BY TANYA BATSON-SAVAGE, Freelance Writer
Marlene and Delroy Wizzard during a bun eating contest at the 2006 Bun and Cheese Festival held at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre on Sunday. - IAN ALLEN
THOUGH THE BUN and Cheese Festival grew out of the National Children's Gospel Song Festival, it seems to be coming into its own.
The festival seemed to have received an adequate helping of yeast as it had its largest turnout in its three years of existence on Sunday on the Lawns of the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre.
While the average Jamaican may be confused as to what kind of neurosis would drive a bunny to seek out painted eggs, we quite understand and appreciate the value of tasty bun and cheese when Easter comes upon us.
The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) which produces the festival offered a wide variety of buns for people to sample and purchase. Along with regular buns offered by commercial bun entities like Prestige, the JCDC had commissioned the creation of various buns.
BUN ADVENTURE
Pamela Powell, specialist officer in charge of culinary arts explained that there were around 15 flavours and the audience quickly gobbled them up. "We didn't have hand to sell bun," she declared. There were carrot, yam, sweet potato, cassava, coffee, green banana, cheesy coconut, stout, ginger, whole wheat and buns made with Splenda. The recipes had originally been created by competitors in the JCDC's culinary arts festival then created by Heather Little White's kitchens, with the exception of the Splenda bun.
"We observed that people are willing to explore. It's like they are on a bun adventure," Powell explained. Those of the bun adventurous variety may have been sated but unfortunately there was little other food other than snackables to be had. So not surprisingly, people thronged to the samples with long snaking lines before the few sample tents. There was a particularly long line, culminating in a crush of bodies before the cheese tent.
CHEESE CARVING
The festival also featured cheese carving (by Carleto Eubanks of the Hilton Kingston hotel), rides for children, and a very small bun-making contest.
The live bun-making contest featured two competitors, Petergayle Pinnock and Tanya Lee, both from the Boys Town Heart Academy. Lee's mango flavoured bun was declared the winner.
Althea Wright, chief judge of the competition explained that the contest explored a new way of using Jamaican fruits to make bun. Both contestants used fresh fruit in their recipe as Pinnock used pineapple.
The festival also offered stage performances and competitions, hosted by Jenny Jenny. There was a parade of hats, bun-eating contests, Tropical Rhythms drinking contest, and dance contests. Additionally, there were performances by the Papine High choir while Charmaine Lemonius gave a stirring serving of folk music.
Do
you have a problem? Is something bothering
you? Write to 
