Legendary New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme once said, “I think the most wonderful thing is another chef.”

This seemed to be the underlying nuance most evident at the First Annual Peter Island Resort & Spa’s Caribbean Food Festival, which took place last weekend as part of the BVI Food Fete.

Chefs from New York, New Orleans and across the Caribbean traveled to Peter Island to celebrate the flavours and traditions of the area, prepare a special tasting menu, meet guests, drink cocktails made during a mixology competition, and compete in a relay on the beach.

Presiding over the events was Peter Island Resort & Spa General Manager Scott Hart, who encouraged the chefs to engage in the kind of relaxed camaraderie that makes for the best experience among guests and professionals alike.

Chefs from all over The First Annual Peter Island Resort & Spa Caribbean Food Festival included chefs from the Virgin Islands and abroad, including the following: • Nina Compton, “fan favourite” on the television show Top Chef and                chef/owner of Compère Lapin restaurant in New Orleans • Ron Duprat, a Top Chef competitor from Haiti • Alex Ewald, chef/owner of La Tapa in St. John • Joseph “J.J.” Johnson, executive chef at The Cecil and Minton’s in Harlem, New York • Lisa Sellers, executive chef at Carlisle Bay in Antigua • Josef Huber, executive chef at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan • Todd Howard, executive chef at Peter Island Resort & Spa

Abigail Gullo of Compère Lapin restaurant in New Orleans was among the most enthusiastic of the featured professionals, providing an infectious energy throughout as she competed in the relays, judged the mixology competition, and dazzled guests at the bar on the last night by making a New Orleans classic: the Sazerac, a cocktail made with rye whiskey or cognac, absinthe, a sugar cube and bitters.

The relays

Taking place with balmy weather, the relay and mixology competitions were held in and around Deadman’s Beach Bar & Grill.

Teams of chef competitors started at the first station, drinking a shot of tequila before racing to scoop seawater into a bucket, collecting as little sand as possible. Afterward, competitors attempted to navigate a stretch of sand in snorkeling gear, then chest-carried a ball back up toward the bar area, where they attempted to sink Frisbees and other projectiles into a container.  After lobbing water balloons over their partner’s heads into a bucket, teams had to quickly plate food while praying they didn’t get sunk by time faults.

For many participants, the most difficult part of the course was racing from one station to another in snorkeling gear, which included flippers. Contestants walking backward succeeded in getting the fastest results, while others flopped awkwardly to the next station to the delight of onlookers.

One chef, J.J. Johnson, left the water balloon station wet after his relay partner hit him square in the face while trying to perfect her arc.

Chef Josef Huber led the winning team, and he mugged for the camera with the prize, a bottle of Zacapa XO rum, only to get photobombed by another chef.

Cocktail contest

The Caribbean Cocktail Challenge began a couple of hours later, as guests watched a contest between two VI mixologists, including one from Peter Island Resort & Spa. Their libations — which included soursop and simple syrup  — were judged by Ms. Gullo and Mr. Hart.

The winner was Peter Island’s own mixologist, whose strawberry cocktail was later renamed by the resort and served that night before the tasting menu at the Tradewinds Restaurant.

Tasting menu

The tasting menu, following by dancing and entertainment, was the last event of the evening, and of the Festival. A several-course menu made up of local ingredients and specialties of the chefs was served on candlelit tables.

It included crudo of cobia (made by Mr. Johnson); coconut pumpkin soup with local herbs and snapper (Chef Nina Compton); grilled black grouper with green papaya, heirloom tomato, avocado and wild rice (Chef Alex Ewald); lobster pot-au-feu featuring Zacapa rum (Chef Ron Duprat); local rabbit saddle stuffed with callaloo with plantains and cilantro verde (Chef Todd Howard); 24-hour braised short rib with chimichurri and dumplings (Mr. Huber); and a dessert taster of lemon grass crème brulée, flourless Caribbean dark chocolate cake, and soursop ice cream.

Mr. Hart described the event as a success, explaining that this year’s chefs have already begun committing for next year’s event.

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