Known for its outstanding and delectable cuisine around the world, Anguilla has received further exposure in the tourism marketplace by the notable performance of the island’s National Culinary Team in the just-ended Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Competition in Miami.
Although the team members did not win overall gold awards as they had previously achieved, they demonstrated an outstanding performance during what was described as a very competitive event. The individual winners were Jamie Matthews of Viceroy Anguilla, who won a Gold Medal for Pastry Chef of the Year; Jonathan Hughes of CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa, a Bronze Award for Chef of the Year; Jamal Hodge, also of CuisinArt, a Silver Award for Bartender of the Year. Hodge, who was also adjudged as Most Creative Bartender, is a first-time competitor. Theron Thompson of Straw Hat Restaurant received a Bronze Award for Junior Chef of the Year; and Lester Gumbs, Senior Chef, CuisinArt, Silver Award for the Beef and Seafood Competition.
The culinary team, which returned to Anguilla on Tuesday, June 16, was supported during the competition by the presence of the Hon. Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Cardigan Connor; Permanent Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Foster Rogers; Director of Tourism, Mrs. Candis Niles; and Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, Mrs Gilda Gumbs-Samuel.
The Hon. Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Mr. Victor Banks, and the Hon. Minister of Social Development, Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers, were at the Blowing Point Passenger Terminal to meet the arriving chefs and the accompanying officials. Among other things, Mr. Banks had this to say: “I am so happy to welcome the culinary team back to Anguilla. They have been exceeding for so many years in the culinary area – one of the foundation elements of our tourism industry. It is important that we maintain our level of cuisine and to have that image throughout the world.”
Mr. Cardigan Connor commented: “It was important for Candis, Foster Rogers and me to be there, from the Ministry, so that we can have a better appreciation of the challenges involved and the scale where the culinary arts can take us. We love to see ourselves as having one of the top culinary teams in the Caribbean, and it is perfect to think that our very own home-grown chefs are the ones flying the flag for us. I think it was a very successful trip.”
He added: “When we turned up, our team was overly-impressed that the support from the Ministry was there. I think when you show people that you care they will actually try harder. Surely, there are challenges that we face, but we have to rise to those challenges and we want to be the best. We have quality chefs and we want to push them forward.”
Mrs. Gilda Gumbs-Samuel has overall responsibility for the team. She commented on the competition and the team’s performance. “It was wonderful,” she stressed. “The team worked well together [but] the competition was extremely hard this year. Individually, we still have a little more work to do to bring them back up to their level, but we are not afraid of that. We have already met and decided on a game plan and have begun to put things in place for next year.”
The Manager of the team, Mr. Dean Samuel, Executive Sous Chef at Cap Juluca, told the media: “I am proud of my team for a job well done,” he boasted. “It was a strongly-contested competition. I am happy with what we have done. I know we could have done better and [will do so next time]. I want to thank my team very much – and those who were able to go with us, I wish also to thank them very much.”
Mrs. Candis Niles concluded the comments as follows: “From the standpoint of the Anguilla Tourist Board, we are very pleased to stand behind the culinary team. The culinary arts are a focal pillar of our product and we thought it was important for us to show our support – not only financially – but also to be there in person. Having the Ministry with us, on that platform, was wonderful for our team and gave us a chance to really see what we need to do to take our team to the next level.”
She added that there was a lot of potential for the development of the culinary arts in Anguilla, and that “the Tourist Board remains committed to the development of our most precious resource – our people.”
