Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados Take Top Honors at Taste Of The Caribbean 2012

Puerto Rico received top honors as Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year, sponsored by U.S. Dairy Export Council, at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association's (CHTA) 2012 "Taste of the Caribbean" culinary competition hosted at the Hyatt Regency, Miami.

The highest individual honors were bestowed upon Devon Joseph, Trinidad & Tobago, for Caribbean Chef of the Year, sponsored by Sysco; Jamaal Bowen, Barbados, for Caribbean Bartender of the Year; Pablo Colon, Puerto Rico, for Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year, sponsored by Albert Uster Imports, Inc.; and Isaiah Connel, Trinidad & Tobago, for Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year.

Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year Puerto Rico (center) pictured with Alec Sanguinetti, director general & CEO of CHTA; Clarissa Jimenez, President of Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association; Klaus-Jurgen Kurten, export director of Henkell & Co.; Diahann Smith of U.S. Diary Export Council; Peter Olsacher, Bahama Breeze; and Josef Forstmayr, chairman of CHTA.
 
Following are all of the honors bestowed at Taste of the Caribbean:

Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year, sponsored by U.S. Dairy Export Council: presented to the Puerto Rico Culinary Team
Caribbean Chef of the Year, sponsored by Sysco: presented to Devon Joseph, Trinidad & Tobago
Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year, sponsored by Albert Uster Imports: presented to Pablo Colon, Puerto Rico
Caribbean Bartender of the Year: presented to Jamaal Bowen, Barbados
Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year: presented to Isaiah Connel, Trinidad & Tobago
Hans Schenk Commemorative Award for the Most Innovative Menu: presented to the Barbados Culinary Team
Best Use of Chocolate, sponsored by Albert Uster Imports: presented to Dulish Perera, St. Lucia, for Wild Almond Brownie with dark chocolate mousse
Most Innovative Dish: presented to Jouvens Jean, Haiti
Most Creative Bartender: presented to Daniyel Jones, Trinidad & Tobago
Most Creative Rum Drink: presented to Daniyel Jones, Trinidad & Tobago
Most Creative Vodka Drink: presented to Daniyel Jones, Trinidad & Tobago
Most Creative Non-Alcoholic Drink: presented to Roberto Rodriguez, Puerto Rico
Best Team for Taste of the Islands: presented to Haiti Culinary Team
The Spirit of the Competition: presented to the Anguilla Culinary Team

Certified Angus Beef Competition sponsored by Certified Angus Beef®

Best Use of Certified Angus Beef: presented to Joel Rodriguez, Puerto Rico
Gold Medals: Joel Rodriguez, Puerto Rico
Silver Medals: Kenneth Molyneaux, British Virgin Islands; Garcia Brown, Jamaica and Charron McKenzie, Bahamas
Bronze Medals: Shurandy Carolie, Curacao; Odeen Martin, St. Lucia; Darren Connor, Anguilla; Arnold Jupiter, Trinidad & Tobago and Negust Kaza, U.S. Virgin Islands
Honorary Mention: Christine Dupoux, Haiti and Wilwore Jordan, Barbados

Caribbean Cheese Competition sponsored by U.S. Dairy Export Council

Best Use of Cheese: presented to Emmerly Gerald, U.S. Virgin Islands
Gold Medals: Emmerly Gerald, St. Lucia
Silver Medals: Devon Joseph, Trinidad & Tobago; Gary Goolrachan, U.S. Virgin Islands and Carlos Anthonij, Curacao
Broze Medals: Brian Lumley, Jamaica; Kevin Pratt, Bahamas; Tanya Malone, British Virgin Islands; Jonathan Hughes, Anguilla and Angel Santiago, Puerto Rico
Honorable Mentions: Ron Duprat, Haiti and Nathan Chrichlow, Barbados

Seafood Competition

BoulderShares LLC contributed $2,000 to be donated to the charity of choice of the Best Use of Seafood Prize Winner.
Best Use of Seafood: presented to Jouvens Jean, Haiti
Gold Medals: Jouvens Jean, Haiti and Dennis Vanterpool, U.S. Virgin Islands
Silver Medals: Rensley de Jongh, Curacao; Kenneth Whittington, Barbados; Shanique Bodie, Bahamas; Imran Ashton, British Virgin Islands; Dadrian Cooke, Jamaica and Joel Rodriguez, Puerto Rico
Bronze Medals: Delroy Fred, St. Lucia; Claudio Gumbs, Anguilla and Rajesh Goolcharan, Trinidad & Tobago

Caribbean Chef Medal Presentations sponsored by Sysco

Gold Medals: Devon Joseph, Trinidad & Tobago; Justin Hughes, Anguilla and Elijah Jules, St. Lucia
Silver Medals: Vicky Coles, Haiti; Jamal Small, Bahamas; Kenneth Molyneaux, British Virgin Islands; Angel Santiago, Puerto Rico and Negust Kaza, U.S. Virgin Islands
Bronze Medals: Carlos Anthonij, Curacao; Randie Anderson, Jamaica and Henderson Butcher, Barbados

Caribbean Chef of the Year Devon Joseph (left-center) pictured with (l-r) Alec Sanguinetti, director general & CEO of CHTA; Peter Olsacher, Bahamas Breeze; Ralph Avila, Sysco; Klaus-Jurgen Kurten, export director for Henkell & Co.; and Josef Forstmayer, chairman of CHTA.
 
Caribbean Junior Chef Medal Presentations

Gold Medals: Isaiah Connel, Trinidad & Tobago; Julio Lamberty, Puerto Rico
Silver Medals: Kyle Boursiquot, Haiti; Dwayne Sinclair, Bahamas; Keulys Enrique Gonzalez; Javon Cummins, Barbados and Paulyn Eugene, St. Lucia
Bronze Medals: Aisheron Phillips, Curacao; Mikhala Bagot, British Virgin Islands; Joseph Hodge, Anguilla and Shaneica Case, Jamaica

Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year Isaiah Connel (center) pictured with Alec Sanguinetti, director general & CEO of CHTA; Peter Olsacher, Bahama Breeze; Klaus-Jurgen Kurten, export director of Henkell & Co.; and Josef Forstmayr, chairman of CHTA.

Caribbean Pastry Chef Medal Presentations sponsored by Albert Uster Imports

Gold Medals: Pablo Colon, Puerto Rico and Eric Burrell, U.S. Virgin Islands
Silver Medals: Lincoln Peterkin, Jamaica; Dulish Perera, St. Lucia; Carlos Anthonij, Curacao; Kendell Mulzac, Trinidad & Tobago; Shirmel Gumbs, Anguilla; Wenzel Brown, Bahamas and Valery Abrahan, Haiti
Bronze Medals: Ansony Salmon, British Virgin Islands and Janelle Crawford, Barbados

Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year Pablo Colon (right-center) pictured with (l-r) Alec Sanguinetti, director general & CEO of CHTA; Peter Olsacher, Bahamas Breeze; Albert Uster, director of international sales for Albert Uster Imports; Klaus-Jurgen Kurten, export director for Henkell & Co.; Josef Forstmaybr, chairman of CHTA.

Caribbean Bartender Medal Presentations

Gold Medal: Jamaal Bowen, Barbados and Daniyel Jones, Trinidad & Tobago
Silver Medals: Gonzalo Placencia Perez, Curacao and Roberto Rodriguez, Puerto Rico
Bronze Medal: Henry Prince, British Virgin Islands; Gerald Knowles, Bahamas; Michou Angus, Haiti; Melissa Fletcher, Jamaica; Taffy Hodge, Anguilla; Algernon Boston, U.S. Virgin Islands and Barkus Henry, St. Lucia

Caribbean Bartender of the Year Jamaal Bowen (left-center) pictured with Alec Sanguinetti, director general & CEO of CHTA; Klaus-Jurgen Kurten, export director Henkell & Co.; and Josef Forstmayr, chairman of CHTA.

Caribbean Ice Carving Medal Presentation

Gold Medal & Ice Carver of the Year: Randie Anderson, Jamaica.
Silver Medal: Imran Ashton, British Virgin Islands.
Bronze Medal: Ancillemo Solomon, Bahamas.

Caribbean Team Medal Presentations sponsored by U.S. Dairy Export Council

Gold Medals: Puerto Rico Culinary Team and Trinidad & Tobago Culinary Team.
Silver Medals: Anguilla Culinary Team; Curacao Culinary Team; U.S. Virgin Islands Culinary Team; Haiti Culinary Team; Barbados Culinary Team.
Bronze Medals: Jamaica Culinary Team; Bahamas Culinary Team; British Virgin Islands Culinary Team and St. Lucia Culinary Team.

Eleven teams participated in Taste of the Caribbean, hailing from Anguilla, The Islands of The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and United States Virgin Islands.

This year's host sponsors were CHTA and MasterCard Worldwide, Team of the Year sponsor U.S. Dairy Export Council, Pastry Chef of the Year sponsor Albert Uster Imports, Chef of the Year Sponsor Sysco, Sponsors Certified Angus Beef, Exposure4, Henkell & Co.and Interval International, Platinum Media Sponsor Welcome Channel Miami & The Beaches, Silver Media sponsor Miami Magazine and Caribbean Online Magazine and supporting sponsors American Airlines and Virgin Holidays.