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The judges' report - 2003 |
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THE Observer Table Talk Awards, a celebration of the joy of food, this year presented awards in 16 categories; and we congratulate the 63 nominees. Since it's inception, the Table Talk Food Awards has become a hot ticket. But it's pedigree as a great event aside, we the judges are focused on honouring excellence and imagination in restaurants and food. And while the criteria for each category of award may vary, the mantra that inspired each deliberation was always consistency. Winners will of course display their awards with pride, but the proof is in the eating; and that proof must be the same each time we dine at a restaurant or open a bottle of sauce. Consistency is one of the holy grails of food lovers, and we challenge, or rather implore manufacturers and restaurateurs to get it right each and every time. Of all the awards, that for Best Service was probably the most actively debated, because unfortunately, service does not seem to be something we do well in restaurants. Our nominees are varied, from the international glamour of the Ritz Carlton, to the honest to goodness charm of Dickies in Port Antonio. These restaurants may be worlds apart from each other in style and cuisine, but they each represent best examples of what a superlative dining experience is all about: engaging guests in a wonderful choreography of charm, warmth, passion and of course, good food. In considering the Best Décor nominees, we were not merely interested in lavish appointments, but rather in an aesthetic that infused the four walls of the restaurant with a stylish translation of the menu, taking diners through the looking glass into a fanciful wonderland. The Best Kept Secret Award is a "big up" to those restaurants and food spots that may be small on space and may not have Observer-sized advertising budgets, but are truly big on taste and value. Our nominees this year are all from "country", as we say, and that is one of the great things about the Table Talk Food awards: we say unequivocally that Kingston is not Jamaica. But on the subject of Kingston: our beloved city still has some ways to go as a culinary locale. Our restaurant landscape remains flat and this may be a function of our cultural influence to dine at home. Still, we found three of the four nominees in the Best New Restaurant category right here in Kingston, so there's hope that something's cooking to give us the variety and dynamism we crave in the city. With the new awards for Best Bar and Best Brunch, we pay tribute to two favourite Jamaican past time: hanging out at bars, and Sunday meals that go on, and on. Also new this year is the Jamaica Observer 10 Jamaican Classics, which honours both the anniversary of The Jamaica Observer, and six legendary Jamaican brands that define our cultural vernacular. Without each of these classics, life and memories of Jamaica would never have been the same. It was easy for us to select tonight's lifetime awardee, and the winner characterises the natural Jamaica instinct for fun, good times, and matchless quality. The judges this year represented a wonderful mix of influences and interests: again we are blessed by insight and straight talk of the diva of Caribbean Cuisine, Norma Shirley. We also had the energy of four first-time judges: Nevine Heaven, Colin Hylton, Gariel Ferguson and Natascha Kessler, and I must thank Maurine Capleton who has always served as the voice of reason during our animated discussions. In closing, I'd like to thank on behalf of all us here, Novia McDonald Whyte, who in her inimitable style, and Knightsbridge accent, has made it fashionable for us to talk about, enjoy and bring out into the open, our never-ending love affair with food. -- Odette Dixon Neath, chief judge
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