction among participants. "The Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Awards of Excellence are considered to be the highest honors for food and beverage professionals in the Caribbean region. However, after all is said and done, what stood out was the spirit of fellowship among competing chefs and bartenders," said Head Judge for the culinary competition Rick Crossland, of Bahama Breeze.

Given the interaction and networking demonstrated at Taste of the Caribbean 2003, the Executive Committee of the CHA has announced the decision to celebrate the event every year, in conjunction with its annual Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference (known as CHIC). "The role of cuisine in the tourism product of any country or any region is indisputable," said CHA President Simón Suárez. "In the Caribbean, we are privileged to have an eclectic, versatile culinary tradition, enriched by the influences, the spices and techniques of our native Indians, European settlers, and African slaves, as well as more recent migratory streams, such as the Arabic, the Chinese, other European and the Hindu." The association chief added that its support for the event rests on the goal to stimulate an ongoing development and refinement of a cuisine so intertwined in the region's own roots, which in turn is an instrument to strengthen and expand other economic sectors, such as the agricultural and the manufacturing, through the increased demand for Caribbean goods, indigenous ingredients, and cooking principles traditional to this region's cultures.

Details for Taste of the Caribbean 2004 will be released in early 2004.

Taste of the Caribbean strives to promote the development and refinement of Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine, its signature foodstyle, which rests firmly on the use of indigenous ingredients and the interpretation of Caribbean culture and traditions by food and beverage industry professionals. While maintaining a focus on professional development in the region, it also seeks to contribute to the promotion of tourism, and the region's overall economic growth, by enhancing the food and beverage experience offered to visitors by Caribbean resorts and restaurants.

Awards of Excellence:

TEAM AWARDS, following the qualifying rounds of competition, were presented as follows:

  • Gold - Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago;
  • Silver - Barbados, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Aruba;
  • Bronze - Grenada, Curacao, United States Virgin Islands.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS were presented in the following categories:

  • Most Innovative Dish: Gilroy Samuel, St. Lucia, Team Competition Outstanding Dessert;
  • Outstanding Individual Effort: Rob Pronk, Belize;
  • Best Individual Pork Dish: Uonie Lyn, Jamaica;
  • Best Individual Lamb Dish: Sisira Pathirana, Trinidad & Tobago;
  • Best Individual Beef Dish: Debra Sardinha, Trinidad & Tobago;
  • Best Individual Chicken Dish: Abdul Hamed, Cayman Islands;
  • Best Individual Fish Dish: Debra Sardinha, Trinidad & Tobago;
  • Most Creative Non -Alcoholic Drink: Alexandra Ballin, Anguilla;
  • Most Creative Rum Drink: Hiram Avila, Puerto Rico;
  • Most Creative Vodka Drink: Nigel Charles, Grenada.

Peter Rousseau presented the Lifetime CCF Membership Award to Chef Augusto Schreiner, executive chef and owner, Auguto's Cuisine, Puerto Rico. The honor was conferred in recognition of Schreiner's continuing commitment to the development of Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine.

Officials for the competitions were Head Judge, Rick Crossland, Senior Vice President, Culinary and Beverage; Bahama Breeze; Augusto Schreiner, Executive Chef and Owner, Augusto's Cuisine (Puerto Rico); Klaus Friedenreich, CMC, AAC, CHE, Director, Culinary Arts Program, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale; Kerry Beadle CEC, CFE, Department Chair of Hospitality Technology, Morrisville State College (NY); Timothy Murray, Corporate Executive Chef, Culinary Development, Peer Food; Hans Schenk, Food & Beverage Consultant (Jamaica).

Beverage competitions were judged by Robert Renovales, Director of West Coast Operations, Worldbeverages Logistics Inc., and Josué Merced-Reyes, Food & Beverage Consultant, El Buen Vivir, and Pleasure in Puerto Rico Host.

Taste of the Caribbean 2003 was hosted by the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association, Jamaica Tourist Board, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, and the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort, with the sponsorship of Air Jamaica Ltd., Bahama Breeze, Digicel, International Development Bank, Jamaica Broilers, Jamaica Observer Ltd., Jamaica Tours Limited, Sandals Royal Plantation Spa & Golf Resort, The Shell Company (WI) Ltd., U.S. Meat Export Federation, and Wray & Nephew. Product sponsors are Certified Angus Beef, Chef Revival, Chiapetti Lamb & Veal, Jamaica Broilers, U.S. Meat Export Federation, and WISYNCO Trading Ltd.

For a full breakdown of awards and more information, go to , or contact Wanda Piña-Ramírez, CHA, telephone: 787-725-9139, fax 787-725-9108 or email: [email protected].

Lorraine J. Ortiz-Valcárcel
787 25-9139
CHTA