Cayman’s culinary best were honored at the Cayman Culinary Society’s “Out of the Kitchen” gala last week.
The event capped off the three-day Culinary Awards of Excellence and Trade Show where Cayman’s brightest epicurean talents battled it out over a series of categories, including hot soup, cold soup, appetizer, main course, dessert and a live cook-off from a mystery basket of ingredients.
Hosted by The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, the event is now in its 24th year and offers a platform for Cayman’s chefs to show off their skills among their peers. Internationally qualified culinary judges Alfred Schrock, executive chef of Seasons 52 in Atlanta and owner of the former Lantana’s Restaurant in Cayman, L. Edwin Brown, culinary ambassador for the American Culinary Federation, and George McNeill, executive chef at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, New York, judged the chefs on a multitude of skills and creative-based metrics, including creativity, technique and Caribbean content.
The competition winners are:
Chef of the Year
Carlos Ponce, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Chef Cookout
Gold – Carlos Ponce, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Silver – Peter Ooi Swee Twoon, Tukka
Bronze – Richard Taylor, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Hot Soup
Gold – Manjula Dhanasinghe, Abacus Restaurant; Petar Al Kurdi, Laurens
Silver – Carlos Ponce, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Peter Ooi Swee Twoon, Tukka; Arumugan Veeramuthu, Tukka; Gardine Miller, Mise en Place; Faure Jeremy, Guy Harvey’s Grill
Bronze – S Manimaran, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Elardo McDonald, Grand Old House; Sudharshan Madhavan, Westin; Dimuth Pradeepa, Westin; Sujit L Gomes, Marriott Beach Resort
Cold Soup
Gold – Gardine Miller, Mise en Place
Silver – Richard Taylor, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Peter Ooi Swee Twoon, Tukka
Bronze – Sujit L Gomes, Marriott Beach Resort; Carlos Ponce, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Manjula Dhanasinghe, Abacus Restaurant; Petar Al Kurdi, Laurens; Lottaya Palmer, Mise en Place; Faure Jeremy, Guy Harvey’s Grill
Hot Appetizer
Gold – Manjula Dhanasinghe, Abacus Restaurant
Silver – Peter Ooi Swee Twoon, Tukka; Gardine Miller, Mise en Place; Lottaya Palmer, Mise en Place
Bronze – George B Cortez, Over the Edge; Senthil Kumar, Breezes by the Bay; Aaron Turner, Mise en Place; Zack Myrie; Faure Jeremy, Guy Harvey’s Grill
Cold Appetizer
Gold – Peter Al Kurdi, Laurens
Silver – Richard Taylor, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Peter Ooi Swee Twoon, Tukka; Arumugan Veeramuthu; Tukka
Bronze – Manjula Dhanasinghe, Abacus Restaurant; George B Cortez, Over the Edge; Senthil Kumar, Breezes by the Bay; Baranidharan, Grand Old House; Sudharshan Madhavan, Westin; Gardine Miller, Mise en Place
Main Course
Gold – Richard Taylor, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Silver – Carlos Ponce, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Aaron Turner, Mise en Place; Manjula Dhanasinghe, Abacus Restaurant, Lottaya Palmer, Mise en Place
Bronze – George B Cortez, Over the Edge; Petar Al Kurdi, Laurens; Dimuth Pradeepa, Westin; Gardine Miller, Mise en place.
Dessert
Gold – Samantha Wiff, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Vickie Clarke, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Silver – Sudhakar Manirajan, Treats; Adhavan Rangarajan, Blue Cilantro
Bronze – Muthu Kumar, Foster’s Food Fair Airport; Arumugam Veeramuthu, Tukka; Manjula Dhanasinghe, Abacus Restaurant; Senthil Kumar, Breezes by the Bay; Baranidharan, Grand Old House; Dimuth Pradeepa, Westin; Gardine Miller, Mise en Place
Show Piece
Gold – Baranidharan, Grand Old House
Silver – Sudhakar Manirajan, Treats
Bronze – Haniff Williams, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Dhineshraja, Eats Cafe; Elardo Mcdonald, Grand Old House
Student
Gold – Kendra Bodden, UCCI
Silver – Jekelli Swaby, UCCI
Bronze – Anique Holness, UCCI; Stevyn Lynch, UCCI
Lifetime Achievement Award
George Fowler, Calypso Grill
Related Videos
