Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine of Vineyard Haven scored a hat trick at the 2019 Big Chili Contest on Saturday, winning best professional chili, best presentation, and the largest cash prize, $500. Stacy Thomas, wife of Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine co-owner Newton Waite, marched to the stage three times to collect awards amid wild applause.
Waite, who along with co-owner Anthony Foster, was unable to attend the award ceremony. On Monday, Waite told The Times he was excited by the wins and now plans to showcase the chili.
“We want to put it on the menu starting this week,” he said.
Waite said he and his business partner take great pains to import authentic Jamaican spices.
“Our jerk [sauce] is made from scratch,” he said. “We don’t buy jerk from the jar, we make it ourselves.”
Here is the complete list of award winners:
Professional Category:
1st Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine
2nd Coop de Ville
3rd Tied, Black Dog/Ritz
Amateur Category:
1st Bob Costello
2nd P.A. Club
3rd Living the Dream
Celebrity Judge Cash Prizes
Vineyard Caribbean Cuisine — $500
PA Club — $200
Bob Costello — $200
