Taste of St. Croix Brings Elegance, Delicious Food, and Normalcy

Ridge to reef’s presentation at Taste of St. Croix. (Source photo by Diana Dias)

The 22^nd annual Taste of St. Croix brought elegance, delicious food and a sense of normalcy to St. Croix on Thursday evening at the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino. The event was in full swing as the finest restaurants from St. Croix showcased their best dishes in hopes of reigning supreme in their category.

This was the first time since the pandemic that masks were not required, and the hundreds of attendees indulged in a night of fun.

This year’s Taste of St. Croix judges. (VI Source photo by Diana Dias)

Judge Jamal Lake said it is his second-year judging, his last time being in 2019. “It was such an amazing experience then and to be back is a pleasure.  It feels really good to be back in St. Croix with no mask,” he said.

When asked what he was specifically looking for in the dishes he was judging, Lake said, “One of the things I am looking for is trying to see if they take our local dishes and kind of elevate them, put a new spin on things that we have here.”

Taylor Holmes, who represented Bluewater Terrace on behalf of her mother, said that they have been in business for 13 years and a part of the Taste of St. Croix for 11. They served conch stuffed mofongo, gooseberry cheesecake tacos, and stuffed cheesecake puffs.

Blue Water Terrace served their local conch and mofongo dish. (Source photo by Diana Dias)

Misfits Island Munchies used unconventional ingredients such as noni leaves and the stinking toe fruit to create two of their dishes. Noni-wrapped steamed dumplings with saltfish were served, while dessert was a fried donut that incorporated a peanut punch cream and a passion fruit stinking toe jam.

Throughout the night attendees enjoyed sampling from some of their favorite restaurants as they listened to live music and occasionally visited the casino to try their luck as passing clouds occasionally sprinkled the event.

This year’s competition winners are:

Presentation

• 1^st Place: Blue Water Terrace
• 2^nd Place: Tie between 69 Restaurant and Bar and Southgate Corner Farmers Market
• 3^rd Place: Tie between Misfits Island Munchies, Ridge to Reef Farm and Cruzian Bayou Bistro

Local Fare

• 1^st Place:  Tap Deck Bar and Billiards
• 2^nd Place:  Ridge to Reef Farm
• 3^rd Place:  Southgate Corner Farmers Market

Beverage

• 1^st Place:  Tap Deck and Billiards
• 2^nd Place:  VLP Enterprise
• 3^rd Place:  Just Desserts

Soup & Stew

• 1^st Place:  Blue Water Terrace
• 2^nd Place:  Kalalloo Man
• 3^rd Place:  Salt Great Pond

Dessert

• 1^st Place: Misfits Island Munchies
• 2^nd Place:  Just Desserts
• 3^rd Place:  Cultured Delights

Vegetarian

• 1^stPlace:  Cruzian Bayou Bistro
• 2^ndPlace:  Ridge to Reef Farm
• 3^rdPlace:  Southgate Corner Farmer’s Market

Appetizer

• 1^st Place:  69 Restaurant and Bar
• 2^nd Place:  Deep End Restaurant
• 3^rd Place:  Misfit Island Munchies

Entre

• 1^st Place:  69 Restaurant and Bar
• 2^nd Place:  The Bistro Eatery and Catering
• 3^rd Place:  Duval Cruzian

Other judges included Troy Millington, Commissioner Calvert White, Mathayom Vacharat, Wanda Belardo, Molly Buckley, Julius Jackson, Dean Fennessey, Cyndee Frontal, Diane Brown, Commissioner Gary Molloy, David Benjamin, Source reporter Susan Ellis, and attorney Danny Matarangas-King.