The Sip television show, which officially premiered on Oct 21 and is currently airing nationwide on Island Luck TV (ILTV), is sponsored by Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS) and features a rotating roster of special guests chefs, mixologists, and food lovers. Each month, hosts Nicholas “Nick” Mitchell & Gabriella Suighi share their love for amazing wines, delicious cocktails, and flavor packed food pairings. And, on Dec 30 the pair will be joined by Chef Alexandra Maillis – Lynch for a special New Year’s Eve themed episode to help viewers ring in 2022 in style.

The holiday themed episode, which will air at 8:30pm on Cable Bahamas channel 224 and BTC Flow TV channel 112, will feature the owner of Events by Alexandra. Known for taking risks and using bold flavors to tell a culinary story, Chef Alexandra will bring her professional skills to The Sip kitchen, where she will prepare two dishes that pair well with sparkling wines, like the Bouvet Signature Brut and Bouvet Rose featured during the episode.

In addition to her decadent Seared Salmon with Champagne Sauce, she will also show a unique take on creating a savory holiday charcuterie board that swaps popcorn and potato chips in the place of crackers. Nikia Wells will also appear on the episode’s “Spill It” segment to prepare three Moscow Mule recipes, all featuring Nemiroff flavored vodkas.

Wells, who is the Communications Marketing Manager for Caribbean Wines & Spirits and its parent company, the Caribbean Bottling Company (Bahamas) Ltd., also serves as Executive Producer of The Sip, and noted that the show is bringing something new to Bahamian television screens.

“The Sip is truly a project that celebrates our team’s collective love for good wine, a great cocktail, delicious food, and sharing a glass or two with amazing company” noted Wells. “Over the past few months, Nick, Gabriella, and the entire CWS and ILTV teams have worked exceptionally hard to create something fun and engaging. We hope that viewers enjoy this special holiday episode of The Sip, and we have many more exciting things in store for them in 2022.”

While The Sip’s hosts may be new to the world of television, each of them has an impressive resume and a passion for a good glass of wine.

In addition to her hosting duties, Gabriella is the Activations Marketing Manager for the Caribbean Bottling Company, which features Coca-Cola beverage brands. With the introduction of their subsidiary company, Caribbean Wines & Spirits, her portfolio has increased to also cover wines and spirits.

Born and raised in The Bahamas, Gabriella’s genuine love of travel and exploring other cultures has taken her around the world, and she has lived in the USA, Switzerland and France. A true epicure, she finds great joy in good food and good wine. With 5+ years of international experience in the Marketing and Communications field, Gabriella’s unique expertise and eye for detail brings her events to life. And, in her free time, she likes to hit the beach with her two swimming pugs - Pugsley and Penelope – the inspiration for an upcoming book that she will soon release.

By day, Nick is a Counsel and Attorney-At-Law with 8 years of practice under his belt. But, in his free time, he is a food critic, event host, traveler and self proclaimed chef. As the founder of The Food and Culture Co., Nick has hosted several events, including The Hangover Brunch, The Trap Brunch, and Under the Ginfluence, to name a few. He also has a passion for unique and unforgettable experiences, and has explored 46 countries across 5 continents, and visited 12 islands throughout The Bahamas. His knowledge of wine, and love of champagne comes from visiting some of the world's premier wine regions in France, South Africa, Spain, and Portugal.

As a food and experience writer, having dined at more than 400 restaurants across 97 cities, Nick holds nothing back when sharing his culinary and cultural happenings through his blog, which is appropriately titled www.nickintl.com.

Gabriella and Nick will be joined by a number of talented chefs and food lovers during the next few months. Upcoming guests for the first half of season 1 of The Sip will include Lazar Charlton and Chef Elijah Bowe.

Each episode of The Sip will also feature a "Spill It" educational segment, a 60 second “Swirl & Learn” hosted by Christopher Duncombe, CWS Wine & Spirits Manager, and a wine pairing cooking demo that highlights the diverse CWS product range. For more information on Caribbean Wines & Spirits and The Sip, visit www.cwsbahamas.com.

THE Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority will terminate all current contracts after external investigators found numerous lapses in its functioning and internal controls.

Forty-four people on board Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas cruise that ended in Miami on Saturday tested positive for COVID-19, the cruise line said.

The cruise line also notified passengers on that sailing and on two others that a passenger who sailed on that ship during an earlier itinerary tested positive for the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

All passengers age 12 and older were required to be fully vaccinated and to test negative to board the cruise, which departed from Miami on Dec. 11. Children ineligible for the vaccine were required to test negative, too.

"We were notified by the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) that a guest on board our (December) 4th cruise tested positive and it was identified as omicron," Lyan Sierra-Caro, spokesperson for Royal Caribbean, told USA TODAY late Saturday. "They (CDC) asked us to notify guests on the sailing, the one that ended today, and the current one."

In the email to the passengers who sailed on the three cruises on Symphony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean outlined what happened.

"This guest did not report symptoms to our onboard medical teams as outlined in our health protocols," the cruise line said in a copy of the email obtained by USA TODAY. "Their post cruise test results were subsequently confirmed as the omicron variant."

On the most recently concluded sailing, which disembarked on Saturday, 44 people out of 6,074 passengers and crew members on board Symphony of the Seas tested positive for COVID-19 – .72% of the community present on the ship.

"They were found as a result of immediately identifying close contacts after a guest tested positive," Sierra-Caro said, noting each person was quarantined quickly. "Everyone who tested positive is asymptomatic, and we continually monitored their health. Six guests were disembarked earlier in the cruise and transported home. The remaining guests received assistance today upon our arrival."

In the email to passengers, Royal Caribbean said the cases on the Dec. 11th sailing were "unrelated to the omicron case from the guest who sailed on Dec. 4th."

The cruise line advised that passengers visit a certified testing center three to five days after disembarkation per CDC guidance.

On Saturday, the CDC said in a statement that the agency was aware of the situation on Symphony of the Seas and that it was "working with RCI to gather more information about the cases and possible exposures, and RCI will be collecting specimens from the current voyage for genetic sequencing."

Reported by Morgan Hines, USA TODAY

AN elderly American man pleaded guilty to two drug related charges in a Magistrate's Court on Friday.