At Taste of the Caribbean over 10 teams from the Caribbean compete in a hot food/culinary team competition, bartender competition and pastry competition. Each participating team represents a Caribbean island which has held individual competitions to select their national team. Each team is composed of 2 senior chefs, 1 junior chef, 1 bartender, 1 pastry chef and 1 manager.
The participating team members represent hotels, restaurants or educational institutions in the Caribbean which are members of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).
The trade show as this event is a one-stop forum for gathering practical information, sampling, purchasing, strengthening established supplier relationships and meeting new vendors, all on hand to help Taste of the Caribbean registrants build food and beverage business – and yield benefits on the bottom line.
Profile of Attendees
- Bartenders
- Chefs
- Food and Beverage Professionals
- Food and Beverage Students
- Hotel Associations
- Hoteliers
- Pastry Chefs
- Suppliers of products and services
- Caribbean Tourist Boards
Companies in attendance at the last event
Culinary team competition
In a mystery basket competition, teams are assigned items from the basket from which a three course menu is developed within one hour. After the menu is developed, teams have three hours to prepare a three course meal (appetizer, entrée and dessert), which is then served to attendees. The top scoring team on the culinary team competition receives the award of Caribbean Culinary Team of the Year. 1 senior chef and 1 junior chef from each participating team compete in an individual competition to select the Caribbean Chef of the Year and the Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year.
Bartender competition
Bartenders from the competing national teams prepare a variety of drinks to demonstrate their creativity, skills, personality and showmanship. Three rounds are scheduled for beverages in the categories of Non-Alcoholic, Vodka and Rum. Each bartender has five minutes to prepare three portions of the beverage. All participating bartenders compete for the honor of Caribbean Bartender of the Year. In this final round bartenders have thirty minutes to review the content of a mystery bar, and then design and prepare a cocktail of their choice.
Pastry competition
Pastry chefs from the competing national teams create, in advance, a dessert recipe which they prepare during four hours at the event. The top pastry chef is selected the Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year.
Individual culinary competitions
In addition to the team competitions, various categories of individual competitions are available to participating team members or from CHTA member companies. During these competitions, each individual must create in a two hour period a dish showcasing the main ingredient from a mystery basket. A winner is selected for each one of the individual competitions.
Taste of the Islands
This competition is to highlight the street foods that are common on the islands and the prepared dishes are served to the visiting public during a 2 hour event. Each team is assigned a display table where the dishes are displayed; information on the destination is also available.
Taste of the Caribbean Hall of Fame
2012 Taste of the Caribbean Top Honors
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