The smell of seafood wafted through the Hilton Trinidad on Wednesday as throngs of people descended to taste and savour an array of sumptuous and superb seafood meals, which were all part of the hotel’s first food promotion for 2010 titled “Food Fest.” The promotion, staged in collaboration with the Seafood Industry Development Company, attracted the media and specially invited guests, who gave the hotel’s executive chef Carlos Gomez and his team of hard-working staff of 40 a thumbs up for magnificent and mouth-watering appetisers, meals, and desserts which were proudly showcased and devoured in the spacious Pool Terrace Garden Restaurant. From August 18 to 23 the promotion will feature the rich and diverse gastronomic delights of the wonderful seafood from T&T’s local marine.

Fish Fest features local tilapia with a different culinary twist, merging with other local marine such as crabs, shrimp, lobster and a variety of fish cooked in and outdoor to please the palates.
Seafood lovers partaking in the event can enjoy a variety of dishes from the elaborate buffet, while the restaurant will be “transformed into a floating sea” with live entertainment nightly. Known for his innovative seafood meals, Gomez invoked the taste buds of connoisseurs by serving from appetisers to salads and even tasty Thai, Indian, Caribbean and American meals infused with the very best ingredients. To top things off, guests had the pleasure of sinking their teeth in divine and delectable desserts such as New York cheese cake, macadamia nut crunch, chipotle chocolate mousse and a tropical fruit salad to name a few. Rave reviews came in for Gomez’s American styled meal-stuffed leg of lamb with corn bread and sun-dried fruits with his heavenly side dish cauliflower gratin.

LEFT: A variety of fresh fish waiting to be cooked on a flaming pit.RIGHT: Garnished with lettuce and tomato slices, one of the sumptuous seafood meals ready to be served.

Seafood fanciers also gravitated towards Gomez’s Indian cuisine of inandu melange kozhanbu sea crab with assorted chutneys. While his shrimp in pholouri batter with tomato salsa, guacamole and cilantro mayo, an American dish, was highly sought after. The exciting part! Guests had a choice of selecting fresh fish, shrimp and scallops resting on a bed of chipped ice to be cooked on a flaming pit outside by Gomez and his colleague, Sombat Mekhawong from Thailand.
Inside, two of the hotel’s chefs feverishly prepared a variety of soups using chicken, fish, shrimps, vegetables and noodles garnished with finely chopped chive to a long line of food lovers. Gomez, who joined Hilton with 23 years of experience, admitted that the most popular seafood on Wednesday were tilapia and king fish, which everyone agreed when prepared in a variety of ways was a meal fit for a king.