Tasty Summer Inspirations...

As we gear up for one of our biggest events of the year; a huge Caribbean-meets-South American food-fest, we are smothered with wonderful summery ingredients straight from the farms and ready for the taking for various other journeys and adventures. Inspiring to say the very damn least! As history will serve as testament, we almost always have a chef's table on the last or second to last night before we open for the huge tropicana gathering. This year was no exception. Below is a playlist of the tastes, textures and flavors that we orchestrated together to put on the show. The crowd gathered. The cooks played with fire. The food came alive. It appeared and then gently vanished as they ate, only to be an elusive memory, albeit a great one for both. Like a musician's set of songs played off the cuff from the heart and soul without rehearsal and formula, only fueled by passion and inspiration ...here they are

chilled lobster, litchi, basil, golden caviar, yuzu sabayon

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muscovy duck "two ways"...

crispy skin breast salad, arugula, figs, pine nuts and 30 year balsamic

seared foie gras, hot pickled peaches, and hazelnuts

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pan roasted sea scallop & stuffed rabbit saddle

abalone mushrooms, house cured bacon, corn, truffles, and corn pudding

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flash cooked local albacore tuna

heirloom tomatoes, chocolate basil, chorizo, herb pancake,

olive oil and a calamari-chayote "salsa"

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summer melon-cucumber composure, grains of paradise, elderflower

and a rhubarb "popsickle"

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apple mustard rubbed american bison loin

macerated cherries, sauteed potato gnocchi, potato-horseradish puree

fennel sous vide and a black pepper-dark chocolate essence

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buttermilk panna cotta, peppered strawberries, sapote sorbet

lemon pudding cake, pistachio, rhubarb, lemon verbena ice cream

cherry-graham "clafoutis", creme fraiche-peach milkshake

dark chocolate bite, salted caramel, lavender ice cream

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chamomile chocolates, bacon-hazelnut macaroon sandwiches