Chefs on Show was not short of good food, refreshing beverages and an ambience of culinary expertise at every turn.The Gardens of The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel were transformed into a food paradise last Wednesday, with some 18 chefs displaying their culinary skills, all for a worthy cause.

The event was organised by The Culinary Federation of Jamaica (CFJ) to raise funds for local chefs to represent Jamaica at the Taste of the Caribbean Culinary Competition, where they have certainly displayed culinary prowess alongside their Caribbean peers.

Region 2 Vice President of the CFJ and conceptualiser of Chefs on Show, Mark Cole, says through annual sponsorship and support from the patrons, they are able to present Jamaica’s exotic cuisine on the international stage.

“This year we need to raise over five million dollars, and I am elated to see the support we have been receiving to reach this target,” he says.

The funds raised will cover the trip for a delegation of 15 chefs and three executives from the CFJ to the competition, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Miami next month.

Patrons out to support a worthy cause enjoyed an array of tasty dishes from local chefs and caterers such as Jacqui Tyson, Oji Jaja, Mark Cole, Anthony Walters, Gari Ferguson, Debe Chen and Lorraine Fung, to name a few.

There were too, samplings from several booths including The Best Dressed Chicken, Ashebere, Salada Foods Ltd and the UTech School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

From the twice stuffed lamb with mint sauce by Cutting Edge Gourmet, to Catering by Lorraine’s “super evil” pork balls with Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce, the evening was not short on variety and dishes influenced by a worldwide culinary experience.

One exhibitor, Rainforest Seafoods, presented an interesting mussels alfredo prepared by Patrice Hussey-Malcolm, chef garde manger at the Pegasus.

Jacqui Tyson’s Best Dressed Chicken crêpe and Chef Christian Sweeney’s seafood cake topped with carrot and green apple slaw were two of the evening’s favourites.

As a perfect complement to the substantial entrées of crêpes, sizzling pork and chicken, patrons closed off with a formidable dessert — the offerings ranged from pumpkin cheesecake to mocha and guava sandwich pastries — prepared by the food and beverage team of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

Among the food enthusiasts was André Fowles, runner-up in The Food Network’s Chopped Champions, who shared with Thursday Life his extreme pleasure at the event’s raison d’être.

“It is tremendous when we have events like these in place to highlight local chefs, because Jamaicans tend to not always remember how important our career is and the impact we have,” he said.

Fowles added that he hopes the chefs will represent Jamaica, and by extension, its unique dishes in the best possible way.

The evening ended with an entertaining ice sculpting demonstration by Pegasus Hotel’s fruits and vegetable carver, Chef Christopher Hobson, who created an intriguing design in the shape of a plant.