The date: August 31, 2011
The occasion: Brett’s birthday
The place: Don Cesar, Maritana Grill
What do you give a foodie person for their birthday when they have every cooking toy known to man?! You give them what I think is the ultimate obtainable foodie experience – a chefs table! What makes it even better is when you are able to have a sommelier at your service, resulting in some fantastic wine pairings. It really does end up being a fantastic ride for all of the senses.
I will let the pictures tell the story here – with brief descriptions of the food. As you can imagine, it was a simply wonderful meal – both of us tried something new and both of us left totally in awe of what we had just experienced.
Raw oyster covered in caviar with a “deconstructed” Bloody Mary – in other words… Vodka. We were supposed to down the oyster in one swallow and the vodka in another. This was the new thing for both of us – I must admit I probably won’t eat another one, I did enjoy the caviar and the vodka though!
Prawns – these weren’t my favourite, so I gave them all to Brett – I did try one though! Brett however enjoyed every last bit!
Duck Confit – This was amazing. I wanted more! Enough said!
Crab – Delightful!
Brined lemon, marinated in saltwater solution for 5 weeks. This was part of the meal and the chef told us about it. “10 minutes to plate, 5 weeks to make” That just fascinated me and interested Brett so I wanted to include it in this posting. It is simply amazing what goes on behind the scenes with chefs and their food!
Herbed goat cheese garlic souffle – I died and went to heaven. Souffle is one of my favourite things in the world and this was one of the best things I have ever tasted. Everyone should have this. Everyone!
hurricane cocktail sorbet – this was a palate cleanser I am sure of it – sadly I didn’t get a good picture of it- so you’ll have to use your imagination based on the pictures you’ve already seen.. as you can imagine.. it was wonderful!!!
Petite fillet with summer veggies sitting on cauliflower puree – this was pure melt in your mouth goodness as well, this picture doesn’t do the food justice – it was plated but wasn’t totally decorated!
Dessert – of course, this is the bit I was waiting to eat! Again, no words except white chocolate egg looking thing.
And that was dinner !
Thanks to Chef Aron for making this happen!
“lovely” – ‘nough said.
I wanted to thank you for all the kind words. I had a great time that evening and I know you did as well. Please come back so I can spiol you some more. Bon apetite, Chef Aaron Webb