Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor

Left: Voted best rum in the world, Guyana's El Dorado rum was a major player. Right: Virginia Burke does her Jamaican thing with penache, Judy.

The first St. Lucia/MACO Food and Rum Festival kicked off on Thursday last, not without the usual hiccups of a first effort but there's only one way for this festival to go - and that is up. Neysha Soodeen and Alan Chastanet - the latter the brain behind the success of the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, making a pledge that this happening will become the food show of the Caribbean.

After three days of cooking demonstrations, rum tasting, musical entertainment, cameras, Travel Channel, independent producers, magazine editors, patrons and magical food bites - all within a huge air-conditioned tent - it is difficult to know where to start. Here are some highlights.

OF RUM AND MUSIC

First of all, Carl Stevenson (formerly J. Wray & Nephew) launched his new St. Lucian Rum - Element 8 - causing a sensation among lovers of our elixir. The amazing 3D modern-lines bottle design gives this rum a most elegant look. Carl has obviously found his niche in St. Lucia in conjunction with St. Lucia Distillers, whose Bounty and Chairman's Reserve were very much in the limelight. Other rums making waves were Trinidad's Angostura 1919 and 1824 - their Caribbean Club Punch mixes a delight among the crowds; Foursquare Spiced Rum came from R.L. Seale, Barbados. Mount Gay from the same island very much present. Suriname's Borgoe 82 was a delight as well as Anguilla's Pyrat, St. Lucia's and DIH from Guyana - El Dorado from that same land a delicious addition to all.

On Friday night Third World brought down the massive crowd that attended their concert and Saturday Arrow had his turn at making people jump and wave to the consumption of much rum and great food served by the side stalls at the massive open air venue. But where was J. Wray & Nephew - again?

Daily Food Demonstrations, Nightly Restaurant Dinners

Both Judy Bastyra and myself had the pleasure of hosting the chef demonstrations, sharing them equally; wishing we could have both done them all. Barbadian Jason Inniss from Amuse-Bouche (Toronto) shone both at his demonstration and his dinner at Almond Resort's Le Jardin Restaurant where his menu took the palate on a Caribbean-infused ride that had the little restaurant filled to capacity on two nights.

Starting with a little Amuse-Bouche which all patrons to his restaurant in Toronto receive as a gift, the salt cod croquette with crab and guava salad melted in the mouth. Both Virginia Burke of Walkerswood and I had the Pan Seared Foie Gras, grilled Pineapple Salsa and Star Anis Jus totally convincing us that anything is possible in Caribbean cooking. I chose Grilled Beef Tenderloin, St. Lucia Gratin with Mango Ketchup and Cocoa Reduction; Virginia - the Butter Poached Lobster, Crispy Breadfruit Salad, Christophene (Chocho) Coconut Ginger ending with an absolutely perfect Vanilla Crème Brulée made with real vanilla pods from Castries market and topped with watermelon and mandarin pieces. Both of us were in scrumptious heaven.

Customs in St. Lucia was not kind to several chefs with products and books kept pending God-knows-where-or-why, but in true island style, when it came time for Virginia to demonstrate her skills in the kitchen, she pulled it off magnificently, making her own jerk sauce from scratch under the Walkerswood banner. The crowd was enthused to see the actual making of the popular sauce, so this worked beautifully - her dishes eaten up with gusto by the crowd while visually getting a pictorial travel of Jamaica with photographs projected onto a huge screen. Talking books - Rum, A Social and Sociable History by Ian Williams whose talk was most enlightening - is a must-have.

Barbadian Paul Yellin cooked Pan/Wok-Seared Ginger Scallops ending with Flash Fried Banana Ice Cream - his youthful flair loved by the crowd that included a group of young students from the Culinary Institute of St. Lucia. Chef Bobo Bergstrom with his Eurobbean fusion did a Shrimp and Tropical Fruit Cocktail awash with taste and a St. Lucia cocoa-rolled baked tenderloin that had the crowd in a tizz of deliciousness. At night Chef Bobo served up a huge five-course dinner at his highly acclaimed restaurant

The Edge that included Rum Spiced Pumpkin and Ginger Soup with Green Herbs and Goat Cheese Mousse, Rum and Pow Pow Marinated Beef Tartar in a Carrot-Tumeric Juice with Lentil Salad and a Rum-jerk glazed Rabbit with a deep-fried 'Fruit Muesli' roll, black pepper-orange and Triple Sec roasted parsnips with Chinese four-spice jus. Talk about inventive!

Lovely Thai restaurant

Chef Robert Oliver cooked at Kut De Ta - a lovely Thai restaurant in Rodney Bay. Starting with Tahitian Tuna Tartare On Won Ton Chip, I had Kokoda South Seas Style Ceviche served in a halved hard coconut, went on to a delightfully presented HuliHuli Cornish Hen with Sticky Rice Pudding and Philson Joseph's St. Lucian Fruit Pickle ending with a Fiji Fondue for dessert that included home-made marshmallow, tiny squares of banana bread, a St. Lucian cocoa and coffee sauce served with a Castries Peanut Rum Cream. This dinner was a pièce de resistance.

Other chefs leaving a grand mark on everyone's palate were Chef Richardson Skinner at Coco Palm Hotel's At Ti Banane - born in Trinidad this affable young man served up a mean Orange-Glazed Duck Comfit with Papaya and Avocado Salsa à la Balsamic as part of his menu. St. Lucian Chef Orlando Satchell of Dasheen Restaurant (in Soufrière - the other side of the island) cooked at Ladera and made 'foodies' crazy with his Seventh Heaven Upside Down Mahi Mahi on pumpkin risotto with ginger fruit salsa.

England's Chef Andrew Rose, owner of The Floridita Restaurant in his home town, came down to mesmerise at Sandals Grande with Langousta 'Thermidor' Spiny Lobster Gratin, buttom mushrooms and parmesan served with 'Moros Y Cristianos' (black beans and rice) - an interpretation of cosmopolitan Cuban and Latin American cuisine used at Floridita that has taken the U.K. by its Latino surprise. Chef Craig Jones at the Royal St. Lucian's Chic Restaurant also had gourmands loving his fine menu that ended with Hot Chocolate Souffle, freshly churned coconut and rum ice cream, pistachio anglaise for dessert.

Trinidadian Douane Dove I have left out because his demonstration has brought so much hope to our cocoa and sugar industry that it deserves its own column - this amazing man had only standing room at each of his shows and certainly was the icing on the cake of this very successful first Food and Rum Festival in St. Lucia. Many thanks to Almond Morgan Bay Resort for their hospitality.