Nothing tastes better than the flavor of fun.

COME AND ENJOY Festival Features

Culinary Pavilion

The Host

Chef Irie

Chef Irie is the CEO and Executive Chef of Chef Irie Spice, Inc. – Private Chef and Catering Services, providing food services to the tri-county area of South East Florida. He was born in Jamaica, where he grew up on a sugar estate.

Hugh always had a passion for cooking and felt right at home in the kitchen.

Being a Personal and Private chef has allowed him to work with entertainers, professional athletes, and many of South Florida’s elite. [chefirie.com]

The Competitions

COMPETITION 1

Celebrity Quick Fire Challenge

This year the Publix Culinary Pavilion will feature guest celebrities competing in the Celebrity Quick Fire Challenge. Defending champion Cherney Amhara, Weekend Morning Anchor from NBC6 will be back to defend her title.

THE CHAMPION

Cherney Amhara, Defending Champion

Chernéy Amhara is an Emmy® award-winning journalist who joined NBC6 in February 2022. She currently anchors the station’s weekend morning newscasts, NBC6 News Today at 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays and NBC6 News Today at 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Sundays, from the station’s Miramar-based studios. She is also a weekday reporter. Before joining NBC6, Amhara was a weekend anchor and reporter at WISN-12 News in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, covering several national stories.

Amhara comes from a multi-racial Caribbean family and spent her early years living in St. Andrews Parish, Jamaica, before moving to California as a child. The Jamaican-American journalist is thrilled to be a part of South Florida’s diverse community and tell stories that impact our area.

In her spare time, Amhara loves to cook and loves to travel. She typically takes a cooking class whenever she visits new countries or regions. Amhara even has an Instagram page, @ChefNCher, dedicated to her cooking.

THE CHALLENGER

Alexis Frazier

Alexis Frazier joined the Local 10 News team in April 2020 as the morning traffic reporter. Within a year, she was promoted to Anchor her own show on WSFL and bring fresh entertainment stories to viewers weekly.

She is a proud Floridian born and raised in Fort Lauderdale.

She graduated from Florida A&M University in the fall of 2013 with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Before her return to the Sunshine State, Alexis gained more than 5 years of experience as an Anchor/Reporter at ABC affiliates in Texas and South Carolina. When she’s not on air, Alexis likes to travel, try new food recipes, spend time with family, read, and listen to Beyonce’.

COMPETITION 2

Chef Clash Challenge

Chef Darian Bryan

Chef Darian is a Jamaican chef bringing Chef Darian is a Jamaican chef bringing the heat to Buffalo, NY. He has been featured on Food Network, CBS News, ESPN, The Jamaican Observer, The Gleaner, TVJ, and more.

He arrived in the States in 2012 and has quickly risen to the spotlight through his pop-up fine dining dinners in surprising and unusual locations, private dinners and meal prep for Buffalo’s favorite NFL players, and his block-long lines at his Jamaican pop-up events titled “**** Hut.” Chef Darian specializes in everything from his signature fedora hats and chef jacket styles to his jewelry to his colossal surf and turf.

He recently opened a new dining concept, a boutique for chef services. The boutique allows the Chef to focus on his mission, which is redefining the Chef, bringing them from the back of the house to the front, with each dining party centered around his cooking.

Chef Darian believes that chefs are rock stars and should be celebrated; their food makes people happy, and they should also feel and see that love. Through all his success, he represents Jamaica to the fullest and loves to merge his Caribbean cuisine with all his fine dining dishes, hence the nickname, “The Fancy ****.”

Chef Jamal Small

Chef Small, is no stranger to the world stage and has an extensive collection of medals and accomplishments to his name, conveying a highly experienced culinary artist, proficiently inclined with taste and flavor.

He is proudly Bahamian.

Chef Small. obtained a degree in Culinary Arts while becoming an apprentice at Kerzner International (Atlantis). The budding prospect actively absorbed technical aspects of culinary, inclusive of techniques, flavor, and composition.

While functioning as an apprentice, he participated in many food shows, competitions, and seminars in an effort to hone his craft. His culinary journey thus far has taken him aboard yachts, private homes, and luxury resorts.

Jamal has been perfecting his craft for well over a decade and the evidence of his ability lies not only in his attainment of Caribbean Chef of the Year 2018 but also in his achievement of Chef of the Year (Beef Category, Certified Angus, 2013) and his subsequent induction into Le Chaines as Chef Rotisseur (2015).

Notwithstanding the accolades, Jamal has also played a pivotal role in executing the entrée mystery basket plate for the historic

(2015) National Culinary Team

The Demonstrations

Paulette Daley

Paulette Daley has previously worked with Publix. Paulette grew up in the Tweedside district of Clarendon, Jamaica. She is a mother of four, a grandmother of nine, and a great-grandmother

of one. Her love language is cooking Jamaican food to feed her family, her many relatives, and friends. Her favorite dish to cook is oxtails served with rice and gungo peas. [www.publix.com]

Chef Kofi

Chef Kriss Kofi’s deep appreciation for delectable cuisine was developed at a young age growing up and watching his mother prepare his favorite meals.

Born to Jamaican parents and having the opportunity to work in his father’s Jamaican restaurant located in Miami, Florida; by the age of 17 it was then that he decided to pursue a career as a Chef.

In July 2014, Kofi made the life-changing decision of going vegan that being an even more strict form of vegetarianism forced him to explore all the interesting ways to create a delicious and enticing meal [chefkofi.com]

ALL ABOUT THE FOOD

Treat Your Taste Buds

Treat your tastebuds to a variety of flavors from the many vendors offering tasty treats. This is where the action is, as over 30 vendors are ready to serve some of the tastiest and spicy **** cuisine along with favorites such as Oxtails, Curry Goat, Escovitch Fish and roast corn. 

Kids Activity

KIDS, KIDS...AND MORE KIDS!

The Partners for Youth Kids Activity

The young ones can enjoy and experience a multitude a fun games and activities which include Jamaican ring games, Riddle solving, Folk song sing-alongs, Hop Scotch and more.

Entertainment

Culinary Demonstrations and cook-offs, Cultural presentations, eating contests, comedians, and Grammy-winning reggae performances. The Grace Jamaican **** Festival is a family-friendly feast of flavors and rhythms blended to create a memorable experience where culture and commu

Date: November 12, 2023

Location: MIRAMAR REGIONAL PARK

Click here for more information