Barbara Ellington, Acting Lifestyle Editor
( left : ) Trevor Griffiths, second place winner in the jerk cook-off contest at the fourth annual Jamaican Jerk Festival. ( right : )Marcia Minott, third place winner in the jerk cook-off contest at the fourth annual Jamaican Jerk Festival.
BERNET SPENCE and Trevor Griffiths emerged first and second place winners respectively in the fourth annual Jamaican Jerk Festival's Cook-Off Competition held at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida last Sunday.
The duo came out on top of a field of four contestants including 2002's first-time winner Joe Voden (Papa Joe's), who placed fourth this time around. Except for Voden, the top contestants are Jamaicans based in Florida.
The contest was keen and entrants arrived as early as 10:00 a.m. to begin setting up their work stations and presentation tables. Chefs donned jerk festival aprons, put on caps, sharpened knives, lit the coals and turned up the reggae music for cooking inspiration.
Contestants were mandated to test their culinary skills by jerking one chicken, one pork and one other protein dish. Maximum points were awarded for taste but points were also scored for: presentation of dish; texture/tenderness as well as the chefs' appearance and work area.
Although she was not the winner, contestant Marcia Minott of The Comfort Gourmet made the most tender and succulent jerk with her personal uniquely blended sauce. She will not reveal her secret but it worked.
A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA
Bernet Spence added a little something extra with a selection of jerk flavoured sushi and shrimp. He won the contest convincingly but lost points for straying from an authentic and rustic jerk flavour. Trevor Griffiths' jerked vegetarian Shish kebabs and chicklets were a hit with judges but his presentation lacked refinement.
Sydney Roberts, president and executive director of Jamaica Awareness Inc.., one of two major organisers of the festival told Food he was pleased with the growth of the Cook-Off Competition.
"The Cook-Off is here to stay; it is the germ of the festival idea and we need sponsorship to grow so that we can offer more exciting prizes to contestants," Mr. Roberts said.
Future plans for the festival which this year saw over 8,000 visitors having a grand time, include having the contest aired on television's Food Network so that it can reach a wider audience of international entrants.
This year's cook-off was sponsored by Jamaica National Building Society. Mr. Roberts also said that next year the contest will be open to entries from Jamaica.
"We would love to see a pan chicken segment and chefs from the island's leading hotels participating. This is one way to propagate the culture by involving Jamaica - the source of jerk and the people who are more familiar with the jerk process," Mr. Roberts said.
