Posted on 01 September 2010.
The winning Magic Mango (and now Mango Pineapple) recipes of the past few years will soon be compiled into a book. This book, explained Madeline McComas, who oversees the culinary competition which forms part of the Mango Fest activities, is being produced by the same people behind the popular Food and Drink Guide.
Janie Conley is one of those people. The F & DG’s design and art director said the book will be called Table Manners and will include the mango-pineapple recipes and much more.
“It’s a retrospective of the culinary industry from the last six years, so it’s a collection of recipes,” she said.
In addition to the Mango Fest recipes, she explained, it will include recipes submitted by bars and hotels on island – some published before in the guide, some new. And while there’ll be lots of photography, there’ll also be articles on the history of Christian Valley and the Mango Fest, Dame Gwendolyn Tonge – for whom the chef’s award is named, and short articles on local produce like the Antigua Black pineapple. They’ll be matching recipes with wines, reflecting, Conley said, the variety of wines available on island.
The 250-page book will include listings of bars, agro-processors, and more.
They’re doing it, she said, “mainly because Mango Fest has wanted a cookbook for a couple of years and we always wanted to produce a cookbook anyway, but, to have it just full of mango recipes is a bit restrictive.”
Table Manners, therefore, will give a more rounded picture of cuisine available in Antigua, not limited, of course, to Antiguan cuisine.
She anticipates it’ll be a hit with visitors and locals alike.
“I think they (ie the books) are going to get used a lot, I really do,” Conley said.
The winning chefs and bartenders recognised at the second day of the two-day fest last Sunday would likely agree. All seem keen to have the competition act as a gateway to bigger and better things, and winning chef, David Browne, for one indicates that there’s always a high level of interest in the recipes among the guests at Galley Bay where he works as the sous chef, some emailing for recipes they’ve sampled at the resort.

Kassim main.
Browne, who, for the competition, prepared a main course entitled AntiguaNice Chicken with Julie Mango and Cornmeal Stuffing served with Pineapple Plantain Creole and had Julie Mango Cheesecake with Cinnamon-Roasted Pineapple and Mango Chutney as his dessert, beat out Hermitage’s Kerry Simmonds and student chef Kassim Smith for the main prize.
He described inventiveness in the kitchen as part of his routine.
“I try to invent things and make the staff (understand) that if you try something new (it can only) get rejected or get a good response,” he said. Winning, he said, is a great motivator. He described the book as a good idea and just one way in which the winning concoctions and their creators could be utilised – another is to have the winners represent in regional culinary competitions. “We have cooking competitions here and we have winners with good dishes, with creative minds, and we can use that to even push Antigua,” Browne said.
Exhibiting that hunger for more, third placed and most innovative chef, Smith, a graduate of Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute, is headed shortly for further studies in China. His appetiser was Country Style Tomato Bombe stuffed with Fresh Mango, Pineapple and Corn, served with Mango Vinaigrette and oven crisped parmesan bread; and his main course, Grilled Iguana Terrine with Spicy Mango and Pineapple Sauce, Spaghetti Squash and Green Onion Bulgur Pilaf.
Iguana? Clearly, the chefs who prevail in this competition, the ones who will be featured in Table Manners, think outside the box.
“I had to do something that was going to catch everybody’s eyes and the judge’s included … I didn’t want to do the norm,” Smith said of his approach to his first competition.
Behind the bar, Timmy Thomas of The Beach secured a second win in only his second year of competition with Love and Mango and Mangria. The latter, his favourite of the two, was made with Pinot Grigio, Courvoisier, light rum, Midori liqueur, mango, strawberries, passion fruit syrup, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice.
He beat out Jolly Beach’s Real Roberts, who won second place and most innovative, and third placed Onique Matthew of Bay House.
Talking to Thomas, it’s clear that a high level of passion drives what he does.
“I just love what I do,” he said. “I work at it. It’s hard work; (so) not only for the money but you’ve just got to love what you do.”
He described himself as a “mixologist” noting that, on the job, when someone comes to the bar, uncertain about what they want, he reads their mood and creates a drink specific to them.
Coming up with new recipes for the Mango-Pineapple competition was, therefore, just another day behind the bar for him. He, too, would like to see the competition open up more opportunities for bartenders and chefs alike; and he, too, dreams of someday doing his own book.
In the interim, mango and pineapple lovers can look forward to Table Manners which should be launched in December of this year. It is described by the production team as “a stunning and eye-catching masterpiece” which “should be used to publicise Antigua & Barbuda as a culinary capital of the Caribbean.”
The Mango-Pineapple competition, meanwhile, which dates back to 2006, is hopeful, going forward, of providing even more opportunities – primarily educational opportunities – for participants, McComas indicated.