Members of the 2019 National Culinary Team, who took part in the Taste of the Caribbean competition in Miami that ended last evening took away gold, silver and bronze medals in individual categories, and a silver in the team category. TT’s junior chef Jodi Eversley, topped her category for the gold while pastry chef Keenan Lezama copped a bronze medal. Mixologist Isaiah Trumpet, who competed in four categories won silver for his non-alcoholic beverage, due to his age (19), he was restricted from tasting any of his cocktails during the entire competition based on US law. Notwithstanding, Isaiah won the gold medal in the Best Non-Alcoholic cocktail and a silver medal for his overall bartender performance. On top of that, Team TT won the silver medal in the Team of the Year competition. The team was led by team captain Jeremy Lovell, who is also the chef at Courtyard by Marriott, and also included senior chefs Shonelle Greenidge and Gerard Cox, who together with the winners are all students from the TTHospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI). It was the first time TT fielded a team of students to compete against seasoned and professional chefs and mixologists from the rest of the Caribbean. The team itself prepared for the judges, an appetiser - soused shrimp nestled on sour pickled peppers, pepper pumpkin line with chive emulsion, lemon zest pan seared shrimp on top charred corn & eggplant, sweet pimento sauce garnished with cayenne dusted corals. Then came the entree - pulled brisket infused with bayleaf Trinbago BBQ sauce, roasted garlic/geera chicken roulade on spicy tomato coulis, local provision & polenta pudding topped with carrot chutney, Angostura aromatic bitters coconut infused carrot curve ending with cheesy vegetable fondue. And for dessert - sweet potato sponge layered with curry mousse, tamarind marsala jelly, topped with saffron and cinnamon creme fraiche, nutmeg macaroon sticks, sweet mango pull, bandania air and amchar fruit, fresh thyme crumble and candied beetroot gastrique. Source: Newsday, June 26, 2019 Representatives of Tourism Trinidad Limited gathered at the Residence, One Woodbrook Place last Monday to extend their good wishes to the 2019 National Culinary Team. The team left Trinidad on Thursday to participate in the Taste of the Caribbean competition carded for tomorrow in Miami.
Led by Captain Jeremy Lovell, the team comprises senior chefs Shonelle Greenidge and Gerard Cox, junior chef Jodi Eversley, pastry chef Keenan Lezama and bartender/mixologist, Isaiah Trumpet—all currently enrolled students at Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI). "This is the first all-student national culinary team that Trinidad has ever sent abroad to the competition," said Brian Frontin, CEO, Trinidad Hotels, Restaurants & Tourism Association (THRTA). Frontin said the decision to send an all-student team came about when they recognised that over 95 per cent of all former team members had graduated from the TTHTI over the past 20 years. Frontin said he sees this as a pilot project that will provide the stimulus and justification for Trinidad to host an inter-school regional and international culinary competition—a junior version of the competition next year, and indicated that organisers of Taste of the Caribbean in Miami have already agreed to hold discussions on this proposal. Frontin added, "Hosting this competition in Trinidad has the ability to positively impact our tourist arrivals, increase destination awareness and presents an amazing opportunity and platform to promote culinary tourism and display our world-class talent." Camille Campbell, CEO, Tourism Trinidad, pledged her company's support to the team and said, "This is a unique opportunity for these students to showcase their talent on a world stage and demonstrate their discipline, commitment, and culinary skills. Tourism Trinidad is proud to support this initiative and look forward to the country's hosting of the 2020 competition." A release from Tourism Trinidad stated that over the past eight weeks, the team has been diligently practicing their craft and hosting 'sold out' Monday night dinners at the Residence, One Woodbrook Place, where they have been fine-tuning their skills in preparation for the competition. "We have the fullest confidence in the team's ability to make us proud and bring home the gold," added Campbell. Source: Guardian, June 2019 They're small, they're fuzzy, and they're the '
But did you know the typical yellow-and-black honey bee isn't originally from Trinidad and Tobago? Here are eight things to know about bees in Trinidad and Tobago in commemoration of World Bee Day, celebrated on May 20, courtesy pollination ecologist Lena Dempewolf. 1. Some honey bees are 'douglarised' bees Honey bees used in most commercial hives aren't local but are called 'Africanised' bees. That's because they are a hybrid of European and African honey bees, both of which were imported. Some beekeepers have jokingly referred to this hybrid as a 'douglarised' bee, in reference to Trinidad and Tobago's diverse ethnic culture. 2. Some native bees don't have hives, or a queen Many native bees don't have hives but are solitary bees working alone to pollinate local plants. Solitary bees don't have hives and don't produce honey. They often make nests in the ground in order to reproduce and are critical for pollination as they are better adapted for pollination of local plants. 3. Not all bees can sting you There are nine species of ‘stingless’ bees that do have hives and a queen and produce honey. Stingless bees are used to produce honey for commercial and medicinal purposes and are more effective than imported bees at pollinating local plants. 4. Trinidad and Tobago's secret to award-winning honey? Diversification Trinidad and Tobago once won global awards for its honey. However In 2001, the EU enforced the submission of a residue monitoring plan from all third countries (non-EU countries) wishing to export honey into the European Union. Because of the lack of local testing facilities and costs associated with attaining certification abroad, beekeepers in Trinidad and Tobago have been unable to participate in the NHS and export their honey since 2001. The wide range of flowering plants is what contributes to the unique taste of Trinidad and Tobago's honey. Destroying local forests would have an effect on the taste of local honey if bees are unable to access the diverse range of plants they did previously. 5. Pesticides have been found in honey Studies in Europe have shown that low levels of pesticides have been found in honey, however in Trinidad and Tobago, no studies have been done to confirm this in local honey. However, pesticides are a continuous problem for imported and native bees, which are vulnerable to these toxins and can even be killed by them. Dempewolf says if bees happen to forage on flowers covered in pesticides, it might make its way into honey, however, it's at low enough levels that it's been proven (so far) to be safe for human consumption. Many beekeepers are careful to keep their hives away from agricultural fields, however, Africanised honey bees may range quite far in order to find nectar and may go into farmlands where pesticides are used. 6. No bees = no crops Although honey is important, the most important bees aren’t honey bees but native bees. Native bees are also more specialised for pollinating local plants. “It’s like a lock and key, the shape of the bee matches the shape of the flower, so they can properly get in there to deposit the pollen,” Dempewolf said. By contrast, although prized for honey production, Africanised bees are not as effective in pollinating local crops. Therefore the food we enjoy in local markets depends on the survival of our native bees. 7. Climate change is affecting local bees Climate change is affecting food production worldwide, however in Trinidad and Tobago, extreme weather changes can also affect bees' survival. During extreme dry seasons such as that experienced in 2019, there's the likelihood of more forest fires. Africanised bees are more adaptable in that they often move their queen and relocate to a safer spot. Hence the reason one may often see a migrating beehive perched on a branch or other random location. However native bees are unable to move their hives due to the large size of their queen, and often perish in forest fires. Dempewolf says solitary bees are slightly more mobile but they lay their eggs in bits of logs and other plants in the forest, which can also be destroyed by forest fires. Likewise, during the rainy season, heavier showers can also affect bees and by extension food production. "Bees generally don’t go out during wet weather…it can also wash the nectar out of flowers, so heavy flooding means less pollination," she said. There's also the problem of loss of habitat due to things such as logging, forest fires, housing developments and unsustainable agriculture, where farmers cut down all vegetation, leaving only one crop. 8. Bee competition Dempewolf said there is the element of imported bees crowding out native bees amidst competition for space and nectar - imported bees tend to ‘bully’ local bees out of spaces for hives, however, this comes down to proper management. Imported bees, however, have been a part of the local ecosystem for quite some time and have learned to coexist with native species, however there remains competition for plants and flowers. Source: The Loop, May 2019 Young farmer Omari Cox tends to his lettuce garden on Friday at Store Bay Local Road. y the time he was nine, Omari Cox knew he wanted to be a farmer. Now 17, he recalled during his first term at the Scarborough Secondary School, when students were asked about their career choices, some of his peers urged him to find a more sustainable career path as a doctor, lawyer or engineer. “I said I want to be a farmer and they laughed,” he told Newsday at his Store Bay Local Road home on Friday. “The boys in the class even asked why I was settling for so low. Even in fifth form, they were talking about when we finish school who would be migrating, who would study law. But I maintain that I like agriculture and I would continue to do what I like. “Everybody tends to look down on farming because they see it as a degrading job. Nobody really wants to call himself a farmer. But in reality, a farmer is one of the most important people in society because they are the ones who provide a lot of home-grown products for the market and grocery shelves.” The shy Cox said he is working on quite an ambitious task: “I want to continue to provide food for the nation.” Cox, who is currently sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, said before moving to Store Bay Local Road, he lived in Calder Hall, where he grew a small bed of 48 lettuce. “While attending primary school, we had a school project where we would sow red beans in a Styrofoam cup and allow it to grow. I was amazed at how healthy mine came (out), and from since then I was enthused by the agricultural field. From then I began doing plants in cup… it was plants like cucumber… I used to just experiment.” A woman in Calder Hall suggested he try lettuce and he did. “I remember the first time I tried my hand at this lettuce, they came so big and that encouraged me to push forward. “My grandfather, he has been doing farming for a very long time, his drive pushed me, and I asked about it one day and he said it’s the care and handling. I told my grandfather of how serious I was, and he started taking me to the market with him and he also granted me two beds to try my hand.” His grandfather is entrepreneur and hotelier Sylvan Rollocks. Cox said farming is both rewarding and satisfying “because I make great profit, and satisfying because I get to do something I love every single day.” The young farmer wakes up early to tend to his plants before heading for school. When he gets home from school, he repeats the process. “I plant the plants, make sure they get water, or they don’t get too much water. I also have to make sure insects such as mole crickets and bachacs don’t cut the plants, because if they do, they will die. Also, I have to make sure they get the proper nutrients.” Asked to describe his work, Cox said: “I would say it’s exciting. It’s very exciting because…I just love working in the garden.” He sells to both retail and wholesale clients. “I supply a number of hotels, guest houses and a few vegetable marts. They said that they have lettuce that they buy which is usually bitter and they admire my quality…Irrigation is very important in planting lettuce,” So he wants to invest in water tanks, especially as there is a scarcity of water. Cox said after his exams, he intends to delve further into the field. “I really enjoy doing this. It’s fun, I love to see my plants grow – the fruits of my labour. “I want to do it full time. There are people who do things for the money, but agriculture is my passion. When you do things for the money, you really don’t enjoy what you do, but for me, I want to enjoy what I do, and agriculture is what I love.” His plan is to open an organic mart. He said many people have tried to discourage him in the past, but he sticks to the principle set by his mother, Lois Rollocks-Stewart, “Do what you love.”. Lois Rollocks-Stewart, right, smiles as she is hugged by her son Omari Cox, 17, who is distinguishing himelf as a lettuce farmer. Rollocks-Stewart said: “There is money in agriculture, people have to eat. Once you put your mind to it, he will make it. And I am already seeing it. Everybody knows him as ‘the lettuce boy’ – he has already established a name for himself.”
She said her son is passionate about farming. “It is from dust to dawn with Omari. He’s up and about all the time. He’s not a party guy. His recreation really is his garden. He not going on no football field. “When he comes from school, he has his lettuce and them to tend to. He would take his bicycle and go down the road from house to house and sell his lettuce. Regardless they say yes or no, he would go from house to house,” the proud mother said. Source: Newsday, May 29, 2019 Clink on this link for the full list and some links to recipes.
Harold and Parbatie Boodoo show their 21-inch prized ochro, which they grow in their backyard garden at Temple Street, Duncan Village, San Fernando The ochroes growing in the backyard of Harold and Parbatie Boodoo have again grown to extraordinary lengths.
The last time the Guardian Media highlighted their crop was in 2018 when the ochroes had grown to staggering 20 inches but now a year later, the ochroes have grown an inch longer. During an exclusive interview with Guardian Media, Parbatie said she was hoping that they could finally enter the Guinness World Book of Records. The last time the entry for an application was not possible as Parbatie had harvested the ochro. There is no record in the Guinness World Book of Records for the world longest ochro, also known as okra. However, research shows that a Malaysian woman grew an ochro to a length of 18 inches while Sudhish Kumar, of United Arab Emirates broke the Lima World Record with ochro measuring 16.3 inches. Parbatie said her daughter Kimberly Fung plans to make an application to the Guinness World Book of Records on their behalf. “We want to have an adjudicator come to our home at Temple Street, Duncan Village, San Fernando to view the ochroes. This is the first time the ochroes grew so long. It seems every time we plant they get longer and longer,” she said. Harold, 76, said he spends most of his time caring for his plants in his little backyard garden. “I talk to the plants a lot. Maybe that is why they grow so big,” Harold quipped. He said the only fertiliser he uses is Blaukorn. “I have the seeds. They are a variety of ochroes called Deerhorn but it is not usual for them to grow this big,” Harold said. He added that the few ochro trees in his yard produce more than two dozen ochroes each. “You know how much ochroes we gave away. It is amazing how much these few trees produce,” he added. The couple also said they wanted researchers from the University of the West Indies and the Ministry of Agriculture to visit their home and conduct tests to determine how the soil was so fertile. “This is normal sapatay clay. We don’t use any big set of fertiliser. There must be some reason why the crops come so good. I think there should be some testing,” Boodoo said. He also agreed to share some of his ochro seeds to the Ministry to do experiments. Source: Trinidad Guardian, April 2019 Toronto’s a city of many neighbourhoods and many nationalities, so finding that one oh-so-Toronto dish is an impossible task. We're asking some of the city’s top food folks about their favourite T.O. meals. Frank and Yang at La Limonada, in the basement of the Toronto Spiritualist Temple on College Street. Restaurateur Roger Yang didn’t always call himself a vegan. He was just a guy who decided he didn’t like eating animals or things produced by animals. Over the years, Yang has had to send many dishes back—not because he’s picky, but because for a long time restaurants just didn’t get the whole plant-based diet thing. He’s ordered cheese-less pizza, only for it to come with cheese. He’s ordered “vegetarian couscous” only to find out “vegetarian” meant meatless couscous…cooked in beef fat. “Now any restaurant worth its salt has at least a couple of vegan options,” says Yang who now owns three vegan restaurants: the upscale Awai (which does plant-based tasting menus) and its two casual younger siblings both called Away Kitchen (there’s one on College and another on Queen).
While renovating his College location, Yang stumbled across an A-frame sign on the sidewalk advertising something called La Limonada, which promised Trini doubles. He followed the arrow down an alley and into the side door of a church, which led into a basement hall where Yang found Jane Frank selling her West Indian dishes. Yang started visiting her kitchen three times a week for doubles and corn soup. “It’s kind of like a secret club,” says Yang. Frank says that only adventurous people end up finding her wee restaurant. Back then, La Limonada wasn’t fully vegan, but the doubles were. Then, last winter, the sign changed to read, “As of today, our menu will be holy vegan (pun intended).” Frank and her husband had embraced a plant-based lifestyle. The Trini doubles, though, never had to change. They’re still the same mix of chickpeas and tamarind sandwiched between two baras, fried flatbread popular in Trinidad. Frank worked on the recipe for her doubles over a few years. She’s a Muskoka girl, and there isn’t a huge West Indian community in Gravenhurst. She had to glean her recipe from Trinidadian grandmothers in Toronto. “I would corner them at the West Indian grocery stores and ask them how they make their doubles,” she says with a laugh, before adding that it took a whole lot of trial and error to perfect hers. She moved her business (which also sells freshly squeezed lemonade, thus the restaurant’s name) from a seasonal kiosk at David Pecaut Square into a church basement in 2016, after the city tried to hike her rent. The Toronto Spiritualist Temple was actually founded by Frank’s uncle, who has since passed away. She donates what she can to help the church, which recently installed a new roof and fire doors. The restaurant operates Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 7:30 p.m.—but not Sundays, because that’s when mass is held. On Sundays, after church, you can often find Frank enjoying a bagel and coffee—at Away, just a block east. Source: Toronto Life, March 2019 The word "cocktail" is tossed around pretty loosely these days, used to describe just about any liquid sum that is greater than its parts. That wasn't always the case. When the term was first coined by a newspaper editor back in 1806, it referred specifically to a beverage comprised of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. Today, we call it an Old Fashioned, and anyone who's ever made one, well, the old-fashioned way, knows it can't be done without Angostura bitters. But what are Angostura bitters, and how did they earn their place in some of the most classic cocktails on the planet? What's with that label? In the interest of helping you go to the bar smarter, here are five facts worth learning about the best-known bottle of bitters. Angostura was developed as a cure for upset stomachs.As is typical in the spirits world, Angostura's place in society pre-dates its spot at the bar. All the way back in 1824, Dr. Johann Siegert—surgeon general for Venezuelan military leader Simón Bolívar—developed the stuff as a medicinal tonic for Bolívar's army. Created from a blend of herbs and spices, it was intended to cure upset stomachs. Originally called Dr. Siegert's Aromatic Bitters, it would later be renamed for the Venezuelan city of Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar) where it was concocted. Operations eventually moved to Trinidad, where it is still produced today. That label was a mistake.Besides its bright yellow cap, what really distinguishes a bottle of Angostura bitters is the label: It's too big. As legend goes, once Siegert's sons took over the business from their dad, they set out to market the bitters however they could, which included entering them in a competition. In a scramble to get their product ready for judging, one brother was assigned the task of retrieving bottles, while another went to print labels. Due to a miscommunication or mistake, they ended up with labels too big for their bottles, or bottles too small for their labels. By the time they realized the error, it was too late to correct. Though Angostura lost the competition, a friendly judge suggested the brothers make that label their signature. The advice stuck. The recipe is a closely guarded secret.Allegedly, only five people in the entire world know the exact combination of herbs and spices that go into a bottle of Angostura. As the only people with the recipe, they've even made a pact to never fly together or so much as eat together at the same restaurant, should, god forbid, the worst happen, according to VinePair. Guessing how much of this is fact, fiction, or just good marketing is all part of the fun, but it's clear the secret formula is kept close to the chest. Some people use it as a cooking ingredient.As anyone who has ever cracked an old cookbook knows, the sixties and seventies were a weird time for food. (Check out this Twitter account for examples.) In 1961, the brand capitalized on some of that weirdness, releasing The Secret of Good Taste: The Angostura Cookbook. From turkey to pies to bean soup, the book suggests a number of ways to incorporate bitters into everyday cooking. Why not? Wisconsinites drink it by the glass.There's a bar in the Badger State called Nelsen’s Hall and Bitters Club that serves full shots of Angostura to patrons, a practice that's been kept alive since 1920. It began as a means of skirting the rules of Prohibition—it's simply a medicine for upset stomachs, after all—but as Punch reports, the tradition has lived on, giving Wisconsin the unique distinction of selling more Angostura per capita than any other state. Source: Esquire.com, January 2019 When you meet Myles Marbella, you quickly learn that she does not easily take no for an answer. That tenacity and determination were vital to her simultaneously holding the portfolios of co-owner and Executive Chef at Roll Sushi and owner of Myles Express at the age of 23. Her ability to say ‘no’ extended even to her parents. Although they wanted her to pursue architecture and petroleum engineering, her love for cooking and strong-willed nature led her to pursue the culinary arts at TTHTI instead. While studying, she started her first job working at Kaizen Sushi at the age of 19. While the experience helped, Hyatt Regency was always her end goal, as she wanted to become the first female sushi chef at the hotel, something that had never been accomplished before in Trinidad. Persistence is in her blood. Her drive to work at the Hyatt would not be outweighed by idle rejection. “I applied 10 times to work at the Hyatt and got declined nine of those times”. She was there for about six months and was already receiving rave reviews about her sushi from guests, local and international. It was there she also met her future business partner, Dana Balliram. Like the other guests, Balliram was impressed with not just with Myles’ sushi but her work ethic. Balliram said that she saw a lot of potential in Myles and decided to invest in her. “She has the potential, she is a house of talent. Being around Myles and seeing what she’s done, what she’s offered people and her creativity, I realized that she has talent worth investing in. All she needed was that push to bring it out and present to the world.” She later also worked alongside Joe Brown (Jaffa at the Oval, Solimar) but it was Dana's faith in her craft that led to her recommending Myles for the role of Executive Chef for a new sushi spot on Ariapita Avenue. She faced stiff competition at the time. Not only was she the lone female applying for the job, but she was going up against chefs who were many years her senior with more culinary experience. Myles, however, had a cutting edge with a unique taste and presentation, which led to her becoming Executive Chef at Roll at 23, a rarity in the industry. While it was a monumental achievement in itself, it wasn’t enough for Myles. When a business space became available downstairs from Roll, her business partner, Dana, was the one that pushed her to take it. “I know Myles’ potential and I knew that she could do so much more than sushi. She’s very creative in the culinary arts, always sampling with different tastes and styles of food.” The two played around with ideas, concepts and menu, eventually settling on a takeout spot, with a deli-style menu. Soon after, Myles Express was born. She has accomplished a lot such a short period of time at such a young age, but sometimes it can be a double-edged sword as she might not be taken as seriously given her young age. “It’s challenging, but I get strength because people like Dana push me; I sometimes find it challenging to manage people who are older than me but I’m learning and I’m conquering.” Running multiple businesses, of course, requires sacrifice. Her day starts at 4AM, where she preps to open Myles Express for 6AM to 1PM; from 1PM to 3PM she begins prep for Roll. She then naps for about an hour before working at Roll from 4PM to 1AM. However, when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like too much of a sacrifice. "I always say do what you love, love what you do. You can’t give up, especially, if you have a dream. I learned that, especially with regard to Hyatt. I was turned down nine times! But this was my goal, I wanted to be the first female sushi chef there so I couldn’t give up.” At such a young age, Myles is an inspiration, not only for other entrepreneurs but young women as well. Her steadfast nature and refusal to take 'no' for an answer has allowed her to achieve her goals and break down barriers in a male-dominated industry. Source: The Loop T&T |
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