Aruba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, and St Maarten/St Martin Shared Top Culinary Honors at Taste of the Caribbean 2005

Thirteen teams of Caribbean chefs, pastry chefs and bartenders put the spotlight on Caribbean cuisine and tourism in three days of live professional competitions before an audience of more than 1,100 at the Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference, CHIC 2005, held at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida two weeks ago.

The Franco-Dutch island of St Maarten and St Martin dominated the National Teams Category with a Gold Medal performance and the highest scores overall which earned them honors as Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year 2005.

The awards, highest honors for food and beverage professionals in the Caribbean region, culminated three days of events at Taste of the Caribbean, the annual showcase for the development and refinement of Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine, presented by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA). The event was held in conjunction with the annual Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference, CHIC 2005.

“Caribbean cuisine is a true representation of the rich and diverse cultural influences that color our region,” said CHA President Berthia Parle. “A cuisine so intertwined in the region´s own roots is a vehicle for the professional development of Caribbean nationals, but also an instrument to strengthen and expand the local economic sectors, such as tourism, as well agriculture, and manufacture,” she added.

The competition brought teams of chefs, who won local culinary contests in their home countries, to Taste of the Caribbean 2005, for qualifying rounds of "live kitchen" competition in which each team prepared a 3-course meal for 25 persons in under four hours.

Taste of the Caribbean strives to promote the development and refinement of Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine, its signature food style, which rests firmly on the use of indigenous ingredients and the interpretation of Caribbean culture and traditions by food and beverage industry professionals.