Leeanne Clarke Takes Top Spot in Island Flare's Food Fight 2014

Wed, Jul 9th 2014, 02:48 PM

Like last year’s Food Fight winner, Leeanne Clarke found herself at the bottom of the pot after the recent preliminary cook-off round at Sandals Royal Bahamian. With plantain being the competition’s mandatory ingredient, Clarke scooped up first place with her rack-of-lamb stuffed with plantain, spinach and feta cheese, laced with a plantain, onion and mushroom relish served next to a plantain and herb couscous. She was inconsolable, crying tears of joy when it was announced that she was 2014’s Food Fight champion. The Food fight, sponsored by the Sandals Foundation which donated more than $2,000 toward the equipment the students used to create their culinary masterpieces, is in its fourth year.

“I feel great and I’m actually surprised that I won,” said Ms Clarke. “Overall I was very excited about the competition. The lady told me that I corrected everything that went wrong (during the preliminary round), so that was probably why I won. I can’t wait to go off to the boot camp. I’m so excited about the boot camp because we’re going to learn different cuisines, so that’s what I’m really looking forward to.”

While Ms. Clarke walked away from the final round at the Mall at Marathon as the overall winner, Deandra Ellis – third place winner - won the prize for most creative use of Plantain. Naquana Evans took second place and will join the first and third place winners at a culinary boot camp at Johnson and Wales this summer.

The top three winners also received $40,000 in scholarships to the prestigious culinary institute Johnson and Wales. Their scholarships were dependent on them securing five BGCSE’s and maintaining a 3.0 GPA or above. The three winners graduated high school this year and two of them have already received satisfactory results.

“Two things stood out about this year’s food fight,” said Jamall Petty, president and founder of Island Flare. “This one had the biggest crowd that we’ve ever had and this was one of the fiercest rivalries between the coaches. All of them were trying to see themselves in battle through the kids who were competing.”

Before the start of the competition the student chefs busily dreamt up their plantain dishes within the kitchens of Sandals Royal Bahamian. The resort was also a sponsor of the Food Fight alongside The Mall at Marathon, Kelly’s, Master Technicians, Coca Cola and Bahamas Local. Mater Technicians sponsored the award for the most creative use of plantain. This category was new to this year’s food fight and Ms. Ellis stole the show with her nutmeg and plantain crunch ice cream the judges and Chef Petty could only describe as “flawless”.

“The student chefs didn’t disappoint, they brought their A-game,” Chef Petty said. “You could tell all of them had been trained for this big day and each of the creations they submitted was unique compared to the previous battles. Some of the stuff they did could have intimidated a seasoned chef.”

About the Sandals Foundation

The Sandals Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was created to continue and to expand upon the philanthropic work that Sandals Resorts International has undertaken. It is the culmination of three decades of dedication to playing a meaningful role in the lives of the communities where we operate across the Caribbean. The Sandals Foundation funds projects in three core areas: education, community and the environment. One hundred per cent of the monies contributed by the general public to the Sandals Foundation go directly to programs benefiting the Caribbean community. To learn more about the Sandals Foundation, visit online at www.sandalsfoundation.org.

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