Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 23, 2022 (SKNIS): Ciara Whyte and Janaya Gumbs of the Verchilds High School are the winners of the 15th Edition High School Chef Competition. The duo captured the title by showcasing their culinary skills and creative expression at the competition held on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, at the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CUNA) Conference Center.
The cooking contest was organized by the St. Kitts Department of Youth Empowerment as part of the month-long celebration of Youth held every November. Participating teams also came from the Cayon High School, Charles E. Mills Secondary School, Basseterre High School, Washington Archibald High School and Saddlers Secondary School.
The runners-up in the competition were Shannyah Thomas and Aisha Jalim of the Saddlers Secondary School, while Danniqua Huggins and Somalia Dublin of the Washington Archibald High School placed third.
Junior Minister of Youth Empowerment, the Honourable Isalean Phillip congratulated the Chefs from the six (6) participating schools.
“I just want to make sure that I said my congratulations to all the participants, especially the winners. You all did a good job. I am really proud to see the product that was produced and the meals on the plates,” said Minister Phillip. “I know some of you weren’t super pleased with how your item turned out but you all still did a really good job.”
Minister Phillip also used the occasion to congratulate judges Barry Cranston, Claire Rawson and Max Brisbane for their valuable contribution.
“I also want to thank our judges. I heard some of the comments and I think that they were very valuable to the students and the teachers. Thank you very much for the seriousness that you brought and the professionalism that you would have brought to the competition because we are training the next generation of culinary chefs and artists because that is part of the tourism product in terms of when people travel to St. Kitts and Nevis, they also come for food,” said the Honourable Isalean Phillip.
The Youth Empowerment Minister said that the aim is to “continue to encourage food and nutrition.” She especially thanked the Saddlers Secondary Chefs for incorporating a nutrition aspect in their meals by eliminating the use of salt and sugar.
Gratitude was also extended to the Ministry of Tourism, the sponsors of the High School Chef’s Competition. The sponsorship from the Ministry of Tourism is in partnership with St. Kitts and Nevis Restaurant Week initiative and it is done to support the junior chefs so that they can have an opportunity to participate in future Restaurant Week events.
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