The consistently mouth-watering and entertaining “Taste the Islands” food show, a popular, Jamaican-produced TV program is coming to public television stations in the U.S. in a big way, starting in April.
Hosted by culinary consultant Hugh (Chef Irie), Caribbean cuisine, culture and celebrities will be featured in the seven-part series on more than 130 PBS stations around the country. The Jamaica Tourist Board is providing major funding for the program.
Chef Irie, joined regularly by his on-air foodie companion Nicole Hylton and periodically by international superstars such as British reggae performer Maxi Priest, NBC sports analyst and former Trinidad Olympian Ato Boldon, veteran Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, “Turn Me On” singer Kevin Lyttle from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and other special guests.
“Cooking is one of the most popular genres on public TV and we expect audiences will respond enthusiastically to the new series,” said Christopher Funkhouser, vice president of Exchange Programming and Multicast Services at American Public Television, which is distributing the program.
The series is being presented by South Florida’s WPBT2 and produced by Calibe Thompson’s Blondie Ras Productions.
For recipes and other information on the show, visit www.tastetheislandstv.com.
Working for the weekend
Are passport renewals and other consular services available on weekends?
Yes, thorough a new program from the Antigua and Barbuda Consulate and New York-based Antigua and Barbuda Progressive Society.
Starting April 18, the Mobile Consular Services initiative will make passport processing, emergency travel documents and other services available to nationals at the historic, 81-year-old Antigua and Barbuda House at 12 W. 122nd St. (between Fifth and Sixth Aves.), from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sessions of this pilot program will be held the third Saturday every month, making these necessary services available to persons with Monday-to-Friday, 9-to-5 jobs.
“Through this service, we are now able to meet the growing needs of our nationals here in the New York Diaspora,” said Walton Aubrey Webson, Antigua and Barbuda’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
“It is my hope that this will be just one of many initiatives for developing a stronger relationship with our nationals and building upon and expanding our much-needed consular services.”
For more information, contact the consulate at (212) 541-4117 or 4119 or send mail at consulateny@abgov.org.
Price to emcee luncheon
The many parts of Caribbean Week in New York are coming together and former CBS News and Fox News WNYW-TV celebrity Dave Price is the latest component. Price has agreed to be the master of ceremonies for the week’s Caribbean Media Awards Luncheon on June 4.
Under the slogan Recognizing the Media: Honoring Top Caribbean Stories, the award winners will be chosen by a group of travel/tourism industry leaders and will honor print, broadcast and digital media professionals covering the Caribbean region.
The event is one of many happenings being presented by the Caribbean Tourism Organization during its 2015 Caribbean Week in New York from June 1-4.
There’s still time to enter the competition. Stories or photos published/broadcast in 2014 are eligible and the deadline for receipt of submissions is April 17. Visit caribbeanweek.com for submission details and information or Caribbean Week’s public and invitation-only activities.
