The Tourism Development Company Limited’s (TDC) “Taste T&T– A Festival of Flavours” culinary extravaganza was held on 21 & 22 May, 2005 at the Hasely Crawford National Stadium. This event grew out of the annual Community Culinary Experience which began in 2000 through the TDC’s previous incarnation, TIDCO - the Tourism and Industrial Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited.
What began as a small scale cooking competition within far flung communities became, by 2004, a regionally centralised culinary experience. Last year, the TDC recognised the importance of an annual event as the spearhead for the development of event-based culinary tourism and accordingly increased and sharpened focus on it. No longer can Taste T&T be limited to stewed fish in Castara or oysters in Mayaro. Like everything else successful in every country in the world, Taste T&T had to come to the capital.
Without losing sight (or taste!) of the best roadside food in the world (the doubles, the corn soup, the saheena, the oysters) Taste T&T brought Trinidad & Tobagos’s leading chefs into the main focus of the picture. Through respected chef consultant Debra Sardinha-Metivier, most of the country’s top chefs and culinary trendsetters participated, serving some of their favourite dishes to huge crowds of enthusiastic diners. Culinary demonstrations were also given. Since 2002, Cré Olé editor BC Pires has followed the festival, whatever its format. Last year, like thousands of others, he sampled most of the wonderful food available. Here is his report.
Three events held at the Hasley Crawford National Stadium in 2005 will remain etched in the memories of Trinidadians & Tobagonians: thrilling games against Mexico and Bahrain in the 2006 World Cup playoffs and the exquisite, eclectic cuisine of the Taste T&T culinary experience.
The Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC) has identified Trinidad and Tobago’s cuisine and its naturally celebratory lifestyle as the foundation for an anchor-event for the second quarter of the year. Carnival, of course, remains the first quarter and first tier anchor-event of the national calendar --but the high standard of the inaugural Taste T&T suggests that the TDC may be on to an event that can take the baton from Carnival and run with it.
As well as the locally-made foods we all love, the 2005 Taste T&T featured some of the best fine-dining dishes I tasted last year and it’s no surprise: while there is no formal element of competition as there used to be when the Culinary Experience was village-based, the blatant competition between the country’s leading chefs to serve the best dish at the festival translated into gastronomic delight for patrons.
Khalid Mohammed took along his own (then) favourite Short Rib Pepper Pot (served with coo-coo and a dasheen bush cook-up) and Roasted Pork in Tamarind Jus (served with cassava crème mojo and a grilled vegetable tower). Never-to-be-outdone Joe Brown of Solimar put out a Guava and Tamarind-marinated Chicken with Sheermaal Bread and Cucumber Raitas and Malaysian grouper curry. Moses Ruben of Mélange prepared his Chicken Santa Rosa (including cassava with a smoked herring fusion), Lopinot Lamb of Yarra Curry Sauce and his Pitch Lake Pork (geera-tarred pork loin with pineapple chutney sauce).
Gèrard Mouillet of à la Bastille brought Paris to the Hasley Crawford car park with Smoked Salmon and Green Asparagus, live Oysters with Shallot Vinegar and Lemon and Prince Edward Island Mussels Mariniere. Angelo Cofone of Il Colosseo prepared, Osso Bucco, Spinach, Cheese & Proscuitto Cannoloni, Cozze Marinara (mussels sautéed with onions, garlic, shaved carrots, white wine and infused with fresh cream and tomato).
Five other chefs (Paul Mowser of Rafters, Chef Kenny of Swan, Joseph Habr of Joseph’s, Dwayne Henderson then of La Trattoria Giuliano’s and Mona Hadeed of Boomerang Caterers) also served dishes and several of the chefs gave public demonstrations of their techniques in a full kitchen set up for the purpose in a tent before an audience. Nearly all dishes of international appeal were prepared with a strong local element.
There was no shortage of entertainment for the large crowds as they stood in the long (thankfully fast-moving!) lines and it was as varied as the cuisine. As well as the national instrument, the steelpan, there was African & Indian drumming, Latin music, Chinese folk dancing, music by a French accordion player, opera performances, two choirs, old-time calypso, traditional Tobago heel-and-toe dance to fiddle accompaniment and what was referred to by the corporate host as a “mild & spicy” Arabic dancer.
There is every reason to expect the event to grow and develop. Its natural home would seem to be one of Port of Spain’s dining and entertainment strips and it would be no surprise, indeed, a pleasure, to see Taste T&T eventually move to Cipriani Boulevard or Ariapita Avenue. What is certain is that Taste T&T has a rock solid foundation. When a Trini (or ‘Bagonian) abroad finds himself pining for home, that pining is often expressed in a yearning for a particular food: doubles with slight pepper from his favourite barra-lady; the oil-down that Tanti made; ; a hot roti off a hot tawa on the pavement outside his favourite bar; family lunch on Sunday built on love, macaroni pie and baked chicken. It’s no surprise that, wherever there is a sizable T&T community, whether Miami or Minnesota, a roti shop (also serving cow-heel soup) usually appears.
The TDC has taken that overwhelming mental association people make with their food as the basis for a hugely successful, cuisine-based marketing of Trinidad & Tobago itself. But they have gone beyond the nostalgic appeal of, “Drink a rum and a ponche de crème” to stir the gourmet palate of the culinary tourist and, so far, it’s looking, tasting and smelling good. It may start off as Taste T&T but it surely must eventually lead to T&T…Savour the Flavour!
Cre-ole is a publication of Maverick Marketing Limited,
3 Strasser Parkway, St Anns, Port of Spain.
(868) 740-4234 / 680-7825
Website: www.cre-ole.com
Email: publisher@cre-ole.com, bcmaverick@tstt.net.tt
What began as a small scale cooking competition within far flung communities became, by 2004, a regionally centralised culinary experience. Last year, the TDC recognised the importance of an annual event as the spearhead for the development of event-based culinary tourism and accordingly increased and sharpened focus on it. No longer can Taste T&T be limited to stewed fish in Castara or oysters in Mayaro. Like everything else successful in every country in the world, Taste T&T had to come to the capital.
Three events held at the Hasley Crawford National Stadium in 2005 will remain etched in the memories of Trinidadians & Tobagonians: thrilling games against Mexico and Bahrain in the 2006 World Cup playoffs and the exquisite, eclectic cuisine of the Taste T&T culinary experience.
Khalid Mohammed took along his own (then) favourite Short Rib Pepper Pot (served with coo-coo and a dasheen bush cook-up) and Roasted Pork in Tamarind Jus (served with cassava crème mojo and a grilled vegetable tower). Never-to-be-outdone Joe Brown of Solimar put out a Guava and Tamarind-marinated Chicken with Sheermaal Bread and Cucumber Raitas and Malaysian grouper curry. Moses Ruben of Mélange prepared his Chicken Santa Rosa (including cassava with a smoked herring fusion), Lopinot Lamb of Yarra Curry Sauce and his Pitch Lake Pork (geera-tarred pork loin with pineapple chutney sauce).
There was no shortage of entertainment for the large crowds as they stood in the long (thankfully fast-moving!) lines and it was as varied as the cuisine. As well as the national instrument, the steelpan, there was African & Indian drumming, Latin music, Chinese folk dancing, music by a French accordion player, opera performances, two choirs, old-time calypso, traditional Tobago heel-and-toe dance to fiddle accompaniment and what was referred to by the corporate host as a “mild & spicy” Arabic dancer.
The TDC has taken that overwhelming mental association people make with their food as the basis for a hugely successful, cuisine-based marketing of Trinidad & Tobago itself. But they have gone beyond the nostalgic appeal of, “Drink a rum and a ponche de crème” to stir the gourmet palate of the culinary tourist and, so far, it’s looking, tasting and smelling good. It may start off as Taste T&T but it surely must eventually lead to T&T…Savour the Flavour!