SUPER Clubs Grand Lido Negril pulled out all the stops last weekend and had some of the finest new chefs from the United States showcasing their talent at the third annual Epicurean Escape.

The chefs displayed a variety of food preparation and serving methods and the highlight of the three-day event was a formal dinner of delectable cuisine and great wine.

The annual food festival brings a variety of cuisines under one roof, where local and overseas guests can experience mouth-watering dishes and even watch while they are being prepared.

“This is a way of attracting people to the island. People will travel all over the globe for events like these because they want to discover new tastes and new flavours,” said hotel manager Catherine Massey.

“It is also a tool to bring in business for the hotel as September is a slow period,” she added.

Best Dress Foods, Ocean Seafoods, Caribbean Producers, Sweet Meats, Appleton Rum, Food and Wine Magazine and Jamaican Standard Products were all sponsors of the elegant food festival which, according to Massey, is made for those who appreciate good food and wine.

At this year’s Epicurean Escape, described by some as the most luxurious food festival in Jamaica, participants enjoyed several cooking classes, cooking demonstrations, pastry demonstrations, wine tasting, coffee tasting and mixology (preparation of unique drinks).

The activities came to a close Sunday night with a segment described as a taste of Jamaica. It consisted of Jamaican cuisine and Jamaican entertainment including a steel band, folk singing, gherre and maypole dancing.

The Epicurean Escape was the brainchild of the resort’s general manager; its food and beverage manager, John McIntosh and executive chef, Martin Maginley. They decided that Grand Lido Negril should offer something extraordinary that would attract people who are seriously interested in preparing and consuming good food and wine.

A friend of the SuperClubs family and accounting manager of Food & Wine Magazine in Florida, DeborahTurner-Russell, assisted in realizing this dream by securing the chefs that appear each year at the Epicurean Escape.

“We are a major partner and sponsor in the Epicurean Escape. We take care of a lot of promotions and identify the chefs,” she told the Observer.

Food and Wine Magazine hosts the United State’s best new chef award every year and it is from this competition that the chefs are selected to attend the food fest at Grand Lido Negril. To be selected, the individual has to be an executive chef for less than five years.

This year, the participants included four executive chefs and a wine expert in addition to some of the local chefs at the host resort in Negril.

In his cooking demonstration, executive chef at The Regis Hotel in Los Angeles, Jesse Llapitan, prepared Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes. And even though his specialty is Asian dishes with a mostly Japanese influence, he admires the variety of fresh vegetables used in the Jamaican style of cooking and plans to incorporate some of these techniques in his dishes at the 297-room hotel where he works.

Owners of Restaurant Happa in Scottsdale, Arizona, chefs James McDevitt and his wife Stacey Schultz-McDevitt were also among the visiting chefs. Though they have been in the restaurant business for only five years, their establishment is already a hallmark in the US’s culinary circuit.

In 1999, Food and Wine Magazine chose McDevitt as one of America’s Top 10 Best New Chefs. The following year, his restaurant was chosen as one of America’s Best Restaurants while the New York Times Magazine praised his version of fusion cooking as one of the most inventive and exhilarating.

In the Happa, he does most of the cooking while his wife Stacey is kept busy on the pastry side of things.

“Jamaican cooking is similar to that of New Orleans, in that you make do with what you have,” noted sous chef of the Restaurant August, Chef Michael Blydenstein.

Conde Naste Traveler Magazine recently recognized his New Orleans restaurant as one of the 50 best in the world.

In his cooking demonstration, Blydenstein prepared the sumptuous Buster Crab, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich which was uniquely finished with a garnish of chopped chives, chive oil and beet juice.

And the wines offered during the three-day event were just as tempting as the meals.

With the assistance of Marc Boureli, Jorge Miranda and Ken Boek Master Sommelier Anthony Giglio exposed the guests at the Epicurean Escape to some of the best tasting wines, some of which were aged to perfection.

And the third annual event would not have been complete without the local chefs of Grand Lido Negril showcasing their own style of cooking. The local contingent was headed by executive chef Martin Maginley, a former chef of the year for both Jamaica and the Caribbean. He has been instrumental in Grand Lido Negril’s achievements in culinary competition over the years.