Chef of the Year Competition turns up the heat

By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Federation’s leading kitchen maestros competed at yesterday’s Chef of the Year Competition and German native Denis Bruemmel walked away with the top prize.

The competition was held at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant School of Hospitality Studies and Culinary Arts.
In addition to winning a gold medal, Bruemmel, a chef at the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis, earned the place of team leader for the contingent representing St. Kitts and Nevis at next year’s Caribbean Hotel Association’s Taste of the Caribbean Competition in June.

The competition was held by the Hotel and Tourism Association (HTA) as part of the month-long activities scheduled in Tourism Awareness Month and was also contested by Gregory Austin of Fisherman’s Wharf, Keith Johnston of the Ocean Terrace Inn, Renaldo Mills of Montpelier Plantation and Melrose Phipps of Ottleys Plantation Inn.

“The goals of this competition were to raise the standards of Caribbean food excellence and professionalism, to promote camaraderie and education opportunities among chefs and to act as a staging area for development of service and presentation,” said HTA Manager Michael Head.

According to Lloyd Lazar, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, the partnership between the Ministry and the HTA was a “way through which tourism will grow and continue to be the engine of the economy.

~~Adz:Right~~“Government alone does not have the capacity to do everything that needs to be done in the tourism sector and that is why we must form strategic alliances with the private sector so that the work that needs to be done is done.”

The chefs had two hours to create their culinary masterpieces and, prior to the competition’s commencement at 11 a.m., they were unaware of the ingredients that they would be working with.

Each contestant was given a different ‘mystery basket’ consisting mainly of local produce and had an hour to plan their menu and the following hour to cook and present a meal for four. Criteria used in the judges’ assessment included creativity, kitchen performance, contribution to Caribbean cuisine, sanitary practices, and the meal’s presentation and taste.

SKNVibes spoke to Bruemmel, who expressed his joy at the victory, stating that he was “very happy and wanted to thank everyone who had supported him in his preparation for the event”.