What was just another lovely evening to some was undoubtedly nothing short of extravagant for the patrons attending St. Mary’s annual Dining with the Saints event. After making my ‘perilous’ journey along the Priority Bus Route from Arima to Port-of-Spain, I arrived at the venue at 7:15. Now although I was a Saints Boy, and had attended CIC for just about 7 years, this was my first time actually attending this fairly famous “CIC cookout” and I had a wonderful time.

With things kicking off as scheduled by 7:30, the St. Mary’s Big Yard was already filled with people anxious to taste the different delicacies prepared for them. And, as I’m on the topic of "delicacies" ... it was amazing to see the VAST collection of foods that was prepared for the night. Additionally, with the chefs just as diverse as the food prepared, I was even more amazed by just how quickly the food disappeared! I even came across some familiar faces ... Mariano Browne, Fitzgerald Hinds, school principals ... including that of QRC, Fatima & CIC and a whole lot of past students. *lolz*

Photos By Rayhaan J.
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As the serving doors were opened and the sharing of great food began, the race was on to get your plates piled high with the tastiest dishes before they were all completely devoured by a very appreciative crowd. Luckily for me, I was able to capture the lovely appeal of the environment before the food started to pass ... heh! Moving from chef to chef, I began to realize just how difficult it was to be a patron at this event. Tickets to this food gala entitled you to 3 food chits and 2 dessert chits, which created the dilemma of what to choose!!?? There were over 30 different food dishes available ranging from shrimp, ribs, lamb, goat, turkey, pastel, chicken, pork and beef just to name a few, all cooked in a variety of ways. How was one to decide ... *sigh*

Then there were the deserts. Let's see .... chocolate cake, cheery cheesecake, black forest cake, mango moose, rum cake ... did I mention cheesecake? Lol. Humm, and if choosing 2 treats wasn’t hard enough, I completely missed the opportunity to try any ... *drops head to desk*. Oh well, there goes my sweet tooth. Apart from that however, the food was great! I had Chinese Chicken Delight, Turkey Delicioso & Parmesan Chicken, and thankfully the side dishes (cold-slaw, “amazon rice,” mash potato & bake potato) didn’t require any chits.

With the night shaping up nicely and with a lot of filled stomachs, on came the entertainment a stunning performance by T&T’s very own Exodus Pan Orchestra. However, that wasn’t the highlight of the night, as soon after we were settled after a hearty meal, we found ourselves moving and grooving to the heady sounds of Shurwayne Winchester and his band Y.O.U. Performing some of their well known tracks, "YOU (Energy)", "Make It Yours", "Don’t Stop" and a crowd favorite "Open De Gate". They even slowed things down performing Motown classics, a few R&B hits and dedicating a song to the late Michael Jackson (R.I.P). After a body moving, head shaking hour of great music, Shurwayne made his exit, or so he thought, as the crowd called out for more, he quickly re-entered giving the audience a riveting encore performance to close the night.

In the end, as the patrons and I made our way to the exit gate, I could not agree with them more when they said, “What a great night!!” With this being my first experience of Dining with the Saints, I can’t wait to see, smell and taste what they plan to cook up come next year. It’s guaranteed to be heavenly!

Until the next big gig, this is yuh boy Ray J signing out. Catch you on the flip side!

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Dining with the Saints (2007)