BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, August 22, 2022 (MMS-SKN) — Prime Minister and Minister of Health, the Hon Dr Terrance Drew, is congratulating local chefs who he described as doing miracles with local foods and urging members of the public to adopt their recipes as they are healthy and will help in the country’s fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“I want to congratulate the chefs, from what I have seen so far and tasted so far, and what they are doing – and of course I have tasted,” said Prime Minister Drew. “What I have tasted so far, they are doing miracles with local foods.”
Dr Drew made the remarks on Sunday August 21 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort’s Fire Kitchen in Frigate Bay where four local chefs representing Sandy Point, Cayon, Basseterre, and Nevis areas took part in the I Rep My Community Cooking Competition finals, as they endeavoured to take the title ‘In Ya Kitchen Community Top Chef’.
“I think this competition is more than a competition,” remarked the Honourable Prime Minister. “It creates opportunities for people to see, and for people to taste. Those of us who had the opportunity, that eating healthy can be fun – can be tasty and of course the most important benefit is that you can have a healthy life and keep the chronic non-communicable diseases away, such as high blood pressure – hypertension, cancers and so on.”
The competition which was organised by the Health Promotion Unit in the Ministry of Health, and sponsored by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) through the Technical Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Saint Kitts and Nevis, was also attended by the Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) His Excellency Michael Lin.
The Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Metabolic Chronic Diseases Project, which is administered by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) through the Technical Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Saint Kitts and Nevis, has been working in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health. Project’s Manager Mr William Chen chaired the proceedings, whose master of ceremony was Mr Lesley ‘Sugar Bowl’ Morton.
The Honourable Minister of Health, who is an internal medicine specialist, encouraged the people of St. Kitts and Nevis to take a keen look at the recipes that had been presented by the four chefs and adopt them as in so doing it would help to slow down the scourge of non-communicable diseases. He reminded that NCDs are the number one cause of death in St. Kitts and Nevis, and people have to do something significant about it.
The chefs were, Ms Les-Ronya Thompson of Cleverly Hill, Sandy Point, Ms Jeanette ‘Chef Tammy’ Warner, of Hamilton, Charlestown in Nevis, Mr Judah Fari of La Guerite, West Basseterre, and the eventual winner, Mrs Saundia ‘Chef Sandy’ Mitcham-Glasgow of Cunningham Heights, Cayon, who took the ‘In Ya Kitchen Community Top Chef’ title. Supporting them were I Rep My Community ambassadors from their various communities.
“This is very useful and I hope that our people can get a handle of these recipes which are basic recipes and they can easily be adopted to the home and adopted to the family meal,” said Prime Minister Drew. “I want to say to those who would have organised this, that it has been an excellent programme and I look forward to of course our people benefitting from it.”
According to the Manager of Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Metabolic Chronic Diseases Project, Mr William Chen, in the period March to June 2022, In Ya Kitchen hosted four community cooking competitions in an effort to find the best local chefs to represent their communities under the theme ‘I Rep My Community’.
Three contestants represented each of the four communities, the Sandy Point, Charlestown (Nevis), Basseterre, and Cayon areas. The winners from each competition are the ones who took part in the I Rep My Community Cooking Competition finals in an effort to win the title ‘In Ya Kitchen Community Top Chef’.
Also present were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Dr Deloris Stapleton-Harris; Coordinator of Health Promotion Unit in the Ministry of Health, Dr Marissa Carty; Coordinator, Metabolic Chronic Disease Project, Mrs Novella Rawlins-Nwosu; competition coordinator in Nevis, Mr Michael Henville; and Senator the Hon Hon Isalean Phillip in her capacity as the Senior Advocacy Officer at the Lake Health and Wellbeing.
ENDS
