Cayman’s “culinary capital of the Caribbean” boast was put to the test when popular Food Network series Top Chef Canada saw its semi-finalists compete on local shores.
The show’s final episodes of season 10 were filmed in Grand Cayman and the first of the episodes has set local tongues wagging (and taste buds watering) after it premiered late last month.
Dylan Benoit, celebrity chef and owner of local private chef and catering company Prime Kitchen, says it is a very special feeling for him to have the world see Cayman for the “bounty” it has to offer.
“It was awesome. I mean, we are the culinary capital of the Caribbean and having such a well-known and well-established show as Top Chef Canada come down here validates that to an even further degree. I also really liked that they placed an emphasis on the local ingredients… the local flair. It wasn’t just come down and let’s cook generic food,” he said in an interview with the Cayman Compass on Monday.
Benoit, who also hosts a Food Network series – Fire Masters, was the guest host for the episode as he joined main host, chef and cookbook author, Eden Grinshpan.
A taste of Cayman
The episode featured popular sites like Pedro St James and the Farmers’ Market, which Benoit said gave the contestants and the crew a taste of Cayman.
The first challenge was held at the historic Pedro St James and the four competitors had to use local ingredients in their first offering.
Products from local distillery Cayman Spirits were also used in a drink challenge and owner/distiller Walker Romanica said it was an amazing feeling to see their products being featured.
“The show did a great job in highlighting some of the best of Cayman and further cemented our reputation as the culinary capital of the Caribbean. The beautiful views, food and, of course, our amazing local rum,” he said.
He said the chefs, working with a variety of local ingredients, were tasked with making a classic combination of conch fritters and rum punch.
“The chefs were given a choice of local rums from Cayman Spirits to feature in their rum punch cocktail and did not disappoint the judges with some creative submissions,” he added.
Next, Benoit took the contestants on a food tour, where they were challenged to “incorporate what they saw at the Farmers’ Market in their next round for the competition at The Ritz”.
“It was great on their behalf to really dive in and nourish [the idea] that there is not only a food scene, but a food culture here in the Cayman Islands… We have something unique here and it was nice that we were able to highlight it,” he said.
Tropical challenges
As for the chefs competing for the top prize, he said, they were thrilled with the idea of putting their skills to the test in a tropical setting.
“They absolutely loved it. They had a great time. It was really cool for them to experience some new ingredients and new techniques. It was also challenging for them in that way, right? Because now you’re down to the final four chefs and every dish counts so massively in those rounds and now you get this curveball.. now you have to use things like soursop,” Benoit said.
Seeing the chefs operating out of their comfort zone, he said, challenged them to “think outside the box”.
“As far as the crew went, they were all super stoked to be down here and shoot in the sun and a lot of them work on my show as well so there was a lot of overlap with the sound guys and the camera guys,” he explained.
Benoit, who has been in Cayman for the last 10 years, said having the show film here was “massive” for the islands.
“It was super inspiring and a very proud moment for me to have these chefs in this team down here to show them the bounty that we have in Cayman. It’s so easy for people from the outside to think all the food in the Caribbean is the same or similar or think ‘it’s next to Jamaica and should just be oxtail and curry goat and jerk chicken’ but that’s not the case,” he said.
He said when people come to Cayman they see for themselves “the prevalence of fresh fish, fresh fruit, vegetables”.
Benoit said he has often shared in his interviews that “every year, our variety of locally-grown and locally-made products just grows and grows”.
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