“Taste of Belize” honours top chef

And if those figures have you hungry and thirsty, we’ll update you on a competition held last weekend called “Taste of Belize.? The gala event at the Radisson featured fourteen professional chefs, five amateur chefs, and six bartenders. When it was all over, Patrick Rodriguez of the Smoky Mermaid restaurant came out on top as “Chef of the Year.? His creation of blackened tilapia with beer battered shrimp and mango salsa earned him a seven hundred dollar prize in addition to representing Belize this month in the regional “Taste of the Caribbean” competition. Second place went to Rosalva Reyes of Rendezvous Restaurant and Winery in San Pedro, while Harbour View’s Jason Ocampo took third. The title of “Bartender of the Year” went to Chaa Creek’s Mariano Coc with his winning drink called the “Comfortable Slippery Banana.? This is the second straight year that Coc has won the mixology competition.