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Damien Leach making his preparations during the Chef of the Year competition on Friday.

B’dos takes Top Chef title

 

For the third time, Barbados has claimed the coveted Chef of the Year Award at the Taste of the Caribbean event.
 
On Friday night at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, first-timer Chef Damien Leach joined the ranks of John Hazzard and Mitchell Husbands, who won the award in 2004 and 2011, respectively.
 
Barbados now ties with Puerto Rico for the most wins in this category since the inception of the sizzling competition, which sees regional teams duking it out in the kitchen and at the bar to prove who’s best.
 
This year 13 teams participated in the esteemed contest, which ran from June 6-10.
 
Barbados’ team effort gained them second place in the Caribbean Team of the Year category, which eventually went to Trinidad & Tobago.
 
The Barbados’ medal haul included two gold, five silvers and one bronze.
 
Both Leach and another first-timer, Bartender Ryan Adamson, received gold awards. However, Marvelous Cunningham of The Bahamas won the Bartender of the Year Award.
 
Taking silver in their various categories were; first-timer Nicholas Ifill (Junior Chef of the Year), Javon Cummins (Pastry Chef of the Year), Wilwore Jordan (Best Seafood) and Ron Maynard (Best Cheesecake. Kirk Ruck won a bronze award in the Best Beef category.
 
Other members of the team included Willis Griffith, Ron Maynard, Marvin Applewhaite and Philip Antoine. Team manager was Henderson Butcher, with bartender manager Jamaal Bowen and bartender trainer Rohan Hackshaw.
 
The team headed to Tampa yesterday to display their skills at a function celebrating the 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations and returns to the island tomorrow night.

Barbados Advocate

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