KINGSTON, Jamaica — The second staging of the Chef on the Rise competition heats up with the Jamaica Yellow Pages ‘Foodie Finds’ tour heading to Portland, St Thomas and Port Royal over the last few days.

Nine young chefs have been selected to tour nine local restaurants where they will observe and taste the best dishes being prepared while being coached on how to make theirs the winning interpretation.

The chefs — Christine Edwards, Damario Swaby, George Matthews, Rannoy Davis, Ricardo Allen, Richardo Kirby, Sheldon Rattigan, Shevan Timoll and Volae Williams are graduates of the University of Technology, HEART College of Hospitality, and members of the Jamaica Culinary Federation.

To win the Chef on the Rise competition, each chef is to recreate the best interpretation of one of the meals they observed and sampled on the Foodie Finds tour.

However, they didn’t know what dish they would be creating until the end of Sunday’s Foodie Finds road trip, giving them just one day to prepare for the judging, which is being held today, Tuesday, May 17, at the Spanish Court Hotel.

While some of the dishes might seem simple, taste and presentation will be one of the top judging points.

“All they need to do is stick to the fundamentals and make the dish their own — recipes are just a guide. Once you use the recipe and (make) it your own, nothing can stop you,” said Chef George Matthews, the mentor chef for the competition.

Last week’s excursion began at Chicken Lavish in Negril, Westmoreland, where the owner not only imparted his secret for his world famous fried chicken, but also knowledge on how to make sure their chicken has the perfect crunch.

They then travelled to Ol Joe’s in Montego Bay, where roast pork was the chosen dish, and on to Anglers in St. Ann’s Bay, where they observed the tips and tricks of making the best curry shrimp.

Following the first excursion, the young chefs expressed confidence that they would rise to the challenge to beat their competitors and become the winner of the Chef on the Rise competition.

On Saturday they toured the island’s south coast, sampling curry goat from Holland Bamboo in St Elizabeth, Jerk Pork from Peckus in Marlie Mount on the outskirts of Old Harbour and oxtail from Pete’s on Molynes Road in St Andrew.

Balford Henry