Ahead of the foodie seminar's presentations, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) President Omar Robinson (left) conversed with the day's trio of presenters (from second left) Avadaugn Sinclair,regional marketing programmes manager at The Best Dressed Chicken; Nicola Madden-Greig, head ofthe Gastronomy Tourism Network of the Ministry of Tourism; and Catherine Guilbard, chief judge of theTable Talk Food Awards â The Cayman Islands Edition. (PHOTOS: ANTONIO GRAHAM)

Food, Lifestyle, Local Food, Local Lifestyle, Thursday Food, Tuesday Style

May 24, 2017

Thinking Out Loud

There was much to digest and copious servings of food for thought inside the fully subscribed space of the Spanish Court Hotel’s Worthington extension for this year’s staging of the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards Foodie Seminar, last Wednesday.

Stimulating presentations abounded for the audience of culinary students, restaurateurs, and food industry professionals from a roster of captivating female speakers comprised of Nicola Madden-Greig, head of the Gastronomy Tourism Network in the Ministry of Tourism; The Best Dressed Chicken Regional Marketing Programmes Manager Avadaugn Sinclair; and Catherine Guilbard, chief judge of The Table Talk Awards — The Cayman Islands Edition.At the much-anticipated precursor event to tonight’s Food Awards, insightful discussions ranged from Madden-Greig’s detailed examination of the ongoing work towards developing Jamaica as a gastronomy destination to Guilbard’s enlightening presentation on the ever-evolving restaurant landscape of the Cayman Islands, which she explained had mushroomed into “an accidental culinary destination of the Caribbean”, now home to over 300 restaurants and multiple calendar food and wine events that faithfully attract the global food industry’s most prolific chefs and influencers.Sinclair, in a relatable and engaging fashion, spoke on the topic, ‘Brand Development: Taking A Successful Local Brand Across The Region’. She shared her journey to being appointed regional manager for The Best Dressed Chicken brand, the unique challenges faced and creative counter-measures utilised in introducing the poultry and meat brand to such new market territories as Cayman and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which heretofore, only consumed chicken brands from North America.Tapping into current culinary trends and entrepreneurial possibilities, the trio of speakers captivated attendees, stirring substantial question-and-answer sessions that saw the event, which began at 10:45 am, culminating on a satisfying high in the mid-afternoon hours.Thursday Food invites you to take a seat with us at the Foodie Seminar.— Omar Tomlinson

JHTA President Omar Robinson (right) caught up with JamaicaObserver Table Talk Food Awards judges, Carnival costume designerJodi Stewart-Henriques; JP Producers Marketing Manager AnitaJakobovic; Dr Lloyd Waller, head of government at the University ofthe West Indies, Mona; and celebrity hairstylist Adolph Raynor.

Stush in the Bush principals and spouses Christopher and LisaBinns (centre) with businesswoman Dawn Azan, who proudlydeclared that she had attended 17 of the previous annual JamaicaObserver Table Talk Food Awards Foodie seminars.

Out to gain insights into the trends and inner workings of theculinary landscape were (from left) recent Western University,Canada health science grad Joelle Lazarus; Pan Ash Catering chefAshleigh Samuels; University of the West Indies, Mona third-yearmedical student Ava Robertson; and her sister Mina Robertson, abusiness strategy major at ESMOD/ISEM University in France.

The view from the back of the Spanish Court Hotel’sWorthington extension that hosted last Wednesday’s fullysubscribed Foodie Seminar.

Nicola Madden-Greig, head of the The Gastronomy TourismNetwork of the Ministry of Tourism, delivered a presentation titled’Positioning Jamaica As a Culinary Destination’, wherein sherevealed that Jamaica ranked higher than France on the world’sfood index.

Jamaica Culinary Tours Creative Experience Director Janet Crick(left) and her sister Anne Crick, senior lecturer at the Mona School of Business and Management, gave cans of Serge Peanut Punch and Egg Nog a taste test.

Culinary students from the Stony Hill and Runaway Bay HEARTacademies were raptly attuned to presenter Catherine Guilbard.

University of Technology, Jamaica Director of Student FinancingGarcia McLennon (right) and Jamaica Observer Table Talk FoodAwards bursary recipient Geordan Ranger (left), scholarshiprecipient Jasmine Wilson and bursary recipient Damian Blacklistened attentively to presenter Nicola Madden-Greig.

Stony Hill HEART Food and Beverage students Trecia-Ann Patterson(left) and Javian Thompson sampled servings of Serge Egg Nogpoured by Trishana Prince.

In-between presentations, Jamaica Observer Table Talk FoodAwards Chair Novia McDonald-Whyte (second left) and CatherineGuilbard, chief judge of the Table Talk Food Awards – The CaymanIslands Edition, traded culinary points of view with Jamaica FoodAwards judges Patrick Smith (second right) and Oneal Johnson.

Avadaugn Sinclair (left), regional marketing programmes manager atThe Best Dressed Chicken, talked Food Awards with (from secondleft) Paul Allen, assistant manager, advertising, marketing, andcommunications at the Jamaica Observer; Jamaica Observer FoodAwards judge and CGR Communications Public Relations DirectorOdette Dixon-Neath; and Jamaica Observer Advertising, Marketingand Communications Manager Natalie Chin.

Wisynco Sponsorship and Events Manager Jermaine Brown (second right) with Jamaica ObserverTable Talk Food Awards judges (from left) social media personality Rohan ‘Quite Perry’ Perry,integrated marketing and communications consultant Shelly-Ann Curran and Wisynco Head of PeopleDevelopment Maurice Sloley. (PHOTOS: ANTONIO GRAHAM)

Foodie Seminar attendees (from left) wine consulant MarilynBennett, businesswoman and 17-time seminar patron Dawn Azanand interior decorator Charmaine Chin Loy.

The Best Dressed ChickenRegional Marketing ProgrammesManager Avadaugn Sinclair spokeon ‘Brand Development: TakingA Successful Local Brand AcrossThe Region’ and her experiencein cornering a place for The BestDressed Chicken for distributorsand consumers in Cayman andthe Turks and Caicos Islands.

Catherine Guilbard,chief judge of the TableTalk Food Awards– The Cayman IslandsEdition, centred herpresentation on thetopic ‘The CulinaryLandscape of Caymanand The Food Awards,’and showcasedinterviews sheconducted with Italian,North American, Frenchand Jamaican nationalsresident and working inher country.

Intrigued about the possibilitiesafter learning there were 300restaurants in the CaymanIslands, Denton Ellis, student atthe HEART College of Hospitalityin Runaway Bay, St Ann, askedCayman resident, presenterCatherine Guilbard if workpermits were difficult to accessin her country.

Jamaica Observer Talk Table FoodAwards conceptualiser and ChairNovia McDonald-Whyte openedthe Foodie Seminar and acted asthe event’s moderator.

Foodie seminar attendee, chef and caterer Haleem Card (right) spoke of his experience winning the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards Chef on the Rise in 2015 andencouraged culinary students of HEART academies to take serious interest in their craft. (PHOTOS: ANTONIO GRAHAM)

Thinking Out Loud

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