Belizean culinary ingenuity and mixology will spice once again this year’s Taste of the Caribbean as Belizean chefs and bartenders go head on against the region’s finest.
Taste of the Caribbean is the region’s premier culinary competition, food & beverage educational exchange and Caribbean cultural showcase. It will be held from June 22 –25 in Miami, Florida.
Since 1993, the Caribbean’s best chefs and culinary teams unite at Taste of the Caribbean to compete, demonstrate their skills, learn from each other and offer the general public a scintillating exhibition of the most delectable culinary treats.
One of the main objectives for the Taste of the Caribbean is to provide a platform for the development of food and beverage professionals. Educational sessions will be provided and participants from Belize will use the opportunity to learn and enhance their skills and knowledge. The event is also a great opportunity to promote Belize, its culture and excellent cuisine. Competitions will be held in the following categories: Caribbean National Team of the Year; Caribbean Chef of the Year; Caribbean Junior Chef; Caribbean Pastry Chef and Caribbean Bartender, Individual Beef Competition and Individual Seafood Competition.
In 2018, Team Belize brought home a unified silver medal. They also received silver and bronze in other individual competitions.
This year Team Belize will be comprised of Team Manager: Rob Pronk; Senior Chef: Sean Kuylen; Senior Chef: Eva Longsworth; Junior Chef: Rojel Lisbey; Pastry Chef: Maria Urbina and Bartender: Mark Jacobs. The team will also include Elisa Carr and Emir Sosa, winners from Taste of Belize 2018, who will shadow the team in preparation for next year’s competition.
This year, the Caribbean 305 event, which is a culinary display on June 22 as part of Taste of the Caribbean, has added an individual “Street Pork” and Individual Seafood Competition, during which Team Belize will also participate. This event gives those attending the opportunity to savor all of the diverse gastronomic delights the Caribbean has to offer at one extraordinary culinary and cultural celebration.
Team Belize is currently conducting various practice sessions to prepare for the team competition, as well as individual competitions. This year’s sponsors of Team Belize include the BTB, Madisco, Total Marketing & Distribution, Tropic Air, Belikin, Southside Meats and Traveller’s Liquors.
