Left: Racquel Robinson-Smith's papaya cheese cake. Right: Mango June plum pie by Taniesha Anderson of St Catherine.
Last Friday, the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St Andrew was the locale for another leg of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) food festival.
It was a refreshing culinary exploration using authentic Jamaican ingredients. The event was the perfect demonstration of the 'Eat What We Grow' theme, as students from various primary to high schools from across the island, 'tun dem han an mek fashion' (showed creativity). The displays ranged from mango June plum pie,coffee mango cheese cake, to naseberry cheese cake and plantain muffin.
The students gathered excitedly around chef Nicholas Douglas taking notes and noting his technique as he made an economical 'lean on me' wedding cake. But one of the highlights of the day was the celebrity cook-off.
Cook-off
Power 106's Michael Anthony Cuffe; 2008 Miss Kingston and St Andrew Festival Queen, Traci-Ann Wint; member of Parliament for Eastern St Andrew, St Aubyn Bartlett; president of the Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association, Kenneth Shaw; and Senator Norman Grant of the Jamaica Agriculture Association.
They weren't professionals and it showed, with some contestants admitting that they only had a vague idea of where the kitchen was in their homes. In true Iron Chef style, the ingredients were revealed and they then had 60 minutes to prepare a dish. After some of the contestants settled into their 'new environment,' the smell of sautéed chicken and seasonings perfumed the damp afternoon air.
Some of the dishes were pretty straightforward. Michael Anthony Cuffe kept it simple with corned beef and rice. He must have received all the points possible for keeping his work area clean. He even cut his seasonings with a knife and fork. Bartlett seemed pretty comfortable in the kitchen preparing teriyaki chicken with rice and vegetables. Wint went gourmet with ginger barbecued chicken with rice and vegetables. Grant, who was late, went quick and easy with rice with a touch of seasoning and tin mackerel, and Shaw went a bit old-school but innovative with turned cornmeal, tuna and macaroni and cheese salad, and chicken and tofu stir fry. Shaw definitely knew his way around the kitchen. He told Food that his children enjoy his cooking, and obviously so did members of the audience and the other contestants. In the end, everyone was a winner. Wint, Shaw and Bartlett received gold, while Cuffe and Grant were awarded silver.
Michael Anthony Cuffe with his silver medal winning dish of corned beef and rice. - photos by Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Senator Norman Grant and his dish: rice with a touch of seasoning and tin mackerel.
Dr St Aubyn Bartlett made a mean teriyaki chicken with rice and vegetables.
A man who knows his way around his kitchen well: Kenneth Shaw with his gold medal winning dish of turned cornmeal, stir-fried tofu and chicken with tuna macaroni and cheese salad.
Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2008, Traci-Ann Wint, also won gold for her ginger barbecue chicken with rice and vegetables.
Coffee banana cake.
Naseberry cheese cake by Telisha Grant.