THE FINAL VERDICT
— Osayboro Jones wins season finale of the MAGGI Food Court competition
The character witnesses identified to give testimony on the culinary conduct of the defendants in the ‘Fowlishness Case’ in the MAGGI Food Court gave glowing reviews and references. This however, proved insufficient for High Court Judge Dufton ‘Duffy’ Shepherd, who was anxious to review all the evidence available.
On opposing sides of the bench were Osayboro Jones who has been at the range for 15 years, and Andre Lloyd, also known as the ‘Kitchen Scientist’, who, too, has an impressive number of years under his belt.
Jones boasts that he can easily prepare a variety of pasta dishes from anywhere in the world, while Lloyd’s passion is in preparing seafood, even though, ironically, he says he can’t taste it as he is allergic.
In the jury box eager to examine, taste and offer feedback were food enthusiast and critic Ockino Petrie, media personality and ‘Farm Chick’ Debbie Bissoon, and District 5 Executive Chef Brian Lumley.
First things first, though! A trip to the Nestlé Shop to gather the files for their cases. Of note was that both men picked up the MAGGI All-purpose seasoning. Chef Jones confirmed that it was in fact his favourite MAGGI product as it lived up to its name, serving all purposes.
The first bombshell in the courtroom was the announcement of the Best Dressed 15-minute challenge. Cue: dramatic music as the camera zoomed in on the shocked expression on Chef Jones’ face. He was quickly brought back to reality with a reminder by Judge Shepherd that he had 15 minutes.
Despite it not being seafood, the Kitchen
Scientist was ready, and confidently echoed the sentiment: “Ready!
Expect the unexpected.”
Both contestants proceeded to the Best Dressed stocked fridge and frantically gathered their ingredients.
Sizzling, whisking and friendly banter helped to relieve the tension. Indeed, a missing piece of kitchen utensil had Jones admitting he was keeping it simple while Lloyd decided to try the ‘MAGGI Complete seasoning’, correctly known as MAGGI Naturisimo, to perfect his dish.
Jones plated his sautéed chicken wrap served with vegetables, and Lloyd made quite an impression presenting a chicken breakfast wrap with sweet pineapple and purple cabbage slaw, but that was not all — just when the judge thought he was finished he mentioned there was also scrambled eggs and jerked sausages.
An impressed judge retired to his chambers but not before commenting on the cool accessories and swag of the bailiff.
He wasn’t the only one! Also visibly keen on her appearance was juror Bissoon, who manoeuvred her wrap without getting any on her freshly painted nails to the amusement of Chef Lumley. All jurors were impressed with the Best Dressed dishes and
were excited to see what was to come.
The contestants had to incorporate ginger and mango into their main dishes, and had just an hour to make it work.
Not typically done during competition, Chef Jones checked in on his fellow contestant which elicited a chuckle and a look of consternation from Lloyd. Jones shared that he was just a people person and wanted to ensure his fellow contestant was on the right path.
Bissoon was quick to pick up Chef Lloyd’s knife skills and commented on the different techniques he employed.
Chef Lumley stepped into the kitchen for cross-examination. Jones was first and the juror was satisfied that he knew what he was doing. It was a similar sentiment for Lloyd who admitted that his dish was in fact inspired by Lumley himself. He shared that he had worked with the chef before and it was important that he made a good impression.
With 20 minutes left on the clock, the pressure was on and so was the heat on Jones’ chicken in the oven. “The chicken was cooking nicely, but with 20 minutes left, I just buck the oven,” he shared. Jones was not about to get caught with uncooked poultry.
Time for closing arguments, Chef Lloyd presented an ackee wonton, with avocado purée and drizzled with a sweet chilli sauce to give the feel of a Jamaican breakfast. He finished his presentation with a chicken roulade stuffed with ginger mango chutney wrapped in callaloo leaf and served with sides of herbed
potato medallions and fire-roasted vegetables. Not giving away much with their faces, the jurors thanked the Kitchen Scientist for his presentation.
Chef Jones confidently spoke about his tossed vegetables with salsa and chicken quesadilla with bell peppers, onion and sour cream dip.
This was met with nods of approval and a “flavourful” comment from Petrie through a partially full mouth. The main
course, plated quite nicely, was a mango ginger-baked chicken.
Jones also shared that he was grateful to be a part of the MAGGI competition as it served as real exposure for him.
The jurors agreed that both chefs made fair attempts and that it was a close competition. Bissoon commented that while she enjoyed Chef Andre Lloyd’s display of skills, for her it boiled down to taste. For Lumley, Chef Lloyd had missed the attention to detail.
The ‘swaggerific’ bailiff collected and delivered the verdict to the honourable judge who declared Chef Osayboro Jones the winner for the season finale of the MAGGI Food Court Competition.