As any chef or restaurateur can tell you, a burger is a classic, even vital part of many restaurant menus, making the recent Cayman Burger Fest a crucial competition in what is already a highly-competitive market.
The contest took place over three weeks in November and participating restaurants across the Cayman Islands served up exclusive, limited-edition burger creations so that customers could select their favourites.
Winning burger
From the votes counted, a shortlist of five outstanding culinary creations was drawn up, but there could only be one winner: the Koji Royale from Ms Piper’s Kitchen + Garden.
While the award-winning Koji Royale was created specially for the competition, response has been so strong, with customers wanting to taste the burger for themselves, Ms Pipers has decided to reinstate the Koji Royale on its menu every Tuesday evening.
But is it really worth all the hype (and the $25 price tag – including fries)? The Compass was given an exclusive sneak preview to find out.
The burger
There’s a lot going on with this burger. There are eight components for a start: a certified Angus beef burger, melted red cheddar, local mushrooms, pickles, onions and watercress, finished with chimichurri and truffle aioli for a umami hit.
The beef is from the United States, but the cuts are South American, a mix of prized Brazilian picanha from the top of the rump and tira de asado from Argentina, otherwise known as short ribs.
The beef patty is cured with koji – hence the name – which is a rice mould used throughout Japanese cuisine to make sake, miso and soy sauce, to give a salty, tangy flavour.
The bread used for the bun is a Japanese milk bread, a soft, fluffy, slightly sweet bread made with milk and butter, and the whole lot is topped off with pickled cucumbers and onions.
The dish is a creation of Chef Ayelen Esquef and his team.
Sous-chef Nicholas Alejo said that winning the award was a great achievement.
“It shows people who don’t already know Ms Pipers about what we do and, hopefully, brings more people in to try our food,” said Alejo.
The tasting
Our Koji Royales arrived and they looked pretty impressive. The beef burger is bigger than the bun – always a good sign – and a lot of other items are visible too: watercress, melted cheese, mushrooms and lots of chimchirri sauce.
To help assess the award-winning burger, I brought along my Compass colleague James Whittaker, who claims to have eaten almost every burger available on island and therefore considers himself a bit of an expert.
Worryingly for the Koji Royale, he also likes his burgers on the plain side.
“I like a burger, maybe a bit of lettuce, some mustard, some ketchup, that’s about it,” he says. “I’m a man of simple tastes. I don’t need you to go foraging for mushrooms. And I’m not 100% sure what truffle aioli is, but I imagine it’s also something that you go foraging for.”
“I’m a bad person to ask,” he concludes, getting ready to tuck in to the Koji Royale, “because I like an almost-burnt burger with just the bun and some cheese.”
Just one bite in and a Damascene conversion has taken place.
“I got a lot of mushroom in my first bite, but the mushroom is good, unexpectedly good,” he says. “I take it all back. Forage away!”
He dives back in. “The bread is soft and overall, it’s good. It’s very, very good.”
Quality burger
For those who prefer their burger less adorned, it might be a bit too much: the sauces and moistness of the beef make it at least a three-napkin feast, but there’s no denying that the smell of the truffle, the quality of the mushrooms and the piquant zestiness of the chimichurri all add up to a quality burger experience.
Whittaker confidently declares it well worth its $25 price tag, but slightly ruins his gourmet credentials by saying it would “go well with ice-cream”.
As Ms Pipers is well known for serving excellent cocktails, we asked for suggestions for a cocktail to pair with the Koji Royale and, while the recommended Ms Piper’s Garden cocktail of gin, elderflower and grapefruit was delicious, it would probably go far better with a beer.
Overall verdict? Delicious burger, arrive hungry and ask for extra napkins.
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