The landscaped grounds of the historic Rose Hall Great House were transformed into a veritable wonderland of culinary delight Saturday last, as the Montego Bay Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) hosted ‘An Evening of Fine Jamaican Cuisines,’ its fifth annual marquee fund-raiser for supporting education.

Patronised by the stylish set of the west, the evening’s fare featured a variety of sumptuous dishes meticulously prepared by executive chefs from the resort belt of St James and Hanover.

Elegant food booths were mounted by Sandals Resorts, Half Moon, Round Hill, Tryall Club, Hilton Rose Hall, Coyaba Beach Resort, Holiday Inn, Kenilworth HEART Academy, Grand Palladium, Royalton White Sands, RIU Montego Bay, Goddard Catering Group and Smith & Stewart Ice Cream (Crazy Jim).

J Wray and Nephew kept the cocktails flowing with Appleton and Skyy Vodka mixes with Pure Country juices and Wisynco-supplied chasers and, of course, ‘WATA’ (OMG! The heat was on). Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ) provided excellent wine choices that complemented the tasty food offerings from each booth.

The chefs took the opportunity to showcase their creativity and produced some truly versatile pairings such as the chicken and bean cake topped with jackfruit relish, lobster and chicken run-up-and- down from Hilton Hotel, the bacon-wrapped jerk sausage-stuffed pork loin from Half Moon, a Rock Resort, and other sumptuous delights. Patrons were clearly impressed with the offerings, as each booth enjoyed steady traffic and enthusiastic nods of approval. The Sandals Royal Caribbean and Royalton booths provided to-die-for dessert creations using chocolate, mango, guava and pineapple.

While providing patrons with the opportunity to enjoy the culinary genius of some of the best chefs this side of the Rock, the event was in support of a worthy cause, with proceeds going towards JHTA community outreach initiatives.

Beneficiaries included the Save the Child Programme, in which one child is removed from the streets and assisted with school expenses.

House #10 at the SOS Children’s Village in Barrett Town also received assistance.

A total of eight scholarships of $30,000 each were awarded to top performers in the recent GSAT examinations.

The MoBay Hope Learning Centre for physically challenged children is the newest project that has been identified; proceeds from this year’s staging will assist with renovation of the existing building with plans to build an additional structure to comfortably accommodate the students.

The JHTA has spent in excess of $2m to renovate the Tower Hill Basic School and donated over $400,000 to the St James Police to assist with Labour Day projects across the parish.

After all the gastronomical delights, DJ Gemini from Island Beatz Entertainment brought a party atmosphere to the proceedings — perfect for those who indulged way too much and needed to ‘work off’ the inevitable calories.

(Photos & Text ACEION CUNNINGHAM)