The cooking skills of a group of Grenadians have just been showcased in Canada. The group was led by New York University graduate Belinda Bishop, a professionally trained chef with many years of experience in the culinary arts.

Bishop, in an interview, said she was excited to be visiting Canada as part of an exercise to generate greater visitor interest in Grenada, where her father was born.

“I’m ecstatic. I love being here in Canada,’’ she said. “We’re here to make sure that we bring a lot of folks back to Grenada.’’

Grenada, which is one of the leading producers of spices, is the first destination to become an accredited “Culinary Capital’’ by the World Food Travel Association (WFTA).

The government and the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) have been leveraging the WFTA designation by trying to create greater links between tourism and agriculture; and by embarking on initiatives such as the “473 Connect Diaspora Programme’’ and a GTA-sponsored “Young Chefs, Young Mixologists” competition held last December.

The competition’s winner, Karim Doyle, is now a Tourism Authority “culinary ambassador’’ and visited Canada with Bishop, who is popularly known as “Chef Belinda’’.

Another young chef on the visiting team led by Bishop was Miguel Mitchell.

“We need to connect tourism and agriculture and this is a wonderful way to do it,’’ said Grenada’s Honourary Consul General Dawne Francois, who hosted an event at a Toronto community service agency.

It featured the sampling of food prepared by the visiting chefs, as well as by Toronto-based, Grenada-born chef Frederick Alexander.

“We’re very proud of you,’’ Dr Jean Augustine, the Grenada-born, former Canadian MP, said in remarks to the chefs.

Sekou Stroude, the GTA’s director of sales for Canada, also made a presentation on the “473 Connect Programme’’, which aims to recruit Grenadians in the Diaspora as ambassadors who will recommend the Caribbean nation as an ideal vacation destination to others.

 “I encourage you to check out the programme,’’ Stroude urged. “You can be rewarded with an all-expense-paid trip to Grenada.’’

In Montreal, the Spice Island Cultural Day Association of Quebec – after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic – held its first in-person Cultural Festival from July 8 – 10.

The festival’s theme was, “Grenada – A Culinary Delight!”. It brought together several leading Caribbean chefs, including Bishop, who owns an outfit in Grenada called “Flavours of Grenada’’.

“Flavours of Grenada is a movement that promotes agriculture by creating gastronomical experiences and culinary events in Grenada and around the world,’’ said Bishop, who also is a graduate of Nassau Community College in New York, and a cousin of former Grenada Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.

One of the services of Flavours of Grenada, which opened in 2016, is training. “We don’t just train young people who want to be chefs, we also train young people to cook,’’ said Bishop.

Doyle is among those trained by Bishop. She also was one of the judges in the “Young Chefs, Young Mixologists” competition that he won last year.

“Kareem took a lot of what he learned and he was able to apply it,’’ Bishop said. “What impressed the judges was that Karim prepared a flatbread from scratch, in a small amount of time. We thought that was quite amazing. That was the deciding factor.’’

Doyle entered the contest, he said, “for fun; I went in it to learn; and, at the end, I just put out whatever I could, did the best I can. I was very, very excited when I found out that I won’’.

As part of their Canadian itinerary, Doyle, Bishop and Mitchell visited a culinary training establishment in Muskoka, Ontario. The stop there was arranged through Anthony Mair, an executive chef and president of the Grenada Culinary Network (Toronto).

Mair is also leading an effort to create and publish a Grenadian cookbook, with proceeds to be used to assist aspiring chefs to visit Canada to engage in internship programs.

It’s Doyle’s second visit to Canada. He spent one year in the country, beginning in September 2016, acquiring job-ready skills and hands-on training in culinary skills at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC).

He was one of two Grenadians selected to attend NSCC, as part of their culinary arts associate degree training at Grenada’s T.A. Marryshow Community College.

“In Grenada, they teach us a lot of theory, in terms of the culinary arts. But in Nova Scotia, we got practicals,’’ Doyle explained.

“With the blend of the high level of theory that we receive in Grenada, and incorporating it with the amount of practicals we got in Nova Scotia, it really helped me to grow as a chef,’’ added Doyle, who said his ambition as a child was to become either a chef, scientist or doctor.

Doyle’s first visit to Canada in 2016-2017 did not allow for a visit to Toronto. He welcomed the opportunity of the July visit to the city for the first time.

“I’m very excited to be here,’’ said Doyle, who also holds a Bachelor’s degree in international business, tourism and hospitality management from St George’s University in Grenada.

“I’m extremely happy to be here to experience Canada and also to know while I’m here, I’m representing Grenada and working along with Chef Belinda and to be able to just shadow her.’’

_{By Lincoln DePradine}