Welcome to the premier Caribbean Charter Yacht Show and Super Yacht Chef Competition, held at the Yacht Haven Grande Marina, St. Thomas USVI last December. The chef competition was coordinated by Nancy Bean, of the famed Boston Wine & Food Festival, Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, and James Beard Taste of America, to mention a few.
The panel of four esteemed judges included:
Ray Isle, Executive Wine Editor at Food & Wine, the highly entertaining White House chef Guy Mitchell, who trains The White House chefs and runs The White House chef tours. Plus, our very own celebrity chef, Julius Jackson, St. Thomas restaurateur, cookbook author, and former Olympic boxer and Chef Digby Stridiron, a St. Croix native who was the chef/patron of the award-winning restaurants “Balter” and “Braata.”
The theme for the Chef Competition was Colors of the Caribbean, it was judged on taste, presentation, use of local products, wine pairings, as well as color and table-scaping!
Winners:
- 1st Place – Chef Patrick Matthews on 240 ft M/Y Laurel
- 2nd Place – Chef Luka Mansueto on M/Y Impromptu
- 3rd Place – Chef Patrick Sullivan on M/Y Just Enough
Chef Patrick Matthews’ signature style blends ‘food, passion and art.’ Patrick is a classically trained Executive Chef, bringing over 35 years experience to M/Y Laurel. His formal training was at The Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated with high honors. Patrick loves the great outdoors and holds both a Personal Training and Sports Nutritionist certifications.
I asked judge Julius Jackson, his thoughts on chef Patricks’ winning dishes and the table-scaping “First off, the set up at the table was amazing and was perfect for the Colors of the Caribbean theme, so great job to the team on board. Each course the Chef was very well executed, colorful, had local ingredients and the wines were beautifully paired. Chef Patrick’s scallop dish was perfectly executed; tender scallops with beautiful crispy outsides. His main dish the Bone-in Fillet of Beef, was raised in the Caribbean…”
Top Ten Traditional Caribbean Markets: Food, Glorious Food
HONEY MANGO TARTLET WITH COCONUT CUSTARD
Recipe from Chef Patrick Matthews, M/Y LAUREL
Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 12 minutes. Serves: 6
- 1 bag of Sun Tropics Salted Caramel Coco Rolls, crushed
- 2 oz. Butter, ‘Beurre’ d’Isigny Ste, Mére, melted
- 1 can of Nature’s Charm coconut sweetened condensed milk
- Juice of ½ fresh lime, squeezed
- 4 Heritage Happy Egg Company egg yolks
- 2 Mangos, honey peeled and sliced
- Garnish: of tropical fruit – passion fruit, carambola
- 2 oz. artisan crafted ice cream/custard coconut
Preparation steps: Press together Coco Rolls with butter, line tartlet shells. Make filling with condensed milk, lime juice, and egg yolk. Bake at 177ºC or 350ºF for approximately 12 minutes; allow to cool. Slice mango and fan out on each tartlet. Slice in half the passion fruit and crest with a ball of coconut custard. Garnish plate with tropical fruit to taste.
Caribbean Recipes: Caribbean Cooking Holiday Style
Recipe from Chef Patrick Matthews, M/Y LAUREL
PAN SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CAVIAR, BACON, AND CARROT
Recipe from Chef Patrick Matthews, M/Y LAUREL
Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 10 minutes. Serves: 6
- 6 Scallops, U10 – fresh in shell
- 1 tsp. pepper, black tellicherry – mignonette
- 3 thick slices, house cured bacon
- 6 baby carrots, peeled, shaved 1/8”, dehydrated
- 2 Tbsp. Pistachio – shelled roasted, crushed
- 100 g, Caviar, Petrossian Daurenki
- 1 Tbsp. Butter, ‘Beurre’ d’Isigny Ste. Mére – melted
- 2 Tuile (lace), Coral
Preparation steps: Remove scallop from shell, clean, and remove side muscle. Lightly season with pepper. Caramelize scallop over medium heat, a few at a time, butter. DO NOT OVER COOK. Place on sheet tray lined with paper towel.
Pre-cure and smoke Pork Belly, (or you can use store bought … Nueske’s and Kiolbassa make for excellent substitutes. Shape bacon into 12.7mm (1/2-inch) x 50.8mm (2-inch) pieces. Place bacon on parchment covered sheet pans, bake at 117ºC (350ºF) until desired level of crispness reached.
Make Tuile Lace: 30g (2-1/2 Tbsp) All-Purpose Flour, 100g (1/3 cup) Neutral Oil, 200g (3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp) Fiji Water … color as desired … “for this plate-scape, I was going for the Little Mermaid ‘Under the Sea’ motif.”
If you like this, you’ll love:
Scalloping on Florida’s Gulf Coast(Opens in a new browser tab)
Vegan Recipes Shine at BVI Annual Charter Yacht Show(Opens in a new browser tab)
Antigua Charter Yacht Show’s Concours de Chef(Opens in a new browser tab)
Happy New Year Quinoa Recipes(Opens in a new browser tab)
Jan Robinson, Health Coach, Charter Yacht Consultant, 2019 CYBA Hall of Fame, Chef Competition Coordinator/Judge and author of the Ship to Shore Cookbook collection; available on Amazon and www.shiptoshore.com. CaptJan2@gmail.com
