he Anguilla National Culinary Team will travel to Miami for the Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Competition on June 10 and will return on June 15; and Mrs. Gilda Gumbs-Samuel is predicting that the team will bring back gold awards as in the past.
Mrs. Gumbs-Samuel, Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, was at the time addressing guests at the Anguilla Culinary Team’s “Taste of Anguilla 2015” at Aleta Restaurant, Viceroy, on Saturday, May 30.
“We are hoping that we will come back with gold. We have won every category of the competition except one and that is the Overall Gold for Team of the Year,” she stated. “We have won Best Chef, Best Chef Cooking Beef; Best Chef Seafood; Best Chef Pastries; Bartender, and everything else, except Best Team of the Year and I swear we will be coming back with it this year.”
The culinary team comprises: Dean Samuels, Manager (Sous Chef at Cap Juluca); Jonathan Hughes (Senior Chef at CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa) who will be competing for Chef of the Year; Lester Gumbs (also of CuisinArt) who will be competing in the Seafood Competition; Jimmy Matthews (Pastry Chef at Viceroy); Junior Chef Teron, Thompson (Straw Hat Restaurant); and Mrs. Karimah Carty (Anguilla Community College). It is the first time that a senior female chef (and culinary instructor) will be part of the Anguilla’s competing culinary team.
Director of Tourism, Mrs. Candis Niles, commented: “I think that the Anguilla Culinary Team is poised to represent Anguilla fantastically as they have done in previous years. We, at the Anguilla Tourist Board, are so pleased to be part of the sponsorship of the team. The culinary product is an essential part of what we offer to our visitors as part of our tourism destination product offering. We find that every year the members of the Anguilla National Culinary Team do us proud; and we are looking forward to being with them in Miami – not only in terms of financial support, but also in terms of our presence during the competition.”
The May 30 culinary showcase weekend event featured food displays and servings by various hotels and restaurants, as part of a fundraising effort for the team.
It was a well-attended event at which there were many residents of Anguilla and visitors. Among the gathering were American Film Actress Annie Hampton “Annie” Potts, and American Comedian Carol “Niecy” Nash.
