The Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) has conceptualized a competition called “Young Chef, Young Mixologist’‘ which was open to any aspiring young chef and mixologist under the age of 26. The competitors were ten (10) aspiring chefs and six (6) mixologists.

The competition took place over a period of four (4) days in December 2021 and the final winners were announced in January 2022 at an awards ceremony held at the T.A Marryshow Community College Hospitality Center. The winner of the Young Chef competition was Mr Karim Doyle and the winner of the Young Mixologist competition was Ms. Kimberly Sylvester.

Key judges/chefs of this competition included Chef Belinda of Flavours of Grenada, Executive Chef Warwick of Sandals Grenada, Chef Nelcia of Silversands Grenada, Chef Ramces of Calabash, Chef Andre of RTA Services and Chef Andre of St. George’s University Club.

Training areas included menu design, making soups and sauces, etiquette training, media training and the practical side such as plating and knives skills. The winners have been awarded:

● Designation as Grenada’s Young Chef, Young Mixologist Ambassador

● An internship with a hotel or restaurant establishment

● Culinary representative on the GTA’s overseas promotional tour

● A full complement of West Indies School of Hospitality (WISH) online e-Cornell courses of their choice

● A $1000 cash prize

● Chef/Mixologist attire and equipment

Grenada was recently designated the world’s first culinary capital by the World Food Travel Association (WFTA). Grenada’s culinary culture was recognized due to our food being firmly attached to our cultural heritage and the spices we are known for integrated into Grenada’s cuisine. This has resulted in an overall robust and flavourful national food profile.

In this regard, the competition focused heavily on sustainability and the use of local produce in recipes and mixology creations. Competitors worked closely with local farmers to source their produce for this competition. “The Grenada Tourism Authority is excited about the development of the island’s food tourism but equally important is the development of our people and creating an environment to improve our young and upcoming talent”.