- First female Chef of the Year - Contributed UONIE LYN always wanted to be the first female chef to win the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's (JCDC) Chef of the Year Award. Well, her dreams came true this year.
Uonie is not just the first female to win the top honour, but the first non-executive chef to be declared Chef of the Year in the Jamaica Broilers Group-sponsored
competition.
She is still in shock and full of excitement to know that she has achieved such a prestigious position so early in her career especially in a year when the culinary competition had a record 350 entries over the weekend of July 25-27.
Uonie has only been a chef for two and a half years, having started out at Breezes Montego Bay. Now she is the Station Cook for Quick Orders at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, in addition to being in charge of
requisition and inventory.
Her "Jamaican Soul" recipe in the Individual Hot category won her the Chef of the Year Award, while the "Chicken Gone Escoveitched, with Melon Mint Rice" entered in the Team Hot category by the Ritz Carlton team of chefs won the Best Dressed Chicken Award. These two top prizes, as well as other major awards in the chicken, fish and beef categories, have been sponsored by the Jamaica Broilers Group over the past 30 years, via cash and trophies.
According to the young top chef: "I wanted to create a dish that was unique and different and also to include a dish steamed in a bamboo steamer similar to the one my Chinese aunt used to make for me when I was younger. I wanted it to have a distinct Jamaican flavour, so I used coconut. But I also wanted the dish to be colourful, so I added carrots and adjusted the recipe three times, until I was satisfied that it was ready for the competition," Uonie said.
Lyn said that although "Jamaican Soul" uses lobster, chicken breast can easily be substituted. Here are the winning recipes:
JCDC'S CHEF OF THE YEAR RECIPE FOR 2003
Winner of the Jamaica Broilers Group's Trophy and $25,000 from Jamaica Broilers Group
Jamaican Soul
Breaded Lobster with Coconut
Carrot Sauce and Bok Choy
Served with Steamed Plantain
Wontons
By Uonie Lyn, Chef at Ritz
Carlton Hotel, Rose Hall, St.
James
Serves three
Preparation time: 1 hour
3 lobster tails 10 grams salt
5 grams white pepper
1 stalk escallion
1 small onion
sprig thyme
5 grams black pepper
250 grams bread crumbs
1/2 litre frying oil
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic
COCONUT CARROT SAUCE
350 millilitres coconut milk
300 millilitres coconut rum
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
30 grams butter
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk escallion, chopped
thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
BOK CHOY
9 leaves bok choy, cut on the
bias
50 grams butter
salt and pepper, to taste
1 small onion, diced
METHOD AND ASSEMBLY
Bring a pot of water to a boil with escallion, onion, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Add lobster tails and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove and place on ice.
Remove the meat from the shell, season with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, beat eggs, dip the tails in the eggs, then roll in bread crumbs. In a skillet bring frying oil to 300 degrees farenheit.
Fry lobster until golden brown.
FOR COCONUT CARROT SAUCE
Blend coconut milk with chopped carrots and set aside.
Place on stove in a saucepan. Add butter. Sweat all ingredients then add the liquid and allow to simmer until flavours are
combined.
Strain the sauce and place it over a low heat to simmer until right consistency is obtained.
SAUTED BOK CHOY
In a hot skillet sweat onions with butter and bok choy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Saute for 10 seconds.
Steamed Plantain Wontons
375 grams flour
25 grams salt
15 grams butter
50 millilitres water
FILLING
150 grams ripe plantain,
mashed
1 gram cinnamon
2 1/2 millilitres vanilla liquid
Bring a pot of water to boil. In a bowl, combine mashed plantain, cinnamon and vanilla liquid and set aside.
TO MAKE PASTRY
Hand-mix flour and butter until granular in consistency. Add water and salt to form a ball. On a board lightly floured, roll dough until 1/8 inch thick.
Cut 9 rounds each.
Spoon mashed plantain in the centre of each round, fold over and seal with a prong of a fork.
Place dough in a bamboo steamer and place over a pot of boiling water and steam until cooked.
Garnish with lemon peppers.
