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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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