Despite popular belief, curry is not a dish served only in India. Although the entree originated in the country, curry is a flavor that is served worldwide. On Oct. 4 over 5,000 people gathered together for the third annual Tampa Bay International Curry Festival to share and experience the various ways in which curry can be used.
This year the event took place at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg and ran from 12:00 p.m to 8:00 p.m. The admission, which was $12 per person and free for kids under five, included live music and local entertainment, a variety of reasonably priced food, dozens of vendor booths, bounce houses and a curry contest cook-off. Proceeds from the event went towards charities You Inspire, Derek Brooks Charities, Golfers vs. Brain Cancer, Helen Ellis Memorial Foundation, Georgetown Wesleyan University of Americas (GWUA), Patel Foundation, Patel School of Global Sustainability and Save Abee, The Children of Tomorrow.
When it came to the food, there was a wide array of options. The event of course had some festival classics, like hot dogs and funnel cake, but the main attraction was the curry. Many restaurants from the Tampa area had their own booths set up in which each chef prepared and served a signature dish from their menu along with their curry dish. From thai curry to jamaican curry, the selections were endless.
One of the restaurants that served Indian curry was Mayuri, an Indian cafe located in Temple Terrace. Mayuri specializes in authentic South and North Indian, as well as Indian Chinese cuisine. Venkat Kuppula, who is the owner and head chef, served a plethora of different items, including vegetarian and chicken masala curry, butter chicken, boondi ladoo and Mayuri’s most popular dish, samosa chaat. Samosa chaat is an Indian savory snack in which Venkat’s recipe consisted of chick peas, samosas (fried potatoes) and freshly cut veggie toppings.
“This is our second time here at the curry festival and we really enjoy being a part of it,” said Sam Kumar, one of the chefs at Mayuri. “It’s nice to have the opportunity to share our culture with others and to bring the community together.”
Another restaurant that was featured in the festival was Jerk Hut, an authentic jamaican restaurant with locations in both Downtown and South Tampa. Panchito Brown is the head chef at Jerk Hut, and he served two specialty items from their menu, Jamaican curry chicken and jerk chicken.
“Our Jamaican curry chicken is very good, but our most popular dish is definitely the jerk chicken,” Brown said. Jerk Hut seasons their jerk chicken with Jamaican herbs and spices and also serves jerk pork and oxtail. Another popular item on the menu is their sweet fried plantains.
Aside from food, the festival also offered a variety of unique vendors. One of the companies, Som Som, sells handmade knick knacks and jewelry that is imported from Thailand. The place just opened up their own store two weeks ago. They travel to Thailand to buy their merchandise then bring it back to the states and resell it.
Another company that was included in the event was Hawaiian Sarongs, which imports their items from India. The owner, Melanie Baghela, works from Orlando.
“My husband came up with the idea,” Baghela said. “He’s from India, so he loves to bargain for everything. I only do festivals, but we sold out a lot of stuff, so people must like it. I do hope to have my own store eventually, though.”
To match the diversity of the food, plenty of unique performances were held throughout the entire festival. Some of these included Indian and Polynesian dancing, and some local artists including DJ Roy, Ann P, On Que Players, Monetique, Kinston and Professor Grizzly. Wayne Wonder, an international recording artist from Jamaica, headlined the festival and played his style of reggae fusion for the crowd.
Despite having to compete with vendors and entertainment, the curry cook off stole the show. The cookoff included two competition categories: professional and amateur. In each category, three winners were chosen and each winner received a cash prize ranging from $250 to $5,000. The third place winner for the professional category was Michael Crippin, the executive chef at The Moon Under Water who received $500 for his prize. Located in St. Petersburg, Moon Under Water is a British colonial tavern that has been open for fifteen years. Crippin, who is originally from Manchester, said it was his first time at the curry festival.
“I was very happy to place in third,” Crippin said. “What’s special about our curry is that it contains over 32 different spices. We have kept the same original recipe for eighteen years now.”
Madison Irwin can be reached at Madison.irwin@spartans.ut.edu.