TANISHA WILLIAMS, a fourth form student at Mavis Bank High School in Mavis Bank, St. Andrew, impressed the judges with the artistic decoration of her cake.
The 16-year-old was encouraged to enter the competition by her food and nutrition teacher Shelai-Wa Henry, who said Tanisha was her best student. Henry also figured that the exposure would be good for her student.
"I think it's the best because I go that extra mile to give it that flavour and spice," said Williams, the youngest participant.
The aspiring nurse is also young in the pastry area. Three weeks ago she started baking in her food and nutrition class and so far has caught on to banana bread and fruit cake. But her culinary
skills also extend to those special occasions in the realm of birthday cakes.
Judges' comments: The banana bread is beautiful but needs more work to boost the flavour and texture.
KERRY-ANN STEWART
STEWART'S BANANA bread is a family tradition that she felt she could no longer keep a secret.
Her mother and sister are the true chefs in the family, she said, but because they're too shy to participate she decided to step forward and present the family bread.
The freelance pharmacist, who lives in Mandeville and fills in for other pharmacists in the parishes of Manchester and St. Elizabeth, says people come back for the banana flavour.
"Someone once said that they ate it so fast that they didn't get to taste it. But on second thought they said they wanted more."
Stewart, who would only admit to being in her 20s, said she has been baking since she was 12.
"I don't consider myself in the same league as my mother and sister (who baked her own wedding cake eight years ago) but they help me along."
Stewart noted that her mother is always experimenting in the kitchen -- Chinese, Italian, you name it.
"Sometimes I have to tell her to come out of the kitchen. Cooking is a part of our family life and we're always having guests over and entertaining."
As for the competition, Stewart said she thought it would be fun and would "give others a chance to taste what we've been having over the years".
Getting the bananas in Mandeville was a challenge, however. "I had to call the supermarkets to reserve because people were purchasing them quickly."
Judges' comments: Some judges found it too crumbly and felt that it needed far more banana flavour.
DORRITTE BROWN
FOR YEARS Dorritte Brown has worked as a helper in Kingston, but her heart was in the kitchen.
A self-employed pastry chef, the 40-year-old bakes and sells rock cakes, gizzadas and other goods to superettes, grocery stores, schools and individuals in and around her White Horses, St. Thomas, home.
Back in 1993, Brown said she bumped into a teacher who helped her to find Miss Monteith's catering school that was located on Lyndhurst Road, Kingston 5. For two years she worked during the days and went to classes at nights.
She used to get compliments from people who visited her employers, she remembered, "and my bosses were pleased with me."
She kicked off her business when her employers allowed her to bake rock cakes, at their place, which she would take to her cousin in St. Thomas on Sunday afternoons. Her cousin would then take them to schools to sell.
The secret to her banana bread, she reckoned, is using a good amount of ripe bananas -- the riper the better.
Brown last year won a silver medal in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) culinary competition for her green banana stout bun. The year before she also took home silver for her pumpkin stout bun.
In 1998, she won a gold medal for her banana bread which she made in a Power Ranger style.
Brown, who confessed to loving banana had these parting words for anyone with a dream: "You have to start from somewhere and no matter how small, you can save to make something of yourself."
Judges' comments: (Brown made a regular and a wholewheat banana bread) For the most part the judges felt her breads were too dry. Some loved the idea and creativity of using wholewheat, however.
ZEIN NAKASH
EVER SINCE Food had its first Banana Bread showdown in 2001, Zein Nakash has been raring to show off her banana bread skills.
Her bread, she explained, was made from a simple recipe with not much else added other than nuts and coconut.
Nakash, who confessed to liking anything made with banana, added that her bread is moist and that people usually ask for the recipe after sampling her handiwork.
The SuperClubs vice-president of marketing has been baking since high school, but only started making this bread about five years ago.
She entered the competition, she said, for the fun of it.
"It was fun today and I learnt about presentation," added Nakash who, not knowing what to do about presentation, showed up with two breads in a transparent plastic bag.
Judges' comments: Most of the judges did not care for the coconut. They wanted more banana taste.
SHARON HESLOP-BROWN
HESLOP-BROWN'S co-workers didn't wait for her to enter; they took it on themselves to send in her entry.
In their email, they wrote in part: "Yu can tell di res' a people dem seh nuh badda wase dem time ..."
The islandwide credit officer for Hardware and Lumber, Heslop-Brown said the entitre credit department was behind her.
To make sure that she got it right, she did two test runs (much to the delight to her co-workers, of course) leading up to the competition.
The 38-year-old said she stepped up her pastry baking after she got married 16 years ago.
Her husband, Devon Brown, would dive in and eat whatever she prepared. "He encouraged me to master things and would even eat it if it were spoiled."
She started making banana bread as a way of using up over ripe bananas. She uses a combination of the ingredients, including nuts and real banana.
Heslop-Brown, who grew up in Lillyfield, just out of Bamboo,
St. Ann, said growing up in the country she ate bananas non-stop.
Judges' comments: The vanilla flavour is too dominant and they wanted more of a banana flavour.
LUKE THOMAS-SHORTER
WHEN CONTACTED on Tuesday afternoon, Thomas-Shorter was slaving over his stove to perfect his banana bread for the contest.
Thomas-Shorter, who has been cooking since he was a child, said he often baked for his children's school functions as well as for his church functions.
Although this was only the 52-year-old, self-employed engineer's second attempt at making banana bread, he believed it would satisfy even the most discerning of critics.
He reckoned that he'd eaten enough banana bread to know what one should taste like.
Our judges agreed, giving Thomas-Shorter just enough points to squeeze by Zein Nakash for second-place.
He gets the texture of his bread, he added, by blending fruits into it. From his own unofficial testing, Thomas-Shorter said he has received comments that the banana flavour is not overpowering and that it's not too sweet.
"People say that because of the sugar content it would be good for diabetics as well. One man also said that the mixture is just right not too heavy, that he thinks it comes from a grandma's recipe."
He entered the competition, he said, because "I love challenges in food. I like to match my culinary skills against the best."
Judges' comments: He fell short on appearance and the bread needed more of the banana taste.
