Chef Witcliffe Doyley's filling appetiser, salad imperial, a mixture of carrots, grilled Italian sausages, grilled pineapple and tomatoes with slices of plantain. - photos by Colin Hamilton/freelance photographer

The aroma of exciting dishes filled the air of the East Lawns of Devon House as three chefs and their teammates cooked up a storm at the Jamaica Trade and Invest's (JTI) "Taste Jamaica Celebrity Chefs Cook-off" on Sunday, November 1.

The cook-off was in association with the Gleaner-sponsored Restaurant Week that will begin this Saturday, November 7 and end on the 14th. Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Reginald Budhan, said in a short address that Restaurant Week which promotes the creative preparation and serving of food was important to the development of great Jamaican cuisine. "Not only do we educate consumers on the creative use of local foods, fruits, vegetables and ground provisions in their own dishes, but we can also inspire our farmers and our food scientists to explore more ingenious ways to reintroduce crops which will widen the scope of exotic Jamaican dishes."

Contestants

After the formalities it was time for the chefs to light their stoves and start up production in the makeshift kitchens set up on the lawns. Contestants were chefs Witcliffe Doyley, Sherman Barrett form Margaritaville and the youngest of the lot, Brian Lumley, representing Runaway Bay HEART Hotel and each had two assistants.

Teams were given a mystery bag that contained chicken breast, jerk sausage, coffee rub, sorrel juice, honey glaze, coffee preserve, bammy, jerk seasoning and coffee glaze, which they should use to create a three-course meal.

For the appetiser each chef was given half of an hour to create something creative, yet scrumptious. For the main course and dessert, time constraints resulted in chefs getting 45 minutes to complete both courses.

After the teams got started, the aroma of delicious meals tickled the nostrils and tempted the taste buds. The results were excellent, but there could only be one winner who turned out to be Sherman Barrett and his team. In second place was young chef Brian Lumley and his team, and in third place chef Witcliffe Doyley and his team.

Absolutely scrumptious! Try some of chef Brian Lumley's mouth-watering fried bammy with three types of sausages (jerk, chicken and choirzo) served with sweet pepper chutney.

Chef Brian Lumley's palate cleanser, fresh cilantro sorbet.

Chef Sherman Barrett served up a yummy appetiser on surfboards, with a bowl of green avocado in sorrel reduction and apple infused in honey glaze sprinkled with cheddar cheese and walnut.