CHRISTIANSTED — Chefs and restaurateurs packed all the flavors of the territory into a parking lot at the Divi Carina Bay Resort on Thursday night during the 24th Taste of St. Croix, a celebration of the island’s chefs, fishermen and farmers.
Thursday saw representation from Cruzian Bayou Bistro, Divi Carina Bay, Duval Cruzian, The Fred, Turkey Leg on the Go, Rita Chiverton, Vital Vibrations, VLP Enterprise, Jubilee by Yaadie in St. Croix, The Palms at Pelican Cove, Cultured Delights, Carambola Beach Resort, Through the Grapevine, Ridge to Reef Farm, Bleu Chocolat, the St. Croix Central High School Culinary Arts class, Sugar Rush, Chef Camisha Lynch, the CTEC Baking class, Wokame Island Sushi and Restaurant, Rowdy Joe’s, Queen Maubi, Doughboy Pretzels, Saviors Journey, Fresh Natural Drinks and Misfit Island Munchies.
Chefs Phil Titre, left, and Rafael Acevedo, right, representing the Palms at Pelican Cove, serve Caribbean seafood chowder and coconut curry shrimp during the 24th Taste of St. Croix on Thursday night at Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino. (Photos and story by KIT MACAVOY)
At table after table, the talent of local chefs were on full display in the form of a mouth-watering assortment of classic dishes inflected with Caribbean flavor.
From The Fred, Executive Chef Michael Matthews presented a smoked brisket sourced from local Senepol beef and seafood arancini — a Caribbean update to fried Italian rice balls.
Chefs from the Palms at Pelican Cove Phil Titre and Rafael Acevedo heaped spoonfuls of steaming Caribbean seafood chowder and coconut curry shrimp into ramekins and the team from Misfit Island Munchies pulled a fast one on attendees with their “not” conch fritters — convincing vegetarian look-alikes made with coconut and oyster mushrooms.
Every course was well-represented on Thursday night, from amuse bouche and aperitif to desserts and post-dinner dancing.
The group judging the competition was just as diverse, comprising celebrated chefs and local industry leaders alike.
The former group included established greats like Brian Wisbauer, six-time Taste of St. Croix winner and Taste of the Caribbean silver medalist; pastry innovator and St. Croix native Jamal Lake; Frenchman’s Reef Hotel and Caneel Bay veteran and entrepreneur Judith Lewis Figueroa; and St. Thomas restaurateur David Benjamin, also known as Chef Benji.
Winners of the Taste of St. Croix were not immediately available as of presstime Thursday night.