Street Style - Best Dressed Chicken is Gas Pro's cook-up winner

The Gas Pro Street Style Cook Up was recently held in the Waterhouse community for its second staging, after a successful turnout in Parade Gardens in May. A section of West Bay Farm Road in Waterhouse was completely blocked off as sponsor booths were erected, as well as a main stage and, of course, the tents for the four teams vying for the title of the ultimate street style chefs in their community.

With 12 finalists from Waterhouse put into four teams and each team having a representative from its respective sponsor, the Gas Pro Street Style Cook Up competition was in full swing as teams Kendel, Massy Trading, Singer and Best Dressed Chicken, decked out in full culinary garb and branded chef hats, began their preparations. The teams were given three hours to prepare a soup, entree, side salad and a drink, with all cooking utensils, food and stoves used being provided by sponsors of the event.

Despite the heavy and continuous rain, there was still a strong presence from the community. Families came out with their umbrellas and braved the rain while Emcee Teddy kept them entertained with onstage activities and giveaways. Celebrity judges, Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, authors of Caribbean Potluck and hosts of popular TV show, 2 Sisters and a Meal and Chef Jason Gentles of Eden Gardens, arrived just in time to taste the piping-hot dishes prepared by all four teams.

It was then that the crowd drew near to the
competition tent and the numbers grew while the community cheered on
their favorite chefs. The rain persisted, but the anticipation was just
as strong knowing that the winner was soon to be announced. Everyone was
also eager to get their own samples from each chef so they too could
judge for themselves.

After an hour of judging and
tallying scores, all contestants were asked to come on the main stage
for the reading of the results. Already, the crowd started cheering when
they saw their favorite community chefs on stage. The results were
announced by Carrington Peter Morgan, conceptualiser of the event and
chief strategic planner of Carrington Direct.

The
results were as follows: Fourth place went to Team Singer and each
participant was awarded with a blender courtesy of Singer; and
third-place winners were Team Kendel, who each walked away with
microwaves and one free gas refill from Gas Pro.

The
final two teams could not hide the anticipation on their faces, and the
crowd began shouting out their favorite team to win. Morgan read the
points standing first, and second place went to the defending champions,
Team Massy Trading, each team member won a five cubic-foot deep freezer
courtesy of Singer and two free gas refills from Gas Pro. It was the
team dressed impeccably well, or 'the best-dressed' team, rather, in
matching black and yellow chef jackets, who emerged to the forefront
jumping and congratulating each other, as Team Jamaica Broilers was
announced as the winner of the Gas Pro Street Style Cook-Up: Waterhouse
Edition. Each member would take home a six-burner gas stove courtesy of
Singer Jamaica Ltd and three free gas refills from Gas
Pro.

The day had its challenges due to the weather,
but the purpose and of bringing community fun, upliftment and renewal
through cooking to another inner city community was achieved. Event
Sponsors included Massy Gas Products, Massy Trading, Kendel, F1RST,
Jamaica Broilers, Singer, Sania Palm Olein, Atlas Group, SPPL,
Television Jamaica, Hitz92 FM, RETV and the PIOJ's Community Renewal
Programme.

WINNING MENU

(1) JAMAICA BROILERS

Team leader:
Michael Russell

Cream of Pumpkin
Soup

Pan Seared Chicken in Creole
Sauce

BBQ Coconut Shrimp

Tun
Cornmeal in a Medley of Mixed Vegetables

Garden Salad
& Home Made Salad Dressing

Jamaican Hot
& Spicy Potato Wedges

Caribbean Fruit Zest
Cooler

Team members:

Michael Russell

Paulene
Malcolm

Gayan Churchav

Lakeisha
Pitter (Jamaica Broilers Representative)

OTHER TEAM MENUS

(2) KENDEL

Team leader:
Sannatan Harvey

Cream of Pumpkin
Soup

Chicken Steak

Steam
Fish

Mexican Rice

Potato
Salad

Caribbean
Burst

(3) MASSY
DISTRIBUTORS

Team leader: Courtney
Miller

Manish Water

Fry Wonton
served with Sweet 'n Sour sauce

Charcoal
Chicken

Gungo Rice and Peas

Korean
Cucumber

String Peas and Carrot

Sorrel
Juice

(4) SINGER

Team
leader: Perrie Daley

Red Peas
soup

Pot Roast Pork

Sweet and Sour
Fish

Garden Rice

Raw and Steamed
Vegetables

June Plum with Pine & Passion
Fruit

Contributed Photos