Bermuda's first Culinary Arts Festival has been voted a big hit and is set to be even bigger next year.

The three day event at the Fairmont Southampton Princess ends today with a charity golf event, but organisers are already planning to bring in more chefs for 2003.

The festival, sponsored by the Department of Tourism, Gourmet magazine, Belco, Butterfield and Vallis, and the Fairmont Southampton Princess, brought in top chefs from the United States and England.

Celebrity chef Sara Moulton, who hosts Sara's Secrets on the Food Network and is executive chef at Gourmet, said the inaugural festival had very few hitches.

"It has gone fabulously well. I've never been to a first time event that has run more smoothly - you'd think we'd been doing it for ten years," she told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

"We are absolutely planning to do it again next year and I think Bermuda has been happy with the event as well.

"We'll have to work out some very minor kinks, but it has been very successful. Demo after demo was really exciting and you could tell by the audience and the questions they asked that they were really interested.

"Bermuda is a very safe and cosy place, and if you throw in some great chefs, its a winning situation."

Ms Moulton said next year the event would aim to use even more Bermudian chefs and cuisine, as well as the overseas guests.

Just over 200 people flew in from the United States, Britain, and Portugal for the event - which far exceeded organisers Total Marketing and Communications' prediction of 125 to 150 visitors.

Nonetheless, the event, as expected, was not a money-maker in its first year.

Graham Redford of Total Marketing said next year the event will be advertised more heavily and earlier in Bermuda to get more local people involved as turnout among locals was low.

"It has been an absolutely fantastic event. The feedback has been that everyone has loved it and they want to come back next year," Mr. Redford said. "The attention to detail was very good, but we will have to let the Bermudian public know earlier. For the overseas people it has been absolutely seamless."

Acting assistant director of Tourism (marketing) Michael DeCouto, also hailed the event as a success, attracting the kind of high income visitors the Island needs.

"It has been an opportunity for the visitors to experience Bermudian cuisine and learn about the history of the Island, and that was important to us in this first festival," he said. "It has gone really well and we are very pleased."

Visitors themselves were also happy with the event, and the $1,600 package for flights, accommodation and demonstrations was regarded as good value.

Brad Hafner of Hamburg, New York, said: "I've really enjoyed it. Most everyone you see makes you feel as though they are really pleased to see you here."

As well as carrying out cookery demonstrations throughout Saturday and yesterday at the Southampton Princess, the guest chefs also cooked special meals on Saturday and last night at the hotel and the Waterlot Inn, Lillians at Sonesta Beach, The Fourways Inn, Aqua at Ariel Sands, the Seahorse Grill at Elbow Beach, the Rockfish Grill at Newstead, and Tamarisk at Cambridge Beaches.

Gourmet's wine consultant Michael Green, wearing Bermuda shorts for the occasion, hosted a lunch yesterday at the Southampton Princess with specially matched wines.

Afterwards he said: "It's been fantastic. The demonstrations have been very professional, the quality of the chefs has been fantastic, and because it is the first year it has been very intimate.

"The Bermudians have been very gracious and very appreciative of what we have brought to the festival.

"Because it is the first year, and with the benefit of hindsight there are always things we could change, but for a first time event, the response I am hearing has been been overwhelmingly positive."

Photos by Tamell Simons