Chef Dennis McIntosh, who led kitchens at several of the world’s leading hotels in a career that spanned more than three decades, has died.

McIntosh passed Thursday morning at the St Ann’s Bay Hospital with his wife Bev by his side. He had been ailing for some time.

The recipient of the prestigious Chairman’s Award at the 2019 staging of the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards, McIntosh was a well-respected culinarian who used every opportunity from Ciboney to Boscobel, Moon Palace and The Ritz Carlton to lift the next generation of aspiring chefs.

The Jamaican-born, British-trained McIntosh’s menus were infused with love of country and passion for food. The earliest sign of his culinary greatness was a pie-making contest at primary school.

He advanced his skills at the Henley College of Further Education in the UK, before setting upon a culinary path that took him across the world including Germany, England, the United States, and Bermuda.

For over two decades, McIntosh was president and team coach of the Culinary Federation of Jamaica, where he championed the development of local cooks and chefs.