resta
written by
Clifton Joseph

The Antigua and Barbuda government recently rolled out its roster for the very first "Restaurant Week", just two weeks after its successful inagural "Artweek" met with rave reviews. The menu for this week of delectable eats and treats as outline in the Tourism Authourity's sweet press release will have your mouth watering and your belly ready to eat:

"A unique Antiguan and Barbudan gastronomical experience poised to titillate your senses. Spanning 14 days, the inaugural Antigua and Barbuda Restaurant Week will celebrate one of the destination’s best qualities – its food, its people and its culture. Diners can expect a variety of delectable cuisine, offering visitors and nationals an opportunity to experience special menus and/or experiences at prix-fixe (discounted) prices across a range of restaurants. During the fourteen-day food experience, diners can also enjoy local food, international Chef appearances and the Food and Art Experience.

Taking place from May 7 to 21, 2023, this new annual event has been designed to showcase the best the twin-island has to offer in culinary – from favourite local casual hotspots to three course menus at the best restaurants on the islands. Not only will local chefs be showcasing their best work, but celebrity chefs from around the world will be joining to help elevate awareness of this exciting new event."

For the kickoff of Restaurant Week, Antigua and Barbuda will be welcoming a trio of celebrity chefs for the first week: US-based Chef Tanya Holland, Jamaican-American Chef DeVonn Francis and Antiguan-born Chef Claude Lewis. Acclaimed for her inventive take on modern soul food, as well as comfort classics, Tanya Holland is the Executive Chef/Owner of the internationally renowned and beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurant, in Oakland, California.

She’s also had incredible success in front of the camera as a fan favorite on the 15th season of Top Chef, as well as hosting Food Network’s Melting Pot, and appearing on the HBO Max show Selena + Chef featuring Selena Gomez and is the host of “Tanya’s Kitchen Table” on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Chef DeVonn is a Jamaican-American Chef who founded the creative studio Yardy, where he is able to combine his two passions of art and cooking. He has affiliation with Bon Appetit, and HBO’s Selena and Chef. DeVonn Francis is the chef and Founding Director of Yardy World, a culinary studio that specializes in creating immersive food experiences and reimagining Caribbean cuisine.

Francis has created chic, sensual meals in partnership with brands such as Gucci, Converse, and Burberry as well as being featured in notable publications like The New Yorker, New York Times, Bon Appetit, and Interview Magazine Chef Claude Lewis’ mission is to bring West Indian cuisine to the forefront in the United States, specifically Antigua and Barbuda cuisine, and to educate on the various health benefits and flavors of Caribbean ingredients.

He competed on Food Network’s flagship competition show Chopped where he won the title of Chopped Champion. He then went on to compete in other competitions, such as Fire Masters in Canada, and Kitchen Crash on Food Network.

Chef Claude owns and operates the restaurant Freetown Road Project named after the village of Freetown in Antigua. The celebrity chefs will collaborate with local chefs, with Chef Tanya Holland hosting with The Wild Tamarind Restaurant at Tamarind Hills, a culinary experience on Tuesday evening.

The chefs will also spend time touring the country with guides, tasting the local cuisine and produce, to learn more about the history of gastronomy in Antigua and Barbuda.

Restaurant Week will launch with partner Gather Steakhouse on Sunday May 7. It is set to be a lively celebration to launch the two-week event calendar. The packed schedule of events for Restaurant Week will include Prix Fixe menus from over 30 participating restaurants and the ‘Eat Like A Local’ interactive map. Over 30 restaurants are participating in the Prix Fixe program with special lunch and dinner menus for the set price of either US$25, US$50 or US$75, allowing visitors and guests to experience the best of Antigua and Barbuda cuisine.

The flexibility allows them to pick a price point that best works for them. The ‘Eat Like A Local,’ interactive map and program was designed to offer visitors and guests a unique experience and sample Antigua and Barbuda dishes and delights from over 20 popular local food spots. ‘Eat Like A Local’ menus offer chances to not only try local platters but the opportunity to learn how to make them with ‘Cooking with Oli D’s’ classes – key dishes include Fungi and saltfish.

A limited-edition Restaurant Week Food Passport issued at participating restaurants during Restaurant Week invites diners to chronicle their restaurant experiences – from their favourite meal to cocktail – and to eat at as many restaurants as possible to win big rewards.

“We are thrilled to welcome such an incredible roster of international and local chefs to help support the launch of our new flagship Antigua and Barbuda Restaurant Week. Not only will it help us raise visibility for our gastronomy in the region and around the globe, but it is going to play an important part in helping us foster our on-island culinary talent,” said Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transportation and Investment, Honourable Charles Fernandez. “We can’t wait to taste the culinary wonders these chefs will be preparing to highlight the local wonders of Antigua and Barbuda. We’re sure our guests’ eyes and tastebuds will be delighted,” he added.

“This has been an incredible year so far for Antigua and Barbuda, where we are seeing travelers around the world choose Antigua and Barbuda as their vacation destination in unprecedented numbers. Key to this demand for year-round visits is our packed calendar of events.

Travel and experiencing local cuisine goes hand-in-hand with making sure you have an extraordinary visit. By adding Restaurant Week to our calendar we are highlighting our local talent and showcasing our exceptional culinary scene for visitors and residents alike,” said CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James. Adding, “We are going to be eating well for the next two weeks!”

Here are chefs' Biographies:

Lejorn Hill is an Executive Sous Chef who specializes in sourcing high-quality ingredients from local sources and in producing the highest quality in order to drive farm-to-table menus. Further, Lejorn is a proactive and adaptable team player who is passionate about sustainable cuisine. His passion is creating vibrant, delicious and nourishing meals by using high-quality local and seasonal ingredients. He is very well-gifted in creating menus and in brainstorming new recipes and ideas and in ensuring their execution at the highest level. 

He integrates his passion and expertise into his work to make every meal a unique and memorable culinary experience. The many hours, days, and even weeks it takes to craft the flavors behind a meal appeal to him as much as the actual meal itself. The idea that a dish has that wonderfully unexpected flavor, brings Lejorn a profound sense of joy and satisfaction.

Mr. Lejorn Travis Damon JJ Hill was born March 7, 1994, in the village of Greenbay, St. John’s, Antigua.  He is the son of Judith Lee and John Hill, both of whom are Antiguans. He attended the Gray’s Crescent Primary School and then the Princess Margaret Secondary School where he graduated in 2013. He began working in the culinary industry after completing culinary training at the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute. Lejorn built on his culinary knowledge by working at some notable resorts in Antigua such as Carlisle Bay Resort and Jumby Bay Resort.  Lejorn migrated in search of further opportunities to develop his culinary expertise. He had work experience at San Carlo Osteria Piemonte, New York, and at Fairmont Hamilton Princess and Beach Club, Bermuda. Lejorn then moved on to Dubai where he worked at Paramount Hotel. He is currently in Dubai and is working as a Personal Chef. 

His love of cooking and especially his love of working directly with local foods was born out of growing up in Antigua and Barbuda. There, he learned the importance of eating what was produced locally. He discovered that you must strive to eat what you grow. This concept is paramount to his style and his approach to cooking. When not developing menus, or cooking dinner for a private client, he enjoys listening to music.                   

Lejorn acknowledges that his accomplishments to date have been profoundly influenced by the foods and cultures he has explored over the years.

Chef Claude Lewis, Food Networks Chopped 2018 Winner, Freetown Road Project Restaurant, Jersey City, NJ. Chef Claude Lewis’ mission is to bring West Indian cuisine to the forefront in the United States, specifically Antigua and Barbuda, and to educate on the various health benefits and flavors of Caribbean ingredients.

Chef Claude competed on Food Network’s Chopped March 2019 where he won the title of Chopped Champion. He then went on to compete in other competitions, such as Fire Masters in Canada, and Kitchen Crash on Food Network.

Chef Claude has also had the pleasure of cooking for the Delegates of the United Nations with Chefs from Trinidad, Guyana and Antigua.  He has also cooked his island’s national dishes for the attendees of the World Expo in Dubai UAE as a food Ambassador to the island of Antigua.

Chef and AuthorTanya Holland, Brown Sugar Kitchen Restaurant, Oakland, California. Known for her inventive take on modern soul food, as well as comfort classics, Tanya Holland founded the famous and beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurant in 2008 in Oakland, California, which received multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. She is the author of the forthcoming Tanya Holland’s California Soul, A Culinary Journey West (Tenspeed Press October, 2022,) The Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook (Chronicle Books 2014) and New Soul Cooking (Stewart, Tabori and Chang 2003.) She competed on the fifteenth season of Top Chef on Bravo and was the co-host of Food Network’s Melting Pot Soul Kitchen. A frequent contributor to the James Beard Foundation as a writer and chef, she now serves on the Board of Trustees and is the Chef Chair of the Awards Committee. 

Holland has served as the co-president of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier San Francisco chapter. She was honored by the City of Oakland when June 5, 2012, was declared “Tanya Holland Day.” Holland was rewarded for her “Significant role in creating community and establishing Oakland as a culinary center.” A year later, Mayor Jean Quan awarded her the Key to the City of Oakland. In 2013, she was also awarded California Chef and Restaurateur of the Year by The California Tourism Board.

Holland holds a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Virginia, as well as a Grande Diplôme from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Burgundy, France. She began her restaurant career in New York City as a server at celebrity Chef Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. Later she expanded her knowledge of the hospitality industry by working as a Catering Office Manager, as well as a wine importer’s Tasting Assistant. To continue to diversify her skill set, she worked as a Food Styling Assistant to veteran Food Stylist Roscoe Betsill of Metropolitan Home, Vegetarian Times, and Food & Wine magazines. 

In France, she trained with Michel Sarran at Le Mas Du Langoustier on the Island of Porquerolles, and with Jean-Michel Bouvier at Restaurant L’Essential in Chambery. After returning from cooking school and deciding to turn her attention to the kitchen full time, Holland returned to Mesa Grill in 1994 to cook under Chef Bobby Flay for two years. She spent two summers cooking on Martha’s Vineyard at The Oyster Bar and L’Etoile, which was interrupted by a winter at Hamersley’s Bistro in Boston. A few years later she received rave reviews as the Executive Chef of The Delux Café in Boston, and The Victory Kitchen in Brooklyn. Intrigued by the burgeoning West Coast food movement, in 2001 Holland decided to move to warmer weather and explore the bounty of the California food and wine business. 

Holland has contributed articles to various magazines including Sunset, Food & Wine, Signature Bride, and Wine Enthusiast, and has been featured in articles in many publications, including The New York Times, Savoy, The LA Times, Cherry Bombe, Stanford Review, Gourmet, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Savoy, Gastronomica, Civil Eats, Travel & Leisure, and Sunset. Her work also has appeared in the Huffington Post. In addition to her own cookbooks, she has contributed to several compilations including The Cherry Bombe Cookbook, Hoos in the Kitchen, Feed Your People, America, The Great Cookbook, and Questlove’s Mixtape Potluck.

As a chef, Holland has traveled extensively in pursuit of more experience and knowledge. Having been appointed as a Culinary Diplomat by the United States' Foreign Service Department for tours in Kazakhstan and Mexico, Holland also has taught classes in France for gastronomic travelers. She has also traveled with the Global SF delegation to discuss food system sustainability in the context of climate change to Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden and Denmark. 

An in-demand public speaker and lecturer, Holland has been an agent for positive change on diversity, equity and inclusion in the hospitality industry.

Chef DeVonn Francis, Chef and Founding Director, Yardy World, New York

DeVonn Francis is the chef and Founding Director of Yardy World, a culinary studio that specializes in creating immersive food experiences and reimagining Caribbean cuisine. Francis has created chic, sensual meals in partnership with brands such as Gucci, Converse, and Burberry as well as being featured in notable publications like The New Yorker, New York Times, Bon Appetit, and Interview Magazine.

For details on Restaurant Week including the list of participating restaurants in the prix fixe offer and to find the ‘Eat Like a Local’ map visit www.antiguabarbudarestaurantweek.com and follow the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.