A group of executives from famed Cheesecake Factory restaurants in the USA, staying at the Occidental Grand Aruba orchestrated a much-enjoyed Iron Chef Competition this week at the resort with 6 different teams named in honor of Aruba: Balashi, Iguana, Cunucu, Divi Divi, Mi Dushi and Lagadishi.

Apparently the culinary team of the Cheesecake Factory had recently undergone special Caribbean cooking classes, and their ‘graduation’ was marked by a tropical Iron Chef challenge.

In less than one hour the teams had to produce a 3 course meal, for which one secret ingredient was revealed at the start of the hour. Occidental Kitchen Director Chef Bernard Fantoli, unveiled the filled to the brim live lobster tank under the watchful eye of Bob Okura, VP of Culinary Development at the Cheesecake Factory, who also issued all instructions to competitors also introducing the Occidental’s Chef Bernard, the Divi’s Chef Wim, and Aqua Grille’s Chef Scott, as the local celebrity judges in charged of determining the regional flavor aspect of the dishes, and evaluation the results in conjunction with the Cheesecake Factory judges.

A “quick fire,” competition before the main event also featured the 30-minute appetizer challenge won by team Divi Divi.

The upbeat music and the disco “smoke bomb,” added intensity and speed to the unfolding events pictured here.

Winner of the Cheesecake Factory award was team Cunucu; Best Caribbean Dish Award judged by Chef Bernard, Wim and Scott was won by team Iguana.

At that night’s gala affair, the Cheesecake Factory group presented Chef Bernard with a Culinary Excellence Golden Award in gratitude for his immense contributions to a successful event and a fruitful competition.

Share on: