Divi Carina Bay Resort Hosts Tastes of St. Croix

Mouth-Watering Event Part of Premier Culinary Event of the Caribbean

Chapel Hill, NC (April 5, 2010) - Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort (www.divicarina.com) once again plays host to the Taste of St. Croix, inarguably the island's most anticipated, exciting, attended and delicious affair, and one of the Caribbean's best culinary events. The annual tasting and culinary competition, to be held this year on April 15th, highlights the delectable cuisine of St. Croix, with its influences from around the world. The Taste of St. Croix is part of the five-day St. Croix Food & Wine Experience.

More than 50 restaurants vie for "best of" awards in a range of categories, including Best Local Fare, Best Presentation and Best Vegetarian dish. Vintners from around the world also will be participating, offering event goers a sampling of their wines.

The Taste of St. Croix was started in 2001 as a modest affair and soon moved to the Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort to accommodate the increasing scope of the competition and the crowds that flock for a night of sampling the island's fare. The open-air event attracts nearly two thousand people and is held under the stars, along the resort's nearly 1000 feet of beachfront.

Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort hugs the white sands on the island's south side in the tony east-end residential area, nestled in a mountain-rimmed turquoise bay. The resort has 195 rooms, two restaurants, a water sports center, fitness center, PADI five star dive center, lighted tennis courts, miniature golf course, spa and casino.

Judges for this year's competition include Kevin Rathbun, known as the "Sultan of Steak," whose three Atlanta restaurants have been given top honors by, among others, Details, Esquire, and The Atlanta Constitution, Gabriel Rucker, of Portland, Oregon's Le Pigeon, named one of the best new chefs of 2007 by Food & Wine magazine; Robert Trevino, an Iron Chef America contender and famous for his Nueva Latina cooking at his superb restaurant in San Juan, and Tim Love, culinary personality and chef/owner of The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and The Love Shack in Ft. Worth, TX. The Taste of St. Croix benefits the St. Croix Foundation and fosters economic, social and cultural development on the island.