The entrées have been made, the drinks have been mixed, desserts have been sampled, the judges have cast their votes and Glendon Carty of Anguilla has been named “Chef of the Year” at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) “Taste of the Caribbean” culinary competition, which took place June 12 thru 14, 2009.

The team from Trinidad and Tobago earned “Highest Scoring Team” honors. Awards were also given to Paul Peterson, St. Maarten/St. Martin, who was named “Bartender of the Year” and Alberto Febo, Puerto Rico, who earned the title of “Pasty Chef of the Year.”

In addition to the overall winners, CHTA provided honors to the competitors in Chef of the Year, Overall winner (Glendon Carty, Anguilla) and Gold category (Glendon Carty, Anguilla, and Sabrina Rosales, Trinidad and Tobago).

In the Silver category the winners were Darren Conner, Anguilla; Keirha Forde, Trinidad and Tobago; Ruben Guzman, Puerto Rico; Justin Hughes, Anguilla; Ravi Anne Koran, Jamaica; Hedwill Martinez, Puerto Rico; Ernie Reyes, Puerto Rico; and Lennox Scott, Trinidad and Tobago. The Bronze category top honors went to Brian Lumley and Martin Maguinley, both from Jamaica

In the Highest Scoring Team category, the overall winner was the Trinidad and Tobago team made up of Bernard Long, Sabrina Rosales, Keirha Forde, Lennox Scott, Avanelle James and Ryan Newallo.

Held last week at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in conjunction with the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association and Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Taste of the Caribbean was highlighted by two days of workshops, tasting, demonstrations and competition which culminated with the announcement of the winners at a final dinner celebration.