Big Chef’s Top Chefs Compete for the Second Year

The second Big Chef’s Top Chef Culinary Competition was held on June 30th with eleven competitors from Big Chef Steakhouse and sister restaurant Tapas on the Bay. The event was organized by Executive Chef Odeen Martin with the support of owners Rosie and Marc Joinville, and is intended to combine serious training and assessment along with a little fun for the team.

In the style of many popular TV cooking competitions, the chefs were each given a mystery basket of eight items which included a whole chicken and whole snapper along with access to a full pantry and a community table of vegetables, fruits and herbs. Competition was fierce, with only an hour and forty five minutes to cook an appetiser and entrée using as many of the ingredients as possible.

Despite all the fun, this challenge had a serious side, and the chefs were marked on knife skills and various cooking methods including poaching, frying, deep frying and braising.

Chef Trevan Laurent, Chef Adrian Sylvester and Chef Glen Henry acted as mentors and were available to assist all the contestants.

The results of Big Chef’s Top Chef Culinary Competition were as follows:
Branford Edmund – 1st prize (also placed 1st in 2014)
Adrian Louis – 2nd prize (also 2014 Rising Star)
Melvina Philip and Ron Bastien – 3rd prize.

The Award for Rising Star was presented to Madlene Felicien who started as a trainee cook with Tapas on the Bay in November 2014.

Each competitor received a certificate of participation and a trophy along with gifts of chef’s knives, cook books and gift vouchers for dinners and day passes for hotels.

The Big Chef’s Top Chef Culinary Competition was sponsored by CPJ Ltd and Trans Caribbean 200 Ltd. Sales Manager Anthia Monplaisir was one of the judges, along with Chef Jean Claude Amedée and the original Big Chef, Peter Kouly. Other judges were Genevie Pierre, Chef Odeen Martin, Chef Larry Monrose and Big Chef Steakhouse owners, Rosie and Marc Joinville.