Top Chefs At Top Caribbean Culinary Competition

Divi Carina Bay Resort Hosted Ninth Annual A Taste of St. Croix

Chapel Hill, NC (June 17, 2009) - Some of America's top chefs gathered in St. Croix recently to participate in the Caribbean's largest culinary event, A Taste of St. Croix (www.diviresorts.com/tasteofstcroix). The celebrity chefs, including Iron Chef competitor Kevin Rathbun from Atlanta, Top Chef competitor Antonio Lofaso, and acclaimed Fort Lauderdale chef and restaurateur Johnny Vinczencz, were among the panel of judges assembled for the annual restaurant cook-off held April 16th at the Divi Carina Bay Resort. This year, 57 local restaurants each presented a dish to be taste-tested by the judges and offered samples to the 1,800 guests who crowded the resort's beachfront. Winners rightly tout their victories in the Taste of St. Croix competition on their menus in St. Croix's thriving and top-notch restaurant scene.

A Taste of St. Croix originated at the Divi Carina Bay Resort nine years ago, and the resort has staged the competition annually ever since. The resort's setting, on a secluded white sand beach and the brilliant blue Caribbean sea, makes the event a visual treat as well. Restaurants and visiting vintners and beverage companies set up sampling stations along the beach, around the pool and under white-light decorated tents, creating one of the most picturesque culinary competitions anywhere.

Judging for A Taste of St. Croix 2009 were: Willy Diggleman of Rincon Aleman (Panama); Johnny Vinczencz of Johnny V (Fort Lauderdale, FL); Kevin Rathbun of Rathbun's, Krog Bar, and Rathbun Steakhouse (Atlanta, GA); Leslie Gumbs of Theo's Personal Catering (St. Thomas) and lead chef of the United States Virgin Island Culinary Team; Catherine Driggers of Olive & Wine (Sonoma Creek, CA); Alessandro Brandi of Ristorante Alessandro (San Juan, PR); and Los Angeles chef Antonia Lofaso, a season-four contestant on Bravo's Top Chef.

The star chefs provided their time and expertise for the sold-out culinary competition to raise funds for the St. Croix Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing the U.S. Virgin Islands. This year's A Taste of St. Croix, the ninth annual, raised more than $85,000. The event is one of the island's most anticipated cultural events and draws visitors from around the Caribbean and the U.S.

While on the island, Driggers, Diggleman, Vinczencz, and Rathbun each also co-hosted a private dinner in conjunction with a vintner from Italy or California, expertly pairing food with wine. The intimate dinners, held at a selection of villas and historical venues, raised additional funds for the foundation.