For 27 years, the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards has stood as more than a celebration of Caribbean culinary excellence—it has served as a foundational pipeline for nurturing emerging Jamaican talent in the hospitality and food industries. This year, the long-running initiative continued its legacy of investment in local youth, awarding six students from the University of Technology (UTech) Jamaica’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management with a combination of full scholarships and need-based bursaries.
The six recipients—Khalisa McLean, Kanye Swaby, Yolan Davis, Tyssanne Thomas, Kia Campbell, and Anna-Kaye Doyle—earned their awards after a rigorous conversational interview process conducted by a panel of industry and academic leaders. Headed by Novia McDonald-Whyte, the award program’s founder and chair, the panel also included UTech Chief Technical Officer Dr Garcia Green, Jamaica Observer Managing Editor Miguel Thomas, and guest judge Angelique Beaubrun. Following the interviews, three students were selected for full scholarships, while the remaining three received partial bursaries to support their ongoing studies.
Since the scholarship program was launched alongside the Food Awards nearly three decades ago, it has disbursed more than JMD $20 million in financial support to over 60 aspiring culinary professionals. McDonald-Whyte, who also serves as senior associate editor for lifestyle and social content at the Jamaica Observer and is a former UTech lecturer, framed the initiative as a natural extension of the publication’s core mission: lifting Jamaican communities, a philosophy first laid out by late chair Gordon “Butch” Stewart. For her, the program also addresses a gap she has observed throughout her decades in the industry: many talented local students lack the access to industry networks, fine dining experiences, and educational resources that their more privileged peers take for granted.
In remarks to candidates ahead of the interviews, McDonald-Whyte emphasized a core expectation for the next generation of Jamaican culinary leaders: centering and elevating authentic local cuisine even as the global food landscape grows more interconnected. “We need to stop searching for the Michelin, because we are the Michelin here,” she told the aspiring chefs. “We need to really celebrate that which is ours, elevate that which is ours, and, obviously, we look to you guys to do that because you are the future. Don’t think that it’s exhausted, we’ve only just begun.”
That vision resonated deeply with the three full scholarship recipients, each of whom brings a unique personal perspective and creative approach to Jamaican culinary arts.
Tyssanne Thomas, a second-year student awarded the Novia McDonald-Whyte Scholarship, said her path to culinary arts grew out of a personal journey to rebuild her relationship with food. A self-described reformed picky eater, she developed a curiosity for the ingredients and processes that shape the food people eat every day. When asked to describe an original dish she might create for the panel, she outlined a creative reimagining of local staple ingredients: a cornmeal soufflé topped with caramelised plantains and bright passion fruit sauce. For Thomas, cooking is far more than following a recipe—it is an expression of individual identity. “We all are humans, but we have different fingerprints. You may be a chef, but your story is different from my story…a standard recipe, but the heart and soul that I put in it is different from what you put in it,” she explained. Eager to live up to the program’s expectations, she aims to serve as an inspiration for other young aspiring culinary professionals.
For Anna-Kaye Doyle, a 25-year-old third-year student who works full-time to support her son and mother as the household’s sole breadwinner, the full scholarship opens doors that have long been closed to her due to family responsibilities. She recalled the heartbreak of having to turn down a once-in-a-lifetime exchange program spot in Canada after being selected, saying “My fear is graduating as a ghost.” Still, she has continued to nurture her creativity, focused on reimagining familiar ingredients in unexpected new forms. “My whole goal when it comes on to food is to be out of the norm, it is to present what you already know in a way that you never thought of it,” she said.
Kia Campbell, a third-year Japanese-Jamaican student and full-time worker who holds a first-degree black belt in karate, draws on her dual cultural heritage to create innovative fusion cuisine. When asked about an original dish concept, she described a fusion sushi roll blending Jamaica’s iconic ackee with Japanese natto—a creative combination that reflects her overlapping identities. For Campbell, the scholarship allows her to serve as an ambassador for young people from mixed and multicultural backgrounds, embodying Jamaica’s national motto “Out of Many One People.” “To show young people from different backgrounds and ethnicities that wherever you want to be, no matter where you come from, you can be…if you really want it,” she said.
McLean, Swaby, and Davis rounded out the group of awardees as bursary recipients, bringing their own innovative ideas to the table. Looking back at the program’s 27-year history, McDonald-Whyte noted how far the culinary industry has come in Jamaica. When the Food Awards first launched, working in a professional kitchen was not seen as a prestigious or desirable career path. Today, she pointed out, local caterers and chefs are celebrated stars—proof that the program’s decades of investment in lifting local talent have already yielded transformative results for the nation’s culinary landscape.
