Professional Chef | Bartender | Best of Belize
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Professional Chef

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Download PDF Application form and rules here

Registration

The Number of contestants will be limited therefore competition slots will be secured at point of payment.

Competition Rules and Guidelines

Professional Chef candidate at Taste of Belize

The professional category of this culinary competition will be open to any person who has been employed as a chef for two years or more in Belize.

Taste of Belize is a 'signature' competition, which means that the contestants must create a unique dish. As such, in the finals of this competition, contestants will be provided with a mystery basket and as the name implies the contents of the basket is a mystery that will be revealed at the start of the final round of competition.

All ingredients in the mystery basket will have to be utilized in the preparation of the dish and not used solely to garnish.

Judging

Competitors will be judged on the following: skills, techniques, hygienic standards and timing based on the following scoring:

By Scoring of Floor Judges
Timing and Work Plan	15 points
Use of Ingredients and cost effectiveness	10 points
Hygiene Practice	10 points
Knife Skills and Cooking Techniques	15 points
Total	50 points

By Blind Tasting of The Tasting Judges
Taste	40 points
Nutritional balance	10 points
Presentation and Eye Appeal	15 points
Belizean or Regional Influence	10 points
Originality of Recipe	10 points
Total	85 points

Grand Total: 135 points

The dish will be judged on taste and presentation by a panel of culinary judges.

From the moment you receive your mystery basket you will have 15 minutes time to write a description of your dish. This does not have to be a detailed recipe, but the description should cover the complete dish.

Example: Braised lamb shank with dark rum and pineapple sauce, served with mashed garlic-sweet potatoes and turned steamed carrots flavored with Belizean honey and cinnamon.

All ingredients and garnishes are a part of the dish and should be edible.

Timeframe:

15 minutes to write and create your recipe (at the end of each round you MUST confirm with the registration desk that your recipe is detailed and complete)
60 minutes to do your preparation
10 minutes to do the actual plating
5 minutes for cleaning up your work station

Timelines of service will be critical, as well as the ability to get the menu out in a timely manner. The judges will pick up the meal 70 minutes after the start.

Each competitor must prepare four identical dishes: two will go to the tasting judges, one will be for display during the event and the other dish will be served to the public. Competitors have the option of providing additional samples to the public.

Utensils

White plates will be provided for all meal services, but contestants may bring their own plates if they so wish.

It is mandatory that contestants provide ALL their cooking utensils.

All workstations will be identical and will only consist of one 8-foot table and a 4-burner stove.

A cooler as well as a sink must also be shared.

The committee will provide cleaning utensils and chemicals as contestants must clean their workstations when they are through in order for the next contestant to begin.

Electrical power tools like blenders, mixers, and cutters are allowed to be used however once you bring these equipments they have to be made available to all other contestants.

Basic power supply of 110 volts with a maximum of 1 ampere will be available at each work station.

To guarantee fair judging the following rules are implemented.

The judging committee will be chaired by an independent international judge .

In the case of a tie blind ballots from the judges will be tallied and the final winner selected.

An independent observer from the Belize Tourism Board will be in the judging room in order to guarantee fair judging.

There will be a 20 minute timeframe (5 minutes maximum per person) allotted for competitors who do not advance to the next round to meet with the judges if they so desire. These individual meetings are to review your scores after the competition however, ALL scores are final.