Montego Bay, St James — Richard Reid emerged the “Iron Chef” at Sandals Montego Bay’s recently concluded Iron Chef competition, walking away with the supreme title from a field of 12 resort cooks.

Reid’s dish of “Surf & Turf” with sun-dried tomato jam took top honours while Shane James’ breaded paprika snapper with sun-dried tomato sauce and Ordell Grant’s pan-seared snapper served with sun- dried tomatoes, olives, and capers with caponata relish , copped second and third spots. respectively.

The competition, the brainchild of Sandals Montego Bay’s Executive Chef Andrea Joly, was held on January 25, at the resort’s Cucina Restaurant with the cooks showcasing their skills. After winning the ultimate Sandals Resorts “Iron Chef” Competition in 2011, Chef Joly was inspired to host a similar event at the resort to inspire and motivate aspiring chefs and provide a platform to showcase their own talents. “After competing with Sandals’ elite group of executive chefs from the Caribbean, I thought it would be a great opportunity to also expose our junior cooks at the resort to an intense level of the culinary arts,” says Joly.

The one-day event stirred much excitement amongst the staff as team members showed their support and came out to observe the cooks in action. The participants were given 20 minutes to use the secret ingredient “sun-dried tomato” to create an entrée dish. In the end, they were judged based on taste, presentation, creativity and originality.

Richard Reid was elated when his name was announced as the Iron Chef at Sandals Montego Bay. “I was just as surprised. I would always observe the chefs at the cooking range but, being the butcher, I thought it would be an opportunity to show my hidden talent.” He further expressed, “This is just a small step in a big direction, as I also aspire to be a chef in the near future.”

General Manager Josef Zellner praised the competitors during the awards ceremony. “At Sandals Montego Bay, we are committed to showcasing the skills and talents of our team members. The professional level of our team in the kitchen will help raise the bar in the quality food we present to our guests on a daily basis.”

The winners were presented with professional chef knives, state-of-the-art cooking gadgets as well as cookery books.