PHILIPSBURG--Jenny Hanley of "How You Like It" booth #15 is the winner of the second annual Village Cook Out competition held at the St. Maarten Carnival Village on Sunday.
Organised by the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF), the competition was held during the Bounce and Splash Family Play Day event held at the Village.
Five booth holders, who were pre-selected, prepared their best versions of fried fish and oyster soup. The dishes were judged by a panel of three. At the end of the tasting, Hanley was announced winner. Her prize is a massive trophy and free registration as a booth holder for next year's Carnival.
"My soup was the bomb," Hanley told The Daily Herald after she was announced winner. Hanley, who has been operating "How U Like It," booth for the St. Maarten Carnival for the past two decades, loves cooking and treating carnival lovers with her special treats each season.
Hanley serves as the cook, but at times she can also be "the jack of all trades," doing just about any or everything in her booth. "How U Like It" specialises in seafood such as fried whole snapper, stewed conch, conch and dumplings, garlic shrimps and whelks. Hanley believes that food is a very important part of the country's annual carnival festivities.
Hanley is a business administrator by profession. She worked as Executive Assistant in different firms including in the cabinet of former Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Silveria Jacobs. She also owned and operated a restaurant in the past.
