The Bahamian national squad that will represent the country at the upcoming Taste of the Caribbean, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's (CHTA) annual culinary competition is stacked with talent and experience to compete at this level.
Named to the squad which is comprised of two senior chefs, one junior chef, one bartender, one pastry chef and one manager was One&Only Ocean Club executive chef Emmanuel Gibson; Le Sprouts Private Catering proprietor and team pastry chef Sheldon Tracey Sweeting who captured the 2013 Pastry Chef of the Year award and is an inductee into the Taste of the Caribbean Hall of Fame; One&Only Ocean Club chef Jamall Small; Lyford Cay Club sous chef Charon McKenzie; Albany Resort sous chef Aviva Richmond Fowler; Aura Night Club bartender Marv Cunningham; ice artist from Atlantis Indra Solihin, and junior chef Dwayne Sinclair, a culinary student at Lincoln Culinary Institute.
Sweeting who was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice -- in 2013 and 2006 by virtue of his Pastry Chef of the Year awards -- will lead the Bahamian team into battle, as the team's manager.
The only other Bahamian to have garnered a Hall of Fame induction since the competition started in 1996 was Sally Gaskins in 2004. She too was inducted via the Pastry Chef of the Year award.
Atlantis chef Michael Adderley will manage this year's team.
The Bahamian squad will be one of 10 teams competing in the hot food/culinary team competition, bartender competition and pastry competition taking place June 28-July 2 at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida.
Cook-offs are usually held leading up to the competition with chefs hoping for selection to the prestigious team and the opportunity to compete against the region's best where they vie for honors including Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year, Caribbean Chef of the Year, Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year, Caribbean Bartender of the Year and Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year.
In an effort to raise money for team expenses, the Bahamas' National Culinary Team will host fundraising events prior to the CHTA culinary competition -- a tapas cocktail reception, two fundraising luncheons and a gala dinner. In addition to the fundraising events, the national team will host a mentoring session with student chefs from The College of The Bahamas.
The team is to date sponsored by the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association, the Bahamas Culinary Association, Bahamas Food Services, the Atlantis resort, LeSprouts Private Catering, One&Only Ocean Club, Lyford Cay Club, Atlantis' Aura night club and Bristol Wine and Spirits.
Bahamians hoping to take in the Bahamian team at the competition can take advantage of CHTA special prices that include full Taste of the Caribbean event registration, applicable to hoteliers, government entities and food/beverage professionals attending the entire duration of the event.
The price is $175 for CHTA members and $225 for non-members. The registration fee includes access to all educational sessions, all events on the program including the awards dinner and access to the tradeshow.
Competition events are not included and are an additional $40 for Taste of the Islands and $50 each for the competition lunch and competition dinner. CHTA is also offering two package options for the competition events: $85 per person for the competition lunch and competition dinner or $110 per person for the competition lunch, competition dinner and Taste of the Islands festival.
For those seeking to attend the 2014 Taste of the Caribbean competition, CHTA has arranged a group rate of $139 plus taxes and service charges (run of house, single or double occupancy) per night at the Hyatt Regency Miami. The group rate is available until May 23, and can be reserved via resweb.passkey.com.
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members' needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. CHTA is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 600 member hotels and over 300 allied members.

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