The Week at the SLHTA, October 10th, 2014

An Honorary Member of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA), being officially inducted in July of 2011 under the presidency of Mrs. Karolin Troubetzkoy. Chef Harry has contributed tremendously to the Saint Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association (SLHTA) and by extension the tourism sector in Saint Lucia. He was renowned for his exceptional culinary skills and was the owner of one of Saint Lucia’s Tourist Mecca for fine and scrumptious cuisine, the Green Parrot Hotel located at Morne Fortune Castries.

Chef Harry, for which he was mostly known, was born on April 19th 1936 at Victoria Hospital and lived on Jeremie Street, next to the Castries Market before the Castries Fire of June 19th 1948.

 As a young man, Chef decided to travel to Barbados in search of work, there he met his friend who worked at Rodney Beach Hotel and decided to apply for a job. He was then offered a job in Barbados at the Rodney Beach Hotel as a “Pantry Boy” according to Chef Harry, doing coffee and afternoon tea.  He then left and traveled to London in search of a better opportunity and got a job where he learned Gourmet and A La Carte menus.

In Saint Lucia, Chef Harry has personally trained many chefs in the industry and has also given many scholarships to underprivileged children, and in his own words saying that “They just need a little care”. Chef Harry also created many signature dishes in his creole restaurant such as the Soup Jook Fooya (meaning two together making love), Soup Ah La La and Steak Cokeoko (When the chickens make love).

Positions held Awards and/or Certificates received:

• Recipient of the “Hall of Fame” Award from the Ministry of Tourism – St. Lucia for his sterling contribution to the local Tourism Industry
• Honorary Member of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association
• Lifetime Achievement Award the for Entrepreneurial and Private Excellence (SLISBA)
• Member of the British Empire
• Member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
• Recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship Award from the Rotary Club of St. Lucia
• Holder of the St. Lucia Silver Medal of Merit
• Awarded the Cultural Doctorate in the category of Tourism Development from the World University Roundtable
• Achieved the Cordon Bleu Standard in exotic European Cuisine
• Graduate of Westminster College in London England
• Master (Head) Chef at Claridges Hotel

Newlyweds who visit the award-winning Ladera Resort, a romantic paradise situated 1,100 feet above the Caribbean Sea overlooking the Pitons, will now have the opportunity to bring a piece of their honeymoon home with a customized bed. Ladera innovates again by offering honeymooners the ability to pre-order handcrafted beds, carved with their names or initials, which will be in their suite upon arrival, and shipped to their home on the day they depart. For couples booking their upcoming honeymoon in one of the new ultra romantic Paradise Ridge suites byOctober 15, 2014, Ladera is gifting its signature handcrafted swing.

Ladera is the only resort in the Caribbean with a staff dedicated to offering newlyweds the opportunity to customize their honeymoon experience with a piece of furniture that they will keep and cherish forever. Couples will work with Ladera’s “Honeymoon Furniture Concierge” prior to their arrival to ensure their bed is created to their exact specifications. The resort’s team of onsitecraftsmen will create the dream bed using local hardwoods such as Blue Mahoe, Mahogany, Red Cedar, Greenheart, Purpleheart, Mabre, White Cedar, and Pitch Pine.

“The Ladera experience is about creating lifetime memories. Already established as one of the most romantic destinations in the world, we wanted to take the experience to the next level and personalize honeymoons in an unforgettable way,” says Olivier Bottois, Ladera’s Vice President of Business Development who introduced this program.

Honeymooners can also pre-order customized tables, desks, vanities, chairs and more to be shipped to their home upon departure. The customized honeymoon bed frame is $5,000 USD plus the cost of shipping. As a special gift timed with St. Lucia’s “Love Elevated Wedding Symposium,” any couples booking their upcoming honeymoon at Ladera in one of the luxury Paradise Ridge suites by October 15, 2014 will receive a personalized swing similar to the signature piece of décor at the romantic hideaway.

Fall rates at Ladera are from US$450 per night, double occupancy. For more information or reservations please visit www.ladera.com or call 866-290-0978 or758-459-6618.

The 2014 Chairman’s Reserve Cocktail Challenge Bartenders’ Competition will be held in the Piano Piano Bar at Cotton Bay Resort & Spa in Cas en Bas on Saturday, October 18 2014 beginning at 2pm. It is an annual “Drinks Mixology” competition organized by Barbay Limited and fully endorsed by the St. Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association.

This year’s event will comprise a maximum of seventeen professional bartenders, most representing the top-end restaurants and leading hotels on the island.

Every contestant will be required to prepare two different cocktails within a ten minute period. Each drink will be judged separately on taste and overall presentation, as well as on ease of preparation. The bartender with the highest combined score will receive the top prize of $2,000 in cash along with other prizes.

Saint Lucia Distillers has organized a visit to St. Lucia by seven U.K. mixologists who have a wealth of experience and a love of Chairman’s Reserve. These mixologists will be training the participating bar tenders and then acting as judges in the competition. Also in attendance will be representatives of Emporia Ltd who are the distributors for Chairman’s Reserve in the U.K.

The competition is not only meant to showcase the professionalism and creativity of St. Lucian career bartenders but also to promote the use of products made by St. Lucia Distillers. These products include several well-known local rum brands, as well as the company’s diverse range of rum creams and other rum-based liqueurs.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the event and taste the great cocktails made during the competition.

The initiative was funded by the SLHTA’s Tourism Enhancement Fund as part of the Fund’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the linkages between the local Agriculture and Tourism industries.  Hon. Moses Jn Baptiste, Minister for Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries, Cooperatives and Rural Development, in his opening remarks, commended the SLHTA and the many participants for the initiative.  He encouraged farmers and fishers to continue their resolve as entrepreneurs to operate efficiently and in the interest of their costumers and their profitability.  Minister Jn Baptiste also commented on the potential of technology to grow agricultural best practices by enabling guests to share their culinary experiences internationally thereby benefiting our local communities and economy.  He encouraged participants to strengthen their business acumen and networks.

Nigel Mitchel, Director of Saint Lucia’s Heritage Tourism Development program at the Ministry of Tourism, Heritage and Creative Industries presented on the “Fruit and Vegetables consumption patterns in the Hotel Industry in Saint Lucia.”  Other presenters included Ms. Sunita Daniel, Chief Agricultural Officer who presented on the “Policy Environment for Agriculture” and Mr. Sanovnik Destang, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

As supporters for both properties anxiously looked on, Michael Paul of Sandals Grande scored the first goal in the 27th minute. The goal was met with heightened celebrations from Sandals team members and immediately put the Windjammer on the defensive.  Marlon Desir later responded with a successful assault on the Sandals defenders, scoring the equalizing goal in the 78th minute of the 80 minute game. Tied at one goal apiece, the game then moved directly to penalties with the following goals being scored by:

Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort

• Marlon Desir

• Curton Collymore

• Hammond Hunte

• Kinel Dorleon

Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa & Beach Resort

• Trevor Daniel

• Lawrence Mayer

• Annius Gilbert

• Kervin Dorville

• Everton Regis

This year a total of 14 SLHTA member companies participated in the competition.  Forty eight matches were held at 4 different venues in the north and south of the island. The annual SLHTA sports activity was re-started in 2012 after a number of years in suspension. The primary aim of the annual event is to encourage camaraderie among SLHTA member companies and to boost health and wellness among industry employees.

The SLHTA would like to congratulate Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa & Beach Resort on their well deserved victory as “SLHTA Football Champions 2014”.  The Association also wishes to acknowledge the high levels of professionalism displayed by all participating team this year and expresses much appreciation to the other teams for making the competition a success this year.

 Anse Chastanet Hotel participated in the activity and welcomed over 20 students to their hotel this week. The students were able to tour the property in an effort to understand the functions and roles of each department and how they each work to fulfill one role, which is to meet and exceed the needs of their customers, guests and clients. The students were greeted by the General Manager and various department heads who addressed them on their roles and responsibilities.

World Tourism Day (WTD), celebrated on the 27th of September every year, is a global observance to highlight tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value. WTD 2014 was held under the theme Tourism and Community Development – focusing on the ability of tourism to empower people and provide them with skills to achieve change in their local communities.

The following Establishments participated in the activity this year:

1. Cap Maison Hotel
2. Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa and Beach Resort
3. Anse Chastanet/Jade Mountain
4. Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa
5. Sandals Halcyon Beach
6. Soufriere Hotwire Rides.

As part of World Tourism Week, the Soufriere Hotwire Rides at Morne Coubril Estate Soufriere invited the Form Four Students from Choiseul Secondary School to spend the day with them.

The day started off with address to the students from the Director Mr. David Lumkong. In his speech he gave a brief history of the estate, the importance of education, benefits of being a well rounded individual and the importance of the tourism industry using his life experiences to lure them in.

This followed by a tour of the estate, where the students got to see a replica of a 18th century Caribe village, they also got to witness the different stages the cocoa beans go through before it can be made into different products and their famous cocoa dance. One of the highlights of the tour was the demonstration on how the juice is extracted from the sugar cane using an old sugar mill. The day ended with a quiz and the students were tested on their memory of what they learnt on the tour, with the winning group receiving passes to the zip line.

 Island Divers at Ti Kaye Resort & Spa makes International Coastal Clean up Day an annual event on their calendar. For the second consecutive year this beach cleanup has gain serious momentum by attracting some keen community supporters. For those who are not aware, Anse Cochon located in Anse La Raye is one of the protected marine reserves on the west coast of Saint Lucia. Home to many tropical fish and thriving coral reef, it provides a haven to respectful observers of aquatic life like divers and snorkelers as well as a livelihood to the fishing community of Canaries and Anse La Raye.

Spearheading this cleanup initiative was recently appointed dive shop manager, Mr. Curtis Antoine. Born and raised in the community of Canaries, Curtis actively rallied up hotel guests and long time visitors to Saint. Lucia Nick and Sarah Mc Intree not only volunteered to be hands on help but also got Curtis in touch with the Saint. Lucian Cadets Core to come and assist. The participation of volunteers was overwhelming with 15 Cadets along with Cadet Leader Cyril D Elisee, as well as Ti Kaye staff and guests. After 2 hours of hard work both guests, staff and the cadets accumulated 12 bags of garbage from the beach and road access to the beach of Anse Cochon. A great sense of achievement was share by all.

General Manager Sarah Watts expresses her gratitude to the supporters of this event “I am extremely proud of everyone who took personal time out of there day to volunteer and help us clean up our piece of paradise. The impact of plastics and uncontrolled garbage has terrible environmental and health consequences and contributes to the destruction of our coral reef, marine life and natural beaches. I am confident that this cleanup will become a an engaging part of our Ti Kaye community and culture and look forward to being alongside all the other wonderful people who care about Saint Lucia by supporting this venture. I also wish to applaud and encourage all organisations that are spread heading similar campaigns in the battle to keep St. Lucia Beautiful and Clean.”

“Imagine for a moment madam chair a farm based tour where luscious coco pods are harvested to produce delicious, mouthwatering decadent chocolate; a complete Tree to Bar Experience. The experience continues when honeymooners immerse themselves in a sea of chocolate at the luxurious Cocoa Juvenate Spa.  Such is the experience which awaits visitors at Hotel Chocolat in the bosom of our world heritage site; the majestic Pitons. Is it any wonder that St. Lucia holds the title of Leading Honeymoon Destination”? says Junior Tourism Minister, Mr. Rohan Alfred in his speech.

The youth delegates spoke on the topics of “Experiential Tourism” and “Accessible Tourism”, sharing their respective islands initiatives and product development concepts for each, in addition to the ways in which the regional can capitalize on and develop niche markets around the individual themes.

For the second consecutive year, Nevis and Saint Lucia have secured first place and second place respectively. The Junior Ministers both presented CTO delegates and judges with exciting thought provoking ideas on Experiential Tourism. Junior Minister for Saint Lucia, fifteen year old Rohan Alfred of the Saint Mary’s College identified the Tree-to-Bar initiative at Hotel Chocolat as one of the many experiences which await visitors to Saint Lucia.  Below is an excerpt from his presentation.