There’s a good reason why Christina Jones-Garcia, the chef of Tuscan Sun, is smiling in this photo. She nabbed third place in a prestigious cooking competition for yacht charter chefs.
Each year the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association, a trade group promoting professionalism and ethics in yachting, hosts a competition among chefs. It occurs at the industry-only St. Maarten Charter Show. In December, the Concours de Chefs saw Jones-Garcia and two other chefs in International Yacht Collection’s fleet take honors.
The theme, “The Spanish Influence Upon Caribbean Cuisine,” pushed these yacht charter chefs to make dishes embodying these flavors and, of course, outdo their competition. They were divided into two categories, “140 feet and below” and “over 140 feet.”
In the former, Amanda Hutching of Namoh took the top prize for her mouth-watering menu. It featured grilled, citrus-glazed swordfish on toasted bomba rice “couscous” with roasted peppers, golden raisins, and dried mango. Additionally, it included cilantro-mint mojo sauce and almonds; warm Spanish doughnuts over corn and molasses ice cream; and lemon dulce de leche with saffron coulis.
In the same category, meanwhile, John Chamberlain of Lucky Seven received second place. If Hutching’s menu didn’t make your mouth water, his should. He specifically made crispy braised pork cheek and curry-seared tuna foie gras with frothed yucca puree and a sofrito reduction. For dessert: mango-rum flan cake and coconut churro, with a warm orange champurrado sauce.
So what about Jones-Garcia, who won in the “over 140 feet” category? She prepared adobe-dusted red snapper in a citrus-infused beurre blanc, served with mango and black bean salsa as well as coconut-saffron steamed rice. For dessert, she prepared dulce de leche-soaked almond cake and rum-poached bananas with passion fruit cream.
Remind me to avoid writing about yacht charter chefs at breakfast time. The yogurt I’m about to eat just doesn’t hold the usual appeal…
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