BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – KNOWN for her creative use of breadfruit, Maureen Stapleton tickled the taste buds of the judges with her signature Breadfruit Chowder and Breadfruit Rolls last evening (Jun. 16) to be named winner of the St. Kitts and Nevis Restaurant Week’s Breadfruit Challenge.
A happy and encouraging crowd gathered at the Nirvana Restaurant in Boyds for the Restaurant Week’s Launch Party, where a host of restaurants and grab-and-go eateries tantalised the attendees with their mouth-watering and succulent dishes, which featured menus of seafood, ground provisions, meats, pastas, and breadfruit.
After the Breadfruit Challenge was announced and the competitors had registered, the elimination process produced three finalists in Avern Sweeney, Edmund Belle and Maureen Stapleton, all of whom were called upon to present their signature dishes to a five-judge panel.
Sweeney presented her Breadfruit Cheesy while Belle presented a Breadfruit Coconut Pie and Stapleton, her Breadfruit Chowder.
Roger Brisbane of Spice Mill, chef and food consultant Clare Rawson, and chef and lecturer Peter Marshall had the seemingly difficulty task of selecting one of the dishes over the others. Minister of Tourism the Hon. Lindsay Grant and Minister of Agriculture the Hon. Eugene Hamilton were honorary judges.
Having coated their palettes with the culinary creations, the panel was of the view that Stapleton’s topped them all with Sweeney taking third place and Belle placing second.
Her dish, which may be called Maureen’s Breadfruit Chowder, will be featured at each restaurant participating in Restaurant Week for the duration of the observance, July 16-26, 2015.
While interviewing Sweeney, SKNVibes discovered that her dish gets its unique taste fom the cinnamon she places in it. She said others might have added Asian Spices but she decided on cinnamon.
“I am humbled but I knew within myself that I would make it, because when you go to a restaurant some people wouldn’t really want a big meal. So you would rather have some chowder and some rolls and you are good to go. So I decided to prepare that,” she expressed.
Among the eatables that Stapleton has created from breadfruit are ice-cream, wine, fritters, cake and bread.
Organiser of the Challenge, Racquel Williams Ezqea, who is an Agriculture Officer in the Agriculture Department, told SKNVibes that the event is part of the Department’s thrust to encourage widespread incorporation of the breadfruit in meals as a staple.
The winners of the competition received prizes, courtesy the Agriculture Department and RAM’S Supermarket.
