ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA MANGO FESTIVAL

 

Following four months of fruity festivities and events, Mango Festival 2011 officially came to close at a black tie turndown affair meant to reward participants of the annual Mango Pineapple Culinary Competition held on July 9^th & 10^th, 2011.

 

The gala, hosted at the masterfully decorated Catamaran Hotel in Falmouth Harbour, attracted over 100 attendees, made up of tourism and agriculture officials, hotel representatives, competitors, Mango Festival committee members and Mango Festival well wishers. Guests were treated to live music by pianist, Jemal Elizee and were treated to the sounds of Pure Vybez Sound Entertainment Systems.

 

Chairman of the Mango Festivals Committee, Caudley George officially brought the festival to close with a recap of this year’s various festivities and thanked his fellow committee members for their hard work and commitment.

 

Pastry Chef Supreme Winner Zinzi Mpande of Jumby Bay Resort (right) CEO of the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority Colin James (left) 

 

The awardees were furnished with prizes, plaques and medals for their hard work and skill during the competition. Ayanna Richards of Galley Bay Resort and Hopeton Mclaren of The Verandah were rewarded the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority Team Spirit Award for their determination to succeed with general team spirit.

 

Innovation was also praised, as Richard Alphonso of Blue Waters Hotel, Christopher Terry of Sugar Ridge Hotel and Kason Tapper of Hermitage Bay were awarded Most Innovative in the Chefs, Pastry Chefs and Bartenders categories respectfully.

 

Geraldine Depeza of the Jolly Beach Resort & Spa was awarded the Quin Farara Bartender Personality Award for her engaging and hospitable personality skills throughout the competition.

 

All placing competitors were rewarded with tours across Antigua & Barbuda, made available by Tropical Adventures.
The awardees will have the chance to tour the island by land on Island Safari, cruise to Barbuda with Excellence and tour Cades Bay with Mystic Catamaran. The Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority saw this as an opportunity to educate exemplary hospitality staff members of our tourism product to be better brand ambassadors at their various properties.
Tropical Adventures, one of Antigua’s oldest and largest Tour Operators, through its relationship with the Authority and its continuous dedication to Antigua & Barbuda’s tourism product graciously accepted the task.

 

Food & Drink Caribbean was also on hand to officially present all placing competitors with their very own copy of the new Antigua & Barbuda Table Manners Guide.

 

As an additional surprise, first place winners were also rewarded with an all expense paid trip for two to visit beautiful Barbuda, made possible by the collaboration of Barbuda Express, The Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority & the Barbuda Council.

The Gala would not have been possible without the assistance of generous sponsors including The Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, Barbuda Express, Barbuda Council, Belmont Studios, Catamaran Hotel, Chef’s World, Christian Valley, Flo’s Perfumery, Food & Drink Caribbean, Ministry of Tourism, Photogenesis, Quin Farara, Sunshade Studios and Tropical Adventures.

 

Mango Festival’s calendar of events for the upcoming year begins in the month of April. 

 

Category	Chef	Pastry Chef	Bartenders
WINNER	Richard Alphonso – Blue Waters Hotel	Zinzi Mpande – Jumby Bay	Kason Tapper – Hermitage Bay
2nd Place	Ronaldo Collantes – The Inn at English Harbour	Colleen Joseph – The Verandah	Geraldine Depeza – Jolly Beach Resort & Spa
3rd Place	Ferne Boland – The Tides Restaurant	Christopher Terry – Sugar Ridge Hotel	Indiana Jones – St. James’s Club