The ‘street creds’ earned from years of experience cooking on the streets of Kingston and St Andrew positioned both defendants as equal rivals in the seventh MAGGI Food Court case. There was enough evidence to suggest that the case brought before the court would warrant keen attention; obviously there would be no joke on either side of the counter in the case of Fowl Play.

Hailing from Waterhouse, Merline Fray aka ‘Ms Chiney’ and Andrew Ramsay aka ‘Ricey’ heated up the food court with a variety of MAGGI products as well as their bubbly personalities.

Introductions and opening arguments out of the way, judge Dufton Shepherd ordered the defendants to visit the Nestlé food store. Following resumption, there was a swell of anticipation as Miss Chiney’s haul promised an exciting case.

Judge Shepherd’s announcement of the Best Dressed Quick Challenge was met with nervous giggles from Chef Ricey and a blank stare from Miss Chiney. They’d lose no time, however, in building their cases.

It was eggs, plantains and sausages for Chef Ricey to create “something like an omelette” while Miss Chiney attempted breaded chicken wings. Both opponents seemed to be overwhelmed by the time constraints leaving the jurors underwhelmed by their meals.

The weaknesses in opening statements were unsavoury; so much so that no juror tasted them. Juror Avadaugn Sinclair said that she thought the oil “wasn’t hot enough” and that resulted in Miss Chiney’s wings being undercooked. It was the same fate for Ricey’s plantains that juror Ockino Petrie pointed out were not done, based on the colour and texture.

With just an hour to find flavour and favour with the jurors, the contestants set out to create the ultimate street food combo — soup and jerked chicken back.

Battle lines were drawn! But the infectious personalities kept the mood light as the MAGGI flavours filled the room. Juror Petrie stepped in for a quick chat with the contestants and left with a look of satisfaction.

Presentation was not in the ubiquitous foil or box, which led the audience to speculate if that would be the only difference!

The jurors were quite impressed with the presentation which appeared to infuse not only the authentic flavours but, too, the spirit of the defendants.

Ricey’s soup was a crowd favourite. Petrie was particularly impressed with the “spicy kick” it offered.

The jerked chicken back and sweet potatoes was also a winner, getting nods of approval from jurors Sinclair and Bissoon.

Sinclair was also quite impressed with Miss Chiney’s sorrel sauce, describing it as “fantastic”. She also commended the smokey flavour of the soup. Bissoon and Petrie on the other hand, found the flavour more burnt than smoked. Petrie’s chicken back was also undercooked.

Miss Chiney admitted that a little more time would have yielded better results and Chef Ricey commented that though nerves got the better of him, he nevertheless pushed himself to get through.

After a quick deliberation, judge Shepherd declared Chef Andrew “Ricey” Ramsay the winner of the seventh episode of the MAGGI Food Court competition.