For the third year in a row, Chef Nikki Esprit of Fond Cole, who is employed at Cafe Desiderata, has copped the Island Chef title.
She defeated five other participants to top the competition which was held at the Anchorage Hotel on Friday night.
“I was very nervous and didn’t expect it, but three years, that’s good and I am happy,” she said shortly after receiving the title.
According to her, “The guys really pushed me to the limit. It was challenging and they brought out their best.”
Chef Esprit believes that what gave her the edge was using all the ingredients from the mystery basket.
“I believe what gave me the edge, it was all about using all the ingredients in the mystery basket which I did and some of them left it out…,” she explained.
Support from her Team Desiderata also helped her in capturing the title.
Nikki will be given the opportunity to do a two-week, all expense paid internship at the Cuisinart Resort and Spa – a five-star resort in Anguilla.
The People’s Choice award went to Chef Arnaud Chabert who represented Anchorage Hotel.
Chef Joslyn Joseph of La Flambeau Restaurant and Beach Bar captured the award for best appetizer and best main course and most promising chef.
The best dessert award went to Chef Lourdes Sanchez of Spain.
The other competitors were Chef Karine Glascow of Rainbow Restaurant and and Chef Jervonne Christophe.
The Island Chef Competition, hosted by the Anchorage Hotel and organized by the Vetivert Inc, is the biggest event of the annual Nature Island Food & Drink Festival which was held on April 23rd, 28th and 29th this year.
It has been endorsed by Discover Dominica Authority (DDA).
Some of the sponsors included: Coco Palm, Fine Foods Inc, Portsmouth Beach Hotel, NeoXpression, Caribbean Cuisine, LIAT, Belfast Estate, First Domestic and Dominica News Online, among others.
How can i participate in next season iam from Pakistan.?
Congratulations Nikki that,s awesome.
NIKKI so much of us love you. no matter wat the haters/jealousy people say. your are beautiful woman in an out. LOVE YOU TO THE MAX
Jealousy.. pay them no mind…..
The show was a great attempt to bring something new and fresh to entertainment and improve the culinary scene on the island. Congratulations to the organizers. Yes there were some flaws and I hope that the organizers will take the critic and recommendations in stride. I totally agree that the tasting was chaotic and not controlled at all. Too much mix up with the plate resented to the correct chef who prepared it. The extra time was a no no since timing was a criteria for the competition, some completed the task on time while others needed the extra minuit, that was not fair. Seating could have been better organized so the audience could have a better view of what was happening. That said I enjoyed the evening.
Chez Joslyn was on point with her consistency and presentation skills except for the desert round where she totally missed the mark. Well done guys. CONGRATULATIONS!
Great job Nikki.
The food presentation looks great! Congratulations to the winner.
I was overly disappointed with the organization of this competition. After the 4 years you’d expect the event to be of a high standard. seating was a mess-Patrons could hardly see what was going on-how about TV screens?- No monitoring of the tasting and I strongly believe they mixed up the names based on how disorganized they were with handling the plates. At first there were no name tags assigned to the tasting plates. then they took some torn strips of paper and wrote the names.I witnessed someone taste something and put the rest back in the plate then another person passed and ate the very same thing the person had placed back in plate…Gross!! The host was very unprofessional. After the time expired for one of the rounds she gave those who didn’t finish one more minute.This was appalling.She just kept screaming and shouting..”One more minute!”Another observation..she kept distracting the competitors asking them “what are you preparing?” when they had already…
Omg I so agree. While I congratulate the winner I too am disappointed with how the event went. They announced that there was a competitor who did not qualify to win because she was not from Dominica. Then why allow her to participate in the first place?? OH i get it..probably lack of interest from other Chefs..after 5 years you cannot get one more local chefs to participate so you resort to an unqualified competitor?smh. They informed that she could not have won yet still her dishes were being tasted. I was so confused. BTW- That’s the Chef with the uncovered armpits. I also found it poorly attended, and this was supposedly the biggest event of the festival. It is surprising to see the companies that are associated with the event and how badly the event turned out. Hope they do a post-mortem and better things next year…but in any case I will not be back
Congrats Good food go girl .I miss those food hope to be back one day to enjoy.
She is not working like a slave. She is just paying her dues and working her way up in life. Slaves did not get paid, but she worked and got paid. She also has the option to leave her job and in this case she chose to enter a competition to enhance her career. She is being progressive. Slaves did not and do not have that option.
congrats….shoot high, you’re sure to pass all the planets on your way up!!!!!
Congratulations miss Esprit..
Congrats. Love a woman that can cook.
Great iniative. One comment or questiin. The chef with the the tang top- what’s up with this. Shouldn’t she be wearing something that covers the armpit.
Next visit home I’ll be stopping by to sample your work….where is restaurant located?
Good one Nikki… U know i always got your back!!! Keep doing it…. Phillip Phillip Phillip…..
dominica have d best looking girls an they can cook too
Well done Nikki, I love your food.
Well she working like slave down in cella she must some something eh bonjai
What??????????????????????????????
I bet ur an ***whole, what a ridiculous comment, Dom in a can you are