Executive Chef George Sittig will soon be jetting off on an all-expenses-paid trip to Miami’s Taste of the Caribbean culinary competition.
Sitting, executive chef at Beachside Cafe in Frederiksted, was chosen Wednesday as the top chef in the 2011 Taste of St. Croix Winners Cook-Off and will travel with the V.I. Culinary Team to take part in the Caribbean food and beverage festival in Miami.
Amanda Radecki, sous chef at the Palms Restaurant at Pelican Cove, and Khadijah Carr and Careeme Smith, students in the St. Croix Central High School cooking class also took part in the competition taking second and third, respectively.
The competition was held in the kitchen of Tutto Bene Restaurant in Gallows Bay.
Judging the competition were Smokey Odom, owner of Tutto Bene; Negust Kaza, executive chef at Tutto Bene; and Joshua Vilain, executive chef at Restaurant Bacchus. Kaza and Vilain are also members of the V.I. Culinary Team.
During the first half hour of competition, contestants chose ingredients from a basket and came up with an appetizer, entrée and menu. Potential menu items included frog legs, Cornish hens, smoked bacon, red skinned potatoes, fruit, rutabaga, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and bunches of fragrant green herbs. An hour and a half was allowed for cooking and the presentation.
Sittig made pan-fried frog legs with a rutabaga winter fruit slaw with lingonberry essence for his appetizer. His entrée was roasted poussin (i.e., young chicken), pommes de terre et cochon gratin, au jus a natural and sautéed broccoli.
Sittig says he has been in and won a number of sanctioned cooking contests, and each time he wins it brings back memories of the first time he won.
“I like competition,” Sittig said. “It is a lot of fun.”
Contestants were judged on handling kitchenware, portion control and waste, chef appearance, taste of food and more. Sittig had 246 out of a possible 300, Radecki had 243, and the Carr and Smith team had 201 points.
Burton Peterson, Central High after-school culinary arts instructor and owner of Top Class Catering, said the contest was good exposure for the students and it raised the level of their culinary experiences.
Taste of the Caribbean is a showcase of the region’s best chefs, pastry chefs and bartenders in a competition-style event. The Taste will be held June 22–26 at the Hyatt Regency, Miami. The event also features education seminars, workshops, tastings and demonstrations.
The Taste of St. Croix is sponsoring Sittig’s trip. The proceeds from the annual Taste of St. Croix events, go toward numerous local culinary and hospitality programs, and the Richard Patrick Henry Scholarship Foundation.
