For two consecutive years, after a dazzling exhibition of eclectic dishes and drinks, Team Bahamas was stunned not to win Taste of the Caribbean, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) premier culinary competition and cultural showcase. This year it’s all about redemption. The squad’s aim and goal is the win.
“What happened last year … losing out to Puerto Rico, baffled the entire team,” said team veteran Chef Sheldon Tracey Sweeting who is also a Taste of the Caribbean Hall of Famer by virtue of three wins in the pastry chef of the year competition.
“We regrouped from last year with the same team, but it’s a strong team and will be using more modern techniques — we’re taking an immersion circulator, and a vacuum packer to cut down on some time, but add more flavor,” said Sweeting.
Taste of the Caribbean is the region’s premier culinary competition and cultural showcase. Once a year, the best chefs and culinary teams unite to learn, demonstrate their skills and provide a scintillating exhibition of the most savory and delectable treats of the islands. It’s a showcase of the hottest and most popular trends in Caribbean gastronomy. Each national team is comprised of two senior chefs, one junior chef, one bartender, one pastry chef and one manager.
Hats are thrown into the ring to compete for the honor of best chef, culinary team, bartender and pastry chef in the Caribbean. The nine-man Bahamian squad in the hunt for these titles is comprised of Sweeting, pastry; Jamal Small, entrée; Charon McKenzie, appetizer; Richmond Fowler II, chef of the year; junior chefs Crystal Morley, Shelby Coleby and Leonardis Moss; bartender Marvin “Marvellous” Cunningham and team manager Ron Johnson departed New Providence on Thursday for the three-day competition which takes place in Miami for the fourth consecutive year, at the Hyatt Regency. The final day of competition for teams is Sunday.
The Bahamas will go head-to-head in competition vying for top honors in Caribbean cuisine and beverages this year against Anguilla, Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Suriname and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
According to Sweeting Team Bahamas’ three courses will be dynamic, in spite of the mystery basket competition. Whatever they get in the mystery basket, they aim to present a seafood appetizer, beef entrée and a dessert that is sure to be a highlight, showcasing the simplicity of ingredients in which they’re hoping to incorporate chocolate flavors with citrus.
“We’re going to do a white chocolate and orange Bavarian, with a torched meringue. The cake is going to be a lemon sponge cake with crumbs and a lemon curd ice cream and compressed fruits with liquors and flavorings and a tuille.”
It’s a presentation the team’s co-manager said would be unique. It’s a dessert that will have approximately 12 components. Even for the cheese dish he will push the envelope with is take on a cheesecake tasting — think pumpkin gooey, which will be reminiscent of a cheesecake brulee and a cheesecake fritter in which he makes the fritters, cooks them halfway and then pipes cream cheese into the fritter before frying again.
“The average dessert in competition has four or five components. You just challenge yourself because you just want to try to win hands down. Redemption. We just want to blow the judges away … to draw them to us by doing things they’ve never seen,” he said.
While the squad has a plan in place in anticipation of what they hope to find in their mystery basket, Sweeting said they know it could all change. But he said for the most part he knows they will have oranges, lemons and chocolate, and the sponge cake is only egg whites, sugar and flour, which should ensure that their attack plan for dessert should pan out.
“Last year we had scallops in the mystery basket. We didn’t practice with scallops, so that was a challenge. But this year we practiced with scallops, shrimp, fish, so whatever they give us, we can adapt it to the concept that we created for this particular competition,” said the hall of fame chef.
The squad’s bartender who secured a silver medal in his first showing last year, threw caution to the wind and went crazy this year — so crazy he produced drinks that work — a non-alcoholic ginger and lemon float with sour sop sorbet and a meringue; a drink called the Pink Pearl, a take on a Manhattan with pink ball ice cube that looks like a pearl; and a vodka drink that has to do with conch salad.
“Marv is off the chain,” said Sweeting. “He made conch salad like a conch stock to make a drink. At first I was like this is crazy — drinking conch salad in a glass with vodka. My first inclination was that boy is crazy, I don’t even know if that would fly, but taste the drink now, it tastes good and will appeal to the judges. The Bahamas is really represented in the drinks big time. All he has to do is execute.”
Actually if Team Bahamas simply executes, Sweeting said they will be good and Bahamians will hear good things.
For Team Bahamas, Sweeting said it’s all about challenging themselves to step outside the box.
“The philosophy is that if there is a mishap in the first two courses, you can bring everything home and the dessert would make up for any missteps.”
Time management will be critical to Team Bahamas. The team hit the ground running on Thursday, registered for competition and attending mandatory demonstrations from purveyors. They followed the team’s administration detail that departed on Wednesday to secure the squad’s equipment from the shipping company. Friday morning it was all flames ago as they hit the kitchen. It’s a squad that Sweeting said has gelled.
“It feels like a brotherhood. We don’t criticize each other or get down on anybody personally. The critiques are always constructive so everybody can get better,” he said.
Prior to departing for the Taste of the Caribbean competition, the team hosted a gala demonstration dinner at The Cafe Restaurant at the Atlantis during which guests dined on hor d’oeuvres that included steamed chicken dumpling, mini mushroom strudel, jerk pork spring rolls and conch salad shots with bell pepper foam; tomato-parmesan focaccia, jalapeno and roasted bell pepper cornbread grissini with thyme and curried flat bread; coconut cauliflower soup with lobster ravioli, almonds, chili oil, shallots and micro greens; plantain dusted shrimp, savory cheesecake with beet variations and smoked avocado mousse appetizer; a compressed apple tart, blue cheese, pear mostarda, micro seedlings, house made blackberry chambord jam, benne cracker cheese course; ginger-sands with vanilla sorbet; provencal crusted lamb loin, carrot puree, sweet potato tatin, savory tart, dilly reduction entree; and a white chocolate and orange Bavarian with lemon almond sponge, chocolate meringue kisses, chocolate praline ice cream, compressed oranges, lemon snow and burnt orange sauce. The beverages served included strong back colada, Sands holiday lemonade and smoking John Watlings.
Sweeting is the only Bahamian other than Sally Gaskins, to win a title at Taste of the Caribbean. Sweeting won pastry chef of the year in 2013, 2014 and 2006. Gaskins was the first Bahamian to win a title which she did in 2004.
Overview of competitions
Caribbean National Culinary Team Competition
In a mystery basket competition, teams are assigned items from the basket from which a three-course menu is developed within one hour. After the menu is developed, teams have three hours to prepare a three-course meal (appetizer, entrée and dessert), which is then served to attendees. The top scoring team on the culinary team competition receives the award of Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year.
Caribbean Culinary Individual Competition
In addition to the team competitions, various categories of individual competitions are available to participating team members. One senior chef and one junior chef from each participating team compete in an individual competition to select the Caribbean Chef of the Year and the Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year. During these competitions, each individual must create in a two-hour period a dish showcasing the main ingredient from a mystery basket. A winner is selected for each one of the individual competitions.
Caribbean Chef of the Year
To win Caribbean Chef of the Year each chef is given one hour of preparation time in which to write and submit a description of their entrée dish, to do mis en place and get organized (only stocks can be cooked during the first hour). Cooking, finishing and plating take place during the second hour. The dish must be completely plated by the end of the second hour.
Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year
To win Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year each contestant must be working and/or studying in the culinary field in the Caribbean and not older than 21 years of age. Each chef is given one hour of preparation time in which to write and submit a description of their entrée dish, to do mis en place (everything in place) and get organized (only stocks can be cooked during the first hour). Cooking, finishing and plating take place during the second hour. The dish must be completely plated by the end of the second hour.
Caribbean Bartender of the Year
Bartenders from the competing national teams prepare a variety of drinks to demonstrate their creativity, skills, personality and showmanship. Three rounds are scheduled for beverages in the categories of non-alcoholic, vodka and rum. Each bartender has five minutes to prepare three portions of the beverage. All participating bartenders compete for the honor of Caribbean Bartender of the Year. In the final round bartenders have 30 minutes to review the content of a mystery bar, and then design and prepare a cocktail of their choice.
Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year
Pastry chefs from the competing national teams create, in advance, a dessert recipe which they prepare during four hours at the event. The top pastry chef is selected the Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year.
Past results
Caribbean National Team of the Year
Puerto Rico (2014)
Barbados (2013)
Puerto Rico (2012)
Trinidad & Tobago (2011)
Barbados (2010)
Trinidad & Tobago (2009)
Trinidad & Tobago (2007)
Trinidad & Tobago (2006)
St. Maarten/St. Martin (2005)
Trinidad & Tobago (2004)
Jamaica (2003)
Bermuda (2000)
Curaçao (1999)
Puerto Rico (1997)
Aruba (1996)
Caribbean Chef of the Year
Rashindra Donge, Bonaire (2014)
Brian Lumley, Jamaica (2013)
Devon Joseph, Trinidad and Tobago (2012)
Mitchell Husbands, Barbados (2011)
Graham Singer, Antigua and Barbuda (2010)
Glendon Carty, Anguilla (2009)
Fernando Parrilla, Puerto Rico (2007)
Hans Van Triest, Curaçao (2006)
Carlos Portela, Puerto Rico (2005)
John Hazzard, Barbados (2004)
Bobo Bergstrom, St. Lucia (2003)
Mark French, Puerto Rico (2000)
Martin Maginley, Jamaica (1999)
Jeremy Cruz, Puerto Rico (1997)
Michael Salmon, Aruba (1996)
Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year
Sheldon Tracey Sweeting, Bahamas (2014)
Sheldon Tracey Sweeting, Bahamas (2013)
Pablo Colon, Puerto Rico (2012)
Kunal Chakrabarti, USVI (2011)
Maureen Bowers, Antigua and Barbuda (2010)
Alberto Febo, Puerto Rico (2009)
Rene Almeda, Puerto Rico (2007)
Tracy Sweeting, Bahamas (2006)
Geert Maarten Van Mil, Aruba (2005)
Sally Gaskins, Bahamas (2004)
Jing Shi, Jamaica (2003)
Jing Shi, Jamaica (2000)
Linval Green, Jamaica (1999)
Pascal Barronier, Anguilla (1997)
Casten Flindt, Barbados (1996)
Caribbean Bartender of the Year
Brandon DeCloux, USVI (2014)
Roberto Rodriguez, Puerto Rico (2013)
Jamaal Bowen, Barbados (2012)
Humphrey Lew Jen Tai, Curacao (2011)
Alva Preville, St. Lucia (2010)
Paul Peterson, St. Maarten/St. Martin (2009)
Raymond Edwards, Trinidad and Tobago (2007)
Paul Peterson, St. Maarten/St. Martin (2006)
Rakeesh Madoo, Trinidad & Tobago (2005)
Alexandra Ballin, Anguilla (2004)
Hiram Avila, Puerto Rico (2003)
Alexander Meyer, Aruba (2000)
Ron Webster, Anguilla (1999)
Lissette Rijna, Bonaire (1997)
Neil Felix, Grenada (1996)
Junior Chef of the Year
Sanju Smith, Jamaica (2014)
Naomi Lovell, Trinidad & Tobago (2013)
Isaiah Connel, Trinidad & Tobago (2012)
Mikhala Bagot, BVI (2011)
Osvaldo Ortega, Puerto Rico (2010)
Apprentice of the Year
Luis Alvarez, Puerto Rico (2000)
Michael Moncrieffe, Cayman Islands (1997)
Honorary Member
William “Bill” Moore (2014)
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