SOUTH FLORIDA – On April 27, 2015 Blondie Ras Productions hosted the Watch Party for the South Florida premiere of their history-making series “Taste the Islands with Chef Irie”. Throughout the course of the evening over 500 guests passed through Fusion Cafe, where attendees watched the first South Florida broadcast of “Taste the Islands” along with the cast and production team.
The event was blessed by Father Horace Ward in his usual comedic fashion, after which Jamaican Consul General Franz Hall spoke proudly of the achievements of Blondie Ras Productions, and the company’s contribution to raising the public profile of the Caribbean community. Representatives from presenting station South Florida’s WPBT2 were on hand to offer their support and received gift baskets courtesy of Grace Foods. Jamaica Tourist Board representative Christopher Wright was also on hand to speak supportive words of the cast and crew.
The star-studded affair was attended by celebrity guests including Kevin Lyttle, Ato Boldon, Inner Circle and Honorebel, dignitaries including former US Consul to Jamaica Ward Morrow and Mrs Carmen Morrow (Karmen’s Collection), Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam and former Miramar Commissioner Alexandra Davis, stars of the show Hugh “Chef Irie” Sinclair and Nicole Hylton, Executive Producer Calibe Thompson, Associate Producer Lukkee Chong, sponsors including Caribcast’s Tyrone Robertson, Jamaicans.com’s Xavier Murphy, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Victoria Mutual Building Society, Pam Watson of Paychecks and Compliance Services Inc and more. VIP gift bags courtesy of Icon Food Marketing included gourmet sauces and preserves from Arawak Farms, Belcour Preserves, Pedro Plains and Blue Mountain Coffee, Inc.
The approval of the show for upwards of 130 stations around the country makes it the first Caribbean cooking series on nationwide public television in the US, and makes Executive Producer Calibe Thompson the first Jamaican producer to place a series on nationwide public television in the US. “Taste the Islands” will continue rolling out to independently owned public television stations around the country over the course of the next several months.
Executive Producer Calibe Thompson announced that in addition to the individual market rollouts, the show will premiere nationally on the Create TV Network on Monday, June 29, 2015 reaching almost 80% of US television households. The series will air Mondays and Thursdays at 8:30AM and 2:30PM. Visit www.createtv.com for channel listings in your area.
Currently “Taste the Islands” broadcasts on South Florida’s WPBT2 (Channel 2) on Mondays and Thursdays at 7:30PM and Saturdays at 3:30PM.
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