77.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesCrucian Fusion Attracts Local Chefs and Foodies

Crucian Fusion Attracts Local Chefs and Foodies

Shelli Brin-Olive enjoys homemade veggie burgers with chipotle mayonnaise from Tahira Abubaker at Crucian Fusion Saturday night.Chefs took Crucian cooking to a new level at Crucian Fusion Saturday night at Fort Frederik on the west edge of the island, which escaped the evening rain.

The elegantly dressed crowd sipped and nibbled on some of the finest local food on St. Croix at the benefit for Crucian Heritage And Nature Tourism (CHANT.) More than a dozen amateur and professional cooks, chefs and culinary students from both public high schools served up traditional food and drinks with a flair.

Guest chef Digby Stridiron set an example with rich bread pudding topped with coquito cream sauce served in a shot glass, conch ceviche with avocado puree and chicken confit with gooseberry jam ketchup.

Verdel Petersen presented ramped up culinary creations including seafood quelbe with crab and shrimp, papaya hot sauce, and Santa Cruz pasta salad with seven kinds of beans representing the seven flags of St. Croix. Sharon Brown created soursop and mango grout, a gelatin-like dessert usually made with guava. Brown’s version was a hit, especially with Joyce Hickock who also praised the maubi made by Neil and Jenell Liebert.

Kicked-up versions of local drinks included Peter Abraham’s guavaberry rum and liqueur, Frank Robinson’s sorrel rum and Grizelle Davila’s starfruit, sorrel, plum and sea grape wine.

Celeste Fahie shows off a plate of food, her second, at Crucian Fusion.Sweets included anise candy filled with dried fruit and nuts, flaky fruit filled tarts, chocolate pumpkin cake, and passion fruit pineapple muffins with coconut almond crust. Keith James, known as the Cake Man, presented fluffy cream filled cupcakes with light custard frosting.

Restaurants known primarily for their continental cuisine showed their skills cooking Crucian. Sandcastles on the Beach, which won an award in the last Crucian Fusion, presented seafood kallaloo and fungi, and Turtles After Dark made its award winning man soup, pina colada potato stuffing and ceviche.

The high schools cooked up three-course meals for patrons to sample.

Four or five students from St. Croix Central High made three kinds of pates, barbecue chicken wings, banana rice fritters, conch chowder, saltfish gundy with salsa, salmon balls and tarts, cakes and Danish cookies. There was high praise from the guests for the conch chowder.

The team from St. Croix Educational Complex cooked up pork egg rolls, cordon bleu meatballs and conch pates that Shelli Brin-Olive and several others named as favorites.

Highlights of the evening included awards presented to Allan and Mable Brady of Brady’s Restaurant, a 46-year-old restaurant in Christiansted, and Margarita Heywood of A Taste of Margarita, in business for 11 years in Frederiksted.

The restaurants have several things in common. Both owners were born on St. Croix and learned to love cooking at an early age. Both restaurants have a dedicated clientele and sell a lot of take-out food.

Another common trait is their love of cooking. Heywood started cooking for her family after she quit school in sixth grade to help care for her five siblings while her parents worked. She has cooked ever since – in restaurants, her home, the racetrack and in the Vendor’s Plaza in Frederiksted. She loves to cook everything, especially red pea soup and kallaloo.

Grizelle Davila pours starfruit, sorrel, sea grape and plum wine for guests at Crucian Fusion Saturday night.Mable Brady also has been cooking most of her life. She is retired now, but stops by to fill in and advise son Allen Jr., who is being trained to take over the business. Brady also likes to cook a variety of dishes and her favorites include red pea soup, kallaloo, saltfish and dumplings, cakes and tarts. She accepted the award on behalf of the family.

“It means a lot. Somebody appreciates what we’re doing to keep up tradition,” Brady said.

CHANT board member Aminah Saleem said the community showed its appreciation this year with its patronage at the event that “celebrates our Crucian heritage.” Crucian Fusion is a showcase for the cooks, their food and how they run their businesses, she said.

“We need to have these businesses running so visitors can come and have a place to enjoy and experience local food,” Saleem said.

The event also gives young chefs an opportunity to interact with successful chefs from St. Croix, like Stridiron, Saleem said.

Stridiron, executive chef, business owner and chef de partie at Luma on the Park Restaurant in Orlando, was born on St. Croix. He attended Alfredo Andrews Elementary School, John Woodson Junior High and graduated from the St. Croix Educational Complex in 2000. While still in high school he worked at several local restaurants, including the Buccaneer Hotel. He attended Johnson and Wales University and after graduation worked in North Carolina before starting the Stridiron Group.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.