It was a scene reminiscent of last year's Island Flare Food Fight -- Leanna Clarke found herself at the bottom of the pot after the preliminary cook-off round, but she rose to the top to become the toast of the town during the finals. Clarke walked away with the 2014 title and a $40,000 scholarship to the prestigious culinary institute, Johnson and Wales University. She also walked away with a one-week summer camp scholarship to the university
Clarke, a graduate of Anatol Rodgers High School, earned the win from the plantain competition with her rack of lamb stuffed with plantain, spinach and feta cheese. The dish was laced with a plantain, onion and mushroom relish and served with a plantain and herb couscous.
"I feel great and I'm actually surprised that I won," said Clarke, after she was able to compose herself. "Overall I was very excited about the competition. The [judge] told me that I corrected everything that went wrong [during the preliminary round], so that was probably why I won."
Clarke said she can't wait to attend a one-week summer boot camp at Johnson and Wales University from July 20-25. She also received airfare, accommodation, meals and uniforms.
"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," she said.
Naquana Evans, a C.I. Gibson graduate, was judged second. She produced a plantain and pumpkin risotto served with poached plantain hog snapper and a plantain and spinach roulade with asparagus and buerre blanc.
Deandra Ellis, a C.V. Bethel graduate, was third. Ellis also won the prize for the most creative use of plantain for her dessert dish -- a deconstructed plantain and pineapple tart, nutmeg and plantain chip ice cream and plantain tuille with berry sauce. She took home a Kitchen Aid Pro Line immersion blender set for her efforts. Ellis is the first to win such a prize, as the award has just been introduced to the competition this year.
Evans and Ellis were both also awarded $40,000 in scholarships to Johnson and Wales University. All scholarships are contingent on the winners securing five Bahamas General Certificates of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examinations and maintaining at least a 3.0 grade point average. They will join Clarke at the summer culinary boot camp.
The food fight, which took place at Sandals Royal Bahamian Hotel (preliminary) and the Mall at Marathon (final), was sponsored by the Sandals Foundation, which donated more than $2,000 toward the equipment the students used to create their culinary masterpieces. Other sponsors included the Mall at Marathon, Kelly's, Master Technicians, Coca-Cola and Bahamas Local.
Before the competition, the student chefs practiced their plantain dishes in the kitchens at Sandals Royal Bahamian.
"The student chefs didn't disappoint. They brought their A-game," said Chef Jamall Petty, president and founder of Island Flare. "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."
This year made four years since the competition began.
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