Bahamas Culinary And Arts Festival Young Chef Competition Finale

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – As events at the Bahamas Culinary and Arts Festival heat up, so did the kitchen!

Four talented teams went head-to-head in this year’s Young Chef Competition finale, each determined to impress the judges and secure the grand prize, a package of experiences designed to create lasting memories.

Director of Talent Development at Baha Mar, Jamaro Thompson, says the initiative is all about giving young chefs a platform to shine.

“We believe in experiences,” Thompson said. “One of the main things is they get to work with one of our celebrity chefs on stage during The Culinary and Arts Fest. They also get two passes to the festival, along with a two-night stay and credit for food.”

When the cooking was done, Samuel Fortune of C.V. Bethel and Antonio Dean of the University of The Bahamas emerged as the 2025 Baha Mar Young Chef Competition winners.

Their challenge? To use a set of surprise ingredients, including lamb loin, pomegranate, goat cheese, instant coffee, and a curveball ingredient, Coke soda, to create something extraordinary.

Celebrity Chef Tevin Kemp explained the twist, saying,

“Lamb loin going in with pomegranate, finishing off with goat cheese and instant coffee, the curveball item would have been Coke soda.”

The young chefs impressed judges Marcus Samuelsson and Simeon Hall Jr., who both praised their creativity and passion.

“What I’m most proud of,” said Samuelsson, “is that we have a competition like this that picks up and celebrates the next generation of Bahamian chefs.”

Hall added, “When you work in a space that you are divinely purposed to work in, you can see these kids want to do this.”

For Fortune and Dean, the win was a dream come true.

“I’m going to use it as a birthday present,” Fortune laughed. “My birthday is in November!”

Both say they’re grateful for the experience and excited about what’s next in their culinary journey.