Bahamas National Culinary Team prepares to defend coveted title in Florida

REV will serve as a key sponsor for The Bahamas National Culinary Team as its members look to defend their championship title in the 2016 Taste of the Caribbean competition this week at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida.

This marks the second consecutive year the communications provider has sponsored the team, contributing over $20,000 towards the group to date. Leading up to Taste of the Caribbean, REV aired a new season of  "A Quick Bite" on OURTV to give viewers an in-depth look at each of this year's team members as they prepare for the regional culinary showdown.

The food and beverage professionals will go up against culinary teams across the Caribbean in the ultimate cook-off to determine the best senior and junior chef, pastry chef, bartender and overall team, among other categories.

Last year, The Bahamas bested nine teams to claim its first victory in the Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year category. The national team also walked away with gold medals in the Caribbean Bartender of the Year and Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year categories and won two silver medals and one bronze medal in competitions for chef of the year, best cheesecake and best beef/seafood, respectively.

"At REV, we are truly committed to supporting all forms of Bahamian culture, so we were thrilled to step in once again in support of The Bahamas Culinary Team," REV Marketing Manager Melissa Baker said. "This culinary event offers our local chefs an opportunity to showcase their talents at an international level and provide a literal taste of what we have to offer here in The Bahamas. We couldn't be more proud of their achievements and anticipate another phenomenal performance at this year's event."

For the second consecutive year, REV serves as a key sponsor for the Bahamas National Culinary Team in the Taste of the Caribbean competition. The defending champions are looking to defend their title this week against 13 teams in the culinary showdown held at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida. Bahamas National Culinary Team members pictured from left: Marvonne Thurston, Ron Johnson (team manager), Leonardis Moss, Sheldon Tracey Sweeting (team co-manager), Savanna Adderley, and Charon Mckenzie. (Photo: Aaron Davis).

Ms. Baker added that several REV representatives would be present at the competition to cheer on the Bahamian national culinary team, which comprises Ron Johnson, team manager; Sheldon Tracey Sweeting, chef and team co-manager; Shelby Coleby, chef; Leonardis Moss, team junior chef; Richmond Fowler II, chef; Jamal Small, chef; Charon McKenzie, chef; Marv Cunningham, mixologist; Marvonne Thurston, junior chef and Savannah Adderley, junior chef.

The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) supports The Bahamas National Culinary Team with assistance from industry partners and sponsors, whom BHTA President Stuart Bowe said play a significant role in the team's success.

"When Cable Bahamas was approached by the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association to participate as a sponsor of the National Culinary Team for Taste of the Bahamas, the confirmatory response was swift and positive," Mr. Bowe said. "Cable Bahamas is a financial and cultural sponsor and has promoted the Bahamian culinary team's efforts by 'telling the story' through its news channel and other unique productions. Cable Bahamas has become an integral part of the team, visiting the chefs during practices, attending functions, as well as the competition itself. We thank Cable Bahamas for the phenomenal support."

Taste of the Caribbean 2016, hosted by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, will feature 14 teams representing Anguilla, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Curaçao, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In addition to the culinary competitions, the event includes a trade show, education sessions, networking opportunities and a Caribbean festival featuring culinary displays from participating teams.

Taste of the Caribbean kicked off on Monday, June 6 and closes on Friday, June 10 with an awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

Cable Bahamas is the communications provider of choice and the first to offer triple play (voice, video, data) services in The Bahamas. In 2013, Cable Bahamas expanded its operations to Florida by acquiring four telecommunications providers and merged them into Summit Broadband, offering businesses and consumers a nearly 500-mile fibre-optic backbone connecting South Florida, West Florida and Central Florida. Cable Bahamas offers telephony, broadband Internet, cable TV and data transport services under the brand names REVOICE, REVON and REVTV in the Bahamas and as Summit Broadband in Florida, to both home and business customers throughout the Bahamas, southwest Florida and central Florida. The company also offers dark fibre transport to enterprise and carrier customers. In The Bahamas, the company also created the Cable Bahamas Cares Foundation, which has awarded over $2 million to local Bahamian non-profit organisations since its inception. For more information nmb please visit the company website at www.cablebahamas.com, follow on Twitter @cablebahamas or visit the company Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GetRevdUp.

Source: Cable Bahamas