BARBADOS WINS TOP CARIBBEAN CULINARY HONORS

“Bimshire” Wins Top Team, Bartender and Seafood Honors; BVI Takes Chef of the Year Category at Taste of the Caribbean 2017

MIAMI, FL (June 7, 2017) – Barbados is the Caribbean National Culinary Team of the Year.

The Bajan team won the top honors in the finale of the 2017 Taste of the Caribbean culinary competition at the Hyatt Regency in Miami yesterday evening, after also bagging individual honors for Ryan Adamson, Caribbean Bartender of the Year, and Damian Leach for Seafood.

Kenneth Molyneaux from the British Virgin Islands was crowned Caribbean Chef of the Year and also took home the top prize in the Beef Competition. The Cayman Islands’ Melissa Logan was Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year, while Kenria Taylor from The Bahamas was Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year. The Chocolate winner was Bonaire’s Sherundly Bernabela.

“We really applaud all these Taste of the Caribbean participants, their national hotel and tourism associations, team managers and sponsors for developing 14 astounding Caribbean national teams to compete at this event,” said Frank Comito, Director General and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA). “The teams’ commitment to the region showed in the heart and soul that each of the participants invested in their presentations,” he added.

Presented by CHTA, Taste of the Caribbean hosted cooking and bartending competitions between teams from The Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This year’s event was held June 2-6 at the Hyatt Regency Miami.

For the full list of winners, click here: https://caribbeanhotelandtourism.com/?p=5647

About Taste of the Caribbean

Taste of the Caribbean is the region’s premier culinary competition and cultural showcase. Since 1993, the best chefs and culinary teams unite to learn, demonstrate their skills and provide a scintillating exhibition of the most savory and delectable treats of the islands. Produced by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Taste of the Caribbean provides a forum for gathering practical information, developing skills, sampling, purchasing, strengthening and establishing supplier relationships and meeting new vendors.

Taste of the Caribbean is supported by host sponsors Interval International and JetBlue Vacations; platinum sponsors Cable and Wireless and Mastercard; Bartender competition sponsor Angostura; Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year sponsor Johnston & Wales University; gold sponsors Certified Angus Beef, Rums of Puerto Rico and Valrhona; and product sponsors Certified Angus Beef, Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited, Fiji Water, Halperns’, JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery, Landmark Vineyards, Red Stripe, Superior Farms, U.S. Beef, U.S. Meat Export Federation and U.S. Pork.

For additional information about Taste of the Caribbean, visit www.chtataste.com or call +1 305 443- 3040.

About the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is the Caribbean’s leading association representing tourism interests for national hotel and tourism associations. For more than 50 years, CHTA has been the backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry. Working together with 1,000 hotel and allied members and 32 National Hotel Associations, CHTA is shaping the Caribbean’s future and helping members to grow their businesses. Whether navigating new worlds like social media, sustainability, legislative issues, emerging technologies, data and intelligence or looking for avenues and ideas to better market and manage businesses, CHTA is helping members on matters that matter most.

For further information, visit www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.