Diners eager to taste the
Cayman-inspired menu, first sampled earlier this year at one of the meccas of
American fine dining, enjoyed a memorable five-course meal during the
Brasserie’s James Beard Comes to Cayman dinner recently.
The relaxed and entertaining
evening began with local passion fruit bellini cocktails and delicious canapés
in the restaurant’s newly renovated foyer. Anticipation was high among
attendees who, attracted by the prestige that goes along with James Beard
legacy, had grabbed the chance of savouring the culinary feast originally
showcased by Brasserie supremos Chef Dean Max and Brad Phillips at the James
Beard House last May in New York.
Chef Dean, the owner of 3030 Ocean
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Chef Brad explained that the meal, with a few
minor alterations, had been served to diners in the brownstone of the celebrated
American gourmand, whose home is now one of America’s premier fine dining
establishments. The recently crowned King of American Seafood at the National
Cook-Off in New Orleans, and his team, prepared the meal at the Brasserie to
share the celebrated dinner with local fans of fine dining.
Chef Dean said, “Each course was
devised by one of the chefs from my five restaurants and highlighted the
farm-to-table approach in each area, so we made sure to try and duplicate it as
best as possible. The great part about the menu is that all of the chefs have
worked under me for a good deal of time and it was nice to see my feelings
about food in their dishes. It comes from working together and sharing ideas
over the years.”
Before the meal and conversations
started in earnest, the Brasserie’s general manager and sommelier, Kyle
Kennedy, gave an overview of each of the five wine pairings he had selected
from the restaurant’s extensively stocked walk-in wine cellar. Sourced from
both New and Old World wineries, Mr. Kennedy shared his knowledge of the structure
of each wine and what flavours they brought to each course.
The evening’s first course was salt
crusted tuna, a nod to the abundance and quality of fish caught in local waters
for which the Brasserie is renowned. Served with ackee puree, Brasserie garden
carrots, local cherry tomatoes, pickled shallot and a brush stroke of lemon
oil, the tuna lightly seared to retain the delicately meaty texture proved to
be a popular starter with a melt-in-the-mouth quality that worked well with the
citrus-flavoured accents of the accompanying sides and the crisp, dry,
medium-bodied Austrian Loimer, Gruner Veltliner, Kamptal, 2008.
Great cuisine usually encourages
great conversation, and the atmosphere was certainly lively. Our table was no
exception and talk ranged from the state of the local economy to why Caymanians
are so partial to turtle stew.
A course of spring onion and ginger
ravioli with black tiger shrimp, shitake mushrooms and Thai coconut broth
followed. Succulent, with just a hint of Oriental seasonings, the dish was
paired with a Pillitteri Estate’s Fusion Gewurtztraminer/Riesling from Canada’s
Niagara Peninsula. The 2008 straw-coloured wine with its hints of lime,
honeysuckle and lychee, was an aromatic and refreshing accompaniment to this
Thai-inspired dish, which had guests marvelling at the subtle interplay of
flavours.
The third course of seared local 60
Mile Bank swordfish with a warm potato salad, garden onion and morel thyme
sauce was ravishing. The firm and densely textured swordfish steaks were moist
and went well with the fleshy morel mushrooms. The rare fungi much-loved by
gourmet chefs for its honeycombed cap and distinctive taste, left those who’d
never eaten morels before suitably impressed.
Paired with the pleasingly robust
Edmeades, Zinfandel, an expansive red from Mendocino County, California 2007,
this course was a firm favourite with diners, who approve and support the
Brasserie’s championing locally caught fish.
A duo of lamb and foie gras
consisting of braised lamb shoulder and grilled lamb loin, Brasserie garden
carrot puree, watercress salad and rosemary sauce also produced approving
comments. Prepared medium rare with just enough carrot puree to offset the
distinctive aroma and taste for which quality lamb is so prized, diners were
quick to polish off this red meat accompanied by a satiny foie gras butter.
Served with the La Chapelle de Bages, 2006 Bordeaux, with its combination of
ripe fruits, minerality and structure, the richness of the lamb and foie gras
were tempered by the full-bodied notes of the wine.
The last course was a standout dish
in itself.
Buoyed by a finely-balanced menu,
the pleasant ambience that goes with a manageable number of guests and some
inspired wine pairings, even avowed choca-phobics attacked the dessert. The
course was paired with a warm and rich Taylor Fladgate, late bottled vintage
port 2003.
Chefs Dean and Brad explained that
they had wanted the dish to evoke evenings around the campfire toasting
s’mores. The smoky flavour of the light and creamy chocolate dessert with
valrhona ganache was enhanced by the subtle yet distinct infusion of bacon.
Topped with restaurant-made Graham cracker tuilles and marshmallow, the final
course was a superb finale to a memorable evening. The meal ended with the
applause of the diners ringing in the chefs’ and sommelier’s ears.
Related Videos
