WITH the above soundbite, Paul Pennicook, departing the Jamaica Tourist Board for a senior position with the national airline, succinctly set the tone for the annual seminar for the Table Talk Food Awards (2005-06), held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel yesterday.

The theme of the seminar was ‘Making the A-list: The dynamics of marketing and celebrities’. The theme, Pennicook noted, reflected the growing reality of the Jamaican tourist industry that not all visitors are opting for fixed-price, all-inclusive vacation packages, but that a level of diversity was returning to the visitor patterns.

“Today’s traveller is more and more seeking an experience. He or she wants a level of fulfillment that can only come from being immersed in the culture of the destination, and great cuisine is an integral element in this process,” he said.

Pennicook went further to state that it was his firm belief and passion that Jamaican cuisine could become as popular as Jamaican music.

With regards to celebrity marketing, the outgoing director of tourism cited several examples of positioning that had been achieved recently, noting that Jamaica’s appeal to current celebrities was not by accident.

“In last season’s presentation of The Amazing Race, the final segment was filmed in and centred on Jamaica. People may wonder how that can be of benefit, but the truth is, we could not have paid for two hours of exposure on national prime time television, programming going into millions of homes and reaching a large cross-section of people,” he added. He also pointed to the celebrity endorsement of Red Stripe beer in the movie The Firm (starring Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman), which resulted in a spike in export sales of the brew.

Turning to the print medium, Pennicook cited the In Style Weddings publication that highlighted the wedding cake of former world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis and his bride, Violet, as well as the recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine that had significant spreads on Norma’s on the Terrace and Walkerswood Caribbean in the same issue.

He further related the experience earlier this year at the annual International Arts festival in Houston, Texas, at which Jamaica was the featured nation this year.

“One of the features of the event was the Mayor’s gala which included an auction, with bids being accepted on a number of items including vacation trips to Jamaica,” Pennicook said. “One of the trips was for a stay at Goldeneye, and at that point I interrupted the auctioneer to inform the audience that the Clintons [former US President Bill and wife Hillary] had stayed there only the week before, which was Easter. That item ended up posting the highest price in the history of the festival.”

The critical elements of success, Pennicook said, were diversity, quality in product and service and building relationships. “It is the relationships that we build now that will impact on our business in the future.”

Comments and questions from the food and restaurant trade covered a wide range of topics, from the challenges of marketing adequately on a tight budget, to training, to the development of wine lists and other amenities. Fiona Machado of Mac’s Chop House, which last year this time had barely opened, summarised the year for the upscale New Kingston eatery, as one of hard work and challenges – particularly regarding operating costs – but one which was also highly rewarding.

Another relatively new entrepreneur, Michelle Smith of Chocolate Dreams, also testified to the challenges of maintaining high standards of service in a place where cut-rate is the order of the day. Restaurateur Norma Shirley pointed out that Jamaican executives have no problem paying a premium for fine dining in Barbados, or the US, but were often reluctant to do so here. As Cecile Levee of the Table Talk judges committee noted, there was still a significant problem of self-esteem among Jamaicans.

The seminar closed with presentations in a new Food Awards category this year, Star Turns, to Jing Shi, for Lennox Lewis’ wedding cake; Norma Shirley, for the Bon Appetit spread; Virginia Burke on behalf of Walkerswood for their Bon Appetit spread; Dian Watson of Contemporary Cafe, for her hominy corn porridge – the recipe was also featured in Bon Appetit; the Jamaica Defence Force, represented by Lt Col Robinson, for the Victoria Cross Dinner, featured on the BBC. The other Star Turn was Toscanini’s Italian restaurant, which earned raves from visiting former US President Bill Clinton and his wife.