Team Bahamas Delivers
Team Bahamas was the complete package.
The chefs delivered on dishes that were delightful, and in some cases shocking, but in the final analysis the pairings worked beautifully together. Indigenous down-home products were elevated to the level of gourmet, showcasing flavor in every bite. And forget those bland off-white plates that restaurants use to showcase their food these days – in keeping with the down-home theme, they carried the concept across the board in some instances, serving offerings on plates that were reminiscent of the dishes you would more than likely have found in Grammy’s kitchen decades ago; and many of us are all too familiar with those patterns.
Stunning dishes included a Vitamalt-braised short rib with yellow grits and crispy okra by Asteir Dean and junior chef Hazen Rolle; coconut-crusted Nassau grouper with fire-roasted native heirloom vegetables by Jamal Small; fire engine and roast corn fritters by Tevin Kemp and apprentice Ryan McIntosh, along with a new-fashioned chicken ‘n da bag with guava hot sauce; pickled conch marinated in Goombay Punch and a hog snapper ceviche by Kevyn Pratt; plantain cup with tropical fruit salad and a pumpkin bisque with coconut foam by Leonardis Moss; fever grass pudding on mango-banana bread with white chocolate and roast corn ice cream by Celeste Smith; and sour sop sky juice and a non-alcoholic dilly lemonade by mixologosit Derrick Blackmon.
As far as missteps are concerned, Team Bahamas sidestepped them all.
The gala dinner has been a benchmark into the flavors that Team Bahamas hopes to showcase at the regional competition. Last year, the team stepped away from this approach, which was somewhat off-putting to say the least, but the team led by manager, organizer and coach Devin Johnson took criticisms in stride and came back swinging – hard.
“After getting some comments last year that it was too traditional and more gourmet-style, we decided to go down-home. We used a lot of native root vegetables. We gave the people island food,” said Johnson.
It wasn’t only the food that got upended – the shift in how the evening played.
Shavaughn Moss
The Nassau Guardian
June 22, 2019
The members of Team Bahamas that will represent The Bahamas at the 20th edition of the Taste of the Caribbean competition, June 21-25, at the Hyatt Regency Miami, are pictured with Suzanne Pattusch, second left, Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) executive vice president; Joy Jibrilu, center, at rear, tourism director general; Carlton Russell, right, BHTA president; and Sharon Farrington, third right, team administrator.
