Flavor - a Food & Travel magazine

FLAVOR STORIES FROM A TASTE OF ST. CROIX

ISSUE 1

LEARN ABOUT PROGRAMS SUPPORTED

BY A TASTE OF ST. CROIX

Meet

THE

ARTIST

The Future is Bright

A TASTE EXCLUSIVE

SUPPORTING ST . CROIX , ONE BITE AT A TIME

THE ULTIMATE EVENT

SWEET SUCCESS Photographs by Ted Davis, Lindsay Kammerzelt, Kelly Greer A Taste of St. Croix was started by restaurant owners Katherine Pugliese and Kelly Odom in 2001. The first year of the event, 32 restaurants participated and they raised about $7000. The following year, their mutual friend and entertainment and event specialist Collin Hodge joined the team to help them plan, coordinate, and manage the event. The event has grown from just 300 guests to selling out and welcoming more than 1500 guests. Each year, more than 54 restaurants, caterers, farmers and liquor distributors participate, sharing their samples and tastes with attendees. And each year the event just gets better.

It takes a year of planning to ensure a successful event. As the saying goes, “it takes a village” and the “village” community on St. Croix is amazing. Since the event started, Divi Carina Bay Resort has provided the space, electricity, water and man power needed to run the one night fundraising fete.

Reliable Rentals sets up the tents, tables and has always been supportive with the unique needs of both the resort and the event. More than 115 volunteers help prepare for the event, between gates, VIP reception party, online ticket pickup and more there are over 150 volunteer positions that make the event successful. It is thanks to their help and commitment that the event runs smoothly.

And it is thanks to participants that the event is rated one of the top ten food events in the world according to Forbes Travel. Restaurants, farmers, caterers and distributors close their business for the night in order to participate. They invest time and money as well as resources to be part of this Caribbean culinary celebration that showcases the incredible offerings of the island.

In 2015, A Taste of St. Croix offered participating restaurants mini grants. Restaurants received $50 certificates to redeem at the special farmers market held the Monday before the event; then they received $250 for supplies before the event; and if they are still serving food at 8:30pm, they earn an additional $200. This $500 mini grant ensured that restaurants, most of which were feeling the impact of the islands recession caused by the closing of the refinery, while also increasing restaurant participation and ensuring no empty plates for attendees.

In 2015, A Taste of St. Croix donated $25,000 back to restaurants and because of the program's success, they continued in 2016 with $300 mini grants for restaurants.

We have ten new restaurants participating this year,” reports Collin Hodge, “And a local group will feature a red carpet runway highlighting the fashionable attendees. “

We have a lot of new elements this year to enhance the experience and always offer something new for the many vendors and guests who support the event every year.”

The annual event, held in April, is more than a fundraising party. It is also an intense competition.

Celebrity chefs, dignitaries, journalists and community leaders are flown in to be the judges. Each judge only receives their assigned category minutes before the competition starts and no entries, whether a cocktail or plated dish, have any signage to identify the chef or mixologist. Judges are quarantined in a beachside tent until all voting is complete.

Winners are announced the night of the event with the list posted on Facebook the following day. There is also the People’s Choice award. The restaurants with most votes from attendees gets the prize.

The talent on. St. Croix is incredible,” says James Beard awardwinning celebrity Chef Sam Choy of Hawaii, “You can tell that the competition is taken seriously by every participant.”

For winners, photos and more: Facebook.com/atasteofstcroix

PROFILE

Luca Gasperi with wife Christina and their daughter.

LUCA GASPERI: FARMER & PAINTER How An Artist Puts the Spotlight on Farming

Luca Gasperi, born and raised on a cattle ranch on St. Croix’s south shore, is a vegetable and livestock farmer as well as an established local artist, with formal training and experience in graphic design, and 10 years as a successful farming entrepreneur at Estate Southgate Farms before starting the ARTfarm with his wife and fellow artist, Christina Frederick-Gasperi.

Luca has shown his artwork locally and abroad for over 20 years. His watercolor and mixed media paintings depicting the landscapes of St. Croix, its people and local life are sometimes surreal and always in demand by collectors.

He paints with the intent of preserving the island’s natural resources and dynamic cultures. Luca has exhibited his work on St. Croix, New York, in his parents’ native Italy, and in Bermuda. Additionally, his commissioned work is often sought after by local community events and groups.

Many of Luca’s themes have subtle political and social messages. In 2001’s “Tending Life” exhibition he depicted local farmers in their fields or selling their produce at the La Reine farmers’ market, to bring attention to St. Croix’s often unrecognized local farmers.

Luca's art has made an impact.

For the past 16 years, Luca Gasperi has designed the official poster for A Taste of St. Croix.

Luca studied art at Good Hope School and at Parsons School of Design.

FLAVOR 2016

PROFILE

St. Croix's farming community is growing.

ATASTEOFSTCROIX . COM

Thanks to his painting for the 2016 A Taste of St. Croix official poster, farmer Grantley Samuel of GLG Plants & Produce is now one of the most recognized farmers on the island.

"Grantley has earned a reputation for being dedicated and very hard-working in the local farming community," said Luca Gasperi, "He was one of the few farmers that was able to produce something during the extreme drought of 2015. He loves what he does, and he’s a familiar face because he enjoys selling directly to the public. He's got a great smile and it just clicked that I should paint him for the Taste poster."

St. Croix's farming community is supportive and growing. "We all learn from each other and want every farmer to succeed."

2016

More than 90% of foods are imported. But Grantley reports that things are changing. He sells produce from his farm stands and sells direct to Plaza West on St. Croix and Tutu Park Mall on St. Thomas, deliver up to 1200 pounds of cucumbers at a time. "More local farmers are supplying local grocery stores and that is a good thing," says Samuel, who graduated form Central High School in 1987 and has been farming for the past 13 years.

"Buying from local farmers supports local business, reduces our carbon footprint, and means we are eating really good, flavorful, organic produce," stated Katherine Pugliese, co-founder of A Taste of St. Croix. The impact of buying local is immense and important.

GRANTLEY'S TOP TIPS FOR HOME GARDENERS

Local farmer Grantley Samuel shares a few easy, effective ways to get the most out of home gardens

EXPERIMENT St.Croix has a diverse landscape and soil and rainfall that differs depending were you are on island. With an all year growing season in the VI, arugula, eggplant, tomatoes, broccoli tend to grow well at certain times of year. Gardens with well drained and fertile soil are best for starting a successful home garden.

GO CLEAN, GO NATURAL Insects can be bothersome but there are many more beneficial insects than bad ones. Avoid using sprays and find organic ways to chase them out of your garden, including organic insecticides. Seaweed mulch repels slugs and acts as a fertilizer.

SHARE YOUR SUCCESS AND FAILURES When you have great results, share samples and tips with friends and neighbors. And let them know what failed.

They may just have the perfect tip!

FLAVOR 2016

CHEFS

James Beard award winning chef Sam Choy of Hawaii works side by side with St. Croix chefs Frank Pugliese, Billy Desimone, Negust Kaza.

WORKING TOGETHER

LOCAL CHEFS AND VISITING CHEFS TEAM TOGETHER TO HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR THE COMMUNITY Local chefs have always been community supporters on St. Croix. At the very first A Taste of St. Croix event in 2001, more than a dozen local restaurants participated in the one night fundraising event. Today more than 50 restaurants, farmers, caterers, schools and beverage distributors participate. This year, we have a 20% increase in new participants. The even continues to evolve and improve.

The first time we invited a celebrity chef to participate in the efforts to raise funds for the community was in 2007 when Top Chef contestant Betty Fraser was a guest chef at Bacchus. The following year we welcomed Rocco DiSpirito and every year since

we have been reaching out to celebrated chefs from across the globe. These amazing, talented and thoughtful chefs spend time with local students, prepare amazing meals for local fundraising events and participate in A Taste of St. Croix as guest judges.

We have had the privilege to have Chef Sam Choy, Leah Cohen, Tiffany Derry, Todd Grey, Duff Goldman, Anita Lo, Gabriel Rucker, Ana Sortun, the culinary team from Facebook (including St. Croix natives Denika Boyd and Aaron Tutein), and many, many more support local efforts.

Thank you dear Chefs, for all that you do for St. Croix.

Team work makes a huge impact on the events and the community. It is the recipe for success.

“Celebrity chef participation has put St. Croix on the foodie map.�

FLAVOR 2016

THE

Main Event A WORLD CLASS FOOD & WINE EVENT PUT TOGETHER

BY ST. CROIX'S HOSPITALITY COMMUNITY

A Taste of St. Croix transforms Divi Carina Bay Resort into a world-class food & wine festival every April. The whole community works together for this internationally recognized but locally grown event.

Restaurants, chefs, caterers and local distributors donate their time, product and creativity to put on lavish displays and produce hundreds of food samples for A Taste of St. Croix guests.

Setting up an event for a crowd of 1400 people involves the host venue, Divi Carina Bay Resort to ramp up their staffing and support and weeks of planning from the Reliable Rentals team, Setup, breakdown and crowd flow of restaurant tents, music stages, judging area and power supply is no small feat. More than 100 volunteers work with restaurants, ticketing and event flow.

A Taste of St. Croix is a collaboration of the whole community from hospitality staff, volunteers, sponsors and ticket purchasers. Together, this event showcases St. Croix's culinary prowess within the community and to the foodie world at large.

2016 PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY A TASTE OF ST. CROIX UVI Hospitality In 2015, A Taste of St. Croix provided two $500 grants to two students for tuition and offered two internships. In 2016, "Taste" will offer two $10,000 scholarships to cover tuition for the School of Hospitality at the university of the Virgin Islands. They will also once again offer the internships. The current interns, have been coordinating details of the annual Taste of St. Croix event.

The Lighthouse Mision The Lighthouse MIssion, a community service center located in the heart of Times Square, Christiansted providing food and resources for the homeless and hungry in the community. A Taste of St. Croix has donated funds to the organization and plans to increase its support in 2016 through additional resources and financial support.

Culinary Team A Taste of St. Croix has been supporting the USVI Culinary Team since 2002. Each year, chefs from each of the US Virgin Islands team together to compete at A Taste of the Caribbean, an annual competition that brings together chefs from all over the region. A Taste of St. Croix provides for the St. Croix chef who has earned a spot on the team. And one of the USVI Culinary Team members is invited to be a guest judge at the annual A Taste of St. Croix event.

A TASTE OF COMMUNITY A ONE NIGHT EVENT THAT IMPACTS PROGRAMS ALL YEAR LONG Founded in 2001, A Taste of St. Croix started as a one night restaurant industry celebration. It wasn't long before the event began supporting and planning programs all year long.

A Taste of St. Croix has donated more than $250,000 to the St. Croix Foundation; annually sponsors the USVI Culinary team with a cash donation of $2500 plus airfare, hotel, and transportation for the St. Croix participants; donates to local non-profits and foundations including the Lighthouse Mission, the UVI School of Hospitality and many more.

They support the Department of Agriculture and support local farming through the Taste Farmers market and the Farm to Table program which connects farmers and restaurants.

A Taste of St. Croix also started Culinary Juniors inviting local elementary students to compete for a spot next to the celebrity chefs cooking Cork & Fork dinners, a Food & Wine Experience event. The students trained with local chefs for months, with Katherine Pugliese coordinating classes, driving students and keeping celebrity chefs posted on the progress. The program is just one way that A Taste of St. Croix connects the community.

"Our youth are our future leaders, customers, employees and employers," says Pugliese. A new program that "Taste" has started supporting is the UVI School of Hospitality which opened in 2015.

The impact of this "one night" party is big. And it is thanks to sponsors and ticket buyers that local programs thrive.

“The true champions are the trained participants who have made the conscious and voluntary effort to become Reef Responsible participating restaurants.”

Sea to Table THE DETAILS OF REEF RESPONSIBLE

By Kemit Amon Lewis Photography by Meaghan Johnson

For the last six year, Kemit (in photo above) has managed TNC’s Caribbean coral restoration program, utilizing underwater coral nurseries to increase genetic diversity and resilience and to help reverse the decline of threatened elkhorn and staghorn corals. To date, 15,000 corals have been transplanted to reefs across the USVI and Kemit and his team has help to establish programs in the Bahamas, BVI, Grenada, Cuba, and China.

To further build local reef resilience and increase the potential for restoration success, threats to coral reefs (climate change, fishing impacts, and landbased pollution) must also be eliminated or reduced.

The Initiative was successfully launched through partnership with A Taste of St. Croix in 2014. The partnership with Taste provided for quick and effective access to the restaurant industry. There are currently 18 participating restaurants and caterers on St. Croix and the program will soon expand to St. Thomas, St. John, and Puerto Rico.

I am not the true champion of the Reef Responsible Initiative,” says Kemit, “The true champions are each restaurant owner/chef or caterer that have participated in our training and have made the conscious and voluntary effort to become a Reef Responsible participating restaurant.” “

SEE & TAG EVENT PHOTOS: #TASTEOFSTX

Photos by Kelly Greer Photography

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2016 PATRONS!