Students representing various schools all over New Providence put their culinary skills to the test in the 30 th Annual Bahamas Young Chef Competition SeniorDivision at Doris Johnson Senior High School, October 20 th , 2022.
Presented by the Family & Consumer Science Education Unit at the Ministry ofEducation, the Young Chef Competition, in its second phase, welcomed studentsto compete in the District Round of the culinary competition under the theme“Bahamian Culinary Arts: Sustainability Across Land and Sea.”
The students were challenged to use the theme and incorporate an entrée and adessert using the sponsors of the competition, Mahatma Rice and Robin HoodFlour.
Chef Clement Williams, Chef Addimae Farrington, Chef Michael Adderley and ChefJoel Johnson oversaw and judged the preparation, culinary skills, presentationand taste of dishes prepared by the six twelfth grade contestants.
Before the competition commenced, Chef Williams provided a word ofencouragement to the young chefs and reminded them to remain steadfastthroughout the competition.
“I just want to congratulate each and every one of you. Irrespective of what theoutcome is, you’re already a winner just by being here because you are therepresentative of your school. Just stay focused on what you’ve been assigned,what you’ve trained for, what you’ve focused on, (and) everything should bealright,” he said.
After two hours of bubbling pots and sizzling skillets, the young chefs plated theirmeals and prepared for the judging segment.
Before the judging segment, Chef Addimae Farrington expressed how promisingthe future is for the young chefs.
“We can step aside gracefully and get ready for the next generation. I saw somany gifted young persons and all of you will be doing a wonderful job. We mustmaintain our passion. You have to have fun doing what you do,” she said.
The judges exhibited strengths and weaknesses of the contestants’ various dishesand in the end, came together to show examples of how the young chefs couldimprove their dishes by deconstructing, reconstructing and adding additionalgarnishes to their dishes.
Ultimately, Sia Wright of Akhepran International School was declared the winnerin both rice and flour categories with a vegan “Coconut Tart” and a vegan “StuffedOkra Rice Ball.” This victory would be Wright’s second win in a row in the DistrictRound.
Gabrielle Ferguson, of Doris Johnson Senior High School came in second with“Gabby’s Seafood Bowl” and “Gabby’s Jimminy Knot.”
The third place chef, Raphelita Hanna of Kingsway Academy prepared “RobinHood Deconstructed Peas Soup and Dough” and “Mahatma Rice Mango DreamPumpkin Spice.”
The other contestants included: Christopher Stubbs (Bahamas Academy), AdianDemeritte (Anatol Rodgers Senior High), and Jazhara Storr (C.R. Walker)The top three competitors will advance to the third phase of the competitionwhich will be the National Round where winners from various islands around TheBahamas will compete in New Providence in November of this year.
Students representing various schools all over New Providence put their culinary
skills to the test in the 30 th Annual Bahamas Young Chef Competition Senior
Division at Doris Johnson Senior High School, October 20 th , 2022.
Presented by the Family & Consumer Science Education Unit at the Ministry of
Education, the Young Chef Competition, in its second phase, welcomed students
to compete in the District Round of the culinary competition under the theme
“Bahamian Culinary Arts: Sustainability Across Land and Sea.”
The students were challenged to use the theme and incorporate an entrée and a
dessert using the sponsors of the competition, Mahatma Rice and Robin Hood
Flour.
Chef Clement Williams, Chef Addimae Farrington, Chef Michael Adderley and Chef
Joel Johnson oversaw and judged the preparation, culinary skills, presentation
and taste of dishes prepared by the six twelfth grade contestants.
Before the competition commenced, Chef Williams provided a word of
encouragement to the young chefs and reminded them to remain steadfast
throughout the competition.
“I just want to congratulate each and every one of you. Irrespective of what the
outcome is, you’re already a winner just by being here because you are the
representative of your school. Just stay focused on what you’ve been assigned,
what you’ve trained for, what you’ve focused on, (and) everything should be
alright,” he said.
After two hours of bubbling pots and sizzling skillets, the young chefs plated their
meals and prepared for the judging segment.
Before the judging segment, Chef Addimae Farrington expressed how promising
the future is for the young chefs.
“We can step aside gracefully and get ready for the next generation. I saw so
many gifted young persons and all of you will be doing a wonderful job. We must
maintain our passion. You have to have fun doing what you do,” she said.
The judges exhibited strengths and weaknesses of the contestants’ various dishes
and in the end, came together to show examples of how the young chefs could
improve their dishes by deconstructing, reconstructing and adding additional
garnishes to their dishes.
Ultimately, Sia Wright of Akhepran International School was declared the winner
in both rice and flour categories with a vegan “Coconut Tart” and a vegan “Stuffed
Okra Rice Ball.” This victory would be Wright’s second win in a row in the District
Round.
Gabrielle Ferguson, of Doris Johnson Senior High School came in second with
“Gabby’s Seafood Bowl” and “Gabby’s Jimminy Knot.”
The third place chef, Raphelita Hanna of Kingsway Academy prepared “Robin
Hood Deconstructed Peas Soup and Dough” and “Mahatma Rice Mango Dream
Pumpkin Spice.”
The other contestants included: Christopher Stubbs (Bahamas Academy), Adian
Demeritte (Anatol Rodgers Senior High), and Jazhara Storr (C.R. Walker)
The top three competitors will advance to the third phase of the competition
which will be the National Round where winners from various islands around The
Bahamas will compete in New Providence in November of this year.
