Chef Broderick revolutionising spa cuisine

Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer

Western Bureau:

Caribbean Culinary Network (CCN) founding member and renowned executive chef, Kevin Broderick, will take the flavours of Jamaica to Africa and New York as he also tries to revolutionise spa cuisine at his newly assigned post in Negril.

Chef Broderick is now part of the Spa Retreat Boutique hotel's culinary team as an executive chef, where he plans to inject a renewed appreciation for spa cuisine with a touch of Jamaican class. Prior to his new assignment, he was at the Rockhouse Hotel.

"The Spa Retreat embodies the whole concept of health and wellness and I seek to combine that with food. The spa cuisine will be second to none, using all fresh produce from Jamaica and bringing a high definition of Jamaican infusion into the food that is prepared. I am excited about this new challenge and being a part of this great team," said the enthused chef.

These days, chef Broderick has a lot to be excited about. He is the only Jamaica-born chef that will represent the country in Africa in August as South Africa celebrates Jamaica 50 with a series of events. The Jamaican High Commission in South Africa is spearheading the activities for August that Broderick will participate in, along with chef Anthony Miller from Caribbean Producers.

FEELS HONOURED

"It is an honour to be able to represent my country on the world stage, and to go to Africa doing what I love to do is almost like a dream come true and a major boost to my culinary career," he beamed.

Broderick will also represent Jamaica at the Ocean Style's RESERVEDnyc dinner in New York on July 25, along with other Caribbean chefs.

The CCN chef has been in the culinary business for the past 25 years and has a wealth of experience locally and internationally. Chef Broderick is a two-time Chef of the Year awardee who has represented Jamaica twice in the Taste of the Caribbean competition in Florida, where he secured several medals.

He has also cooked for international actresses Angela Bassett and Whoopi Goldberg. He even made an appearance in the 1998 romance film How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Broderick is also a graduate of the Runaway Bay Heart Academy in St Ann, George Brown College in Canada, and Johnson and Wales University in the United States of America.

These days, he is focused on helping young chefs realise their goals through the CCN, building brand Jamaica through food and preparing for his debut television show, Chef Broderick Looks For Sous Chef.