1 Sunday morning started with a class held in the newly renovated demo kitchen on the 5th floor of the hotel. Rainer Zinngrebe, corporate head of food and beverage for Ritz Carlton worldwide, had spent stints in both Southeast Asia and Mexico. So the theme was salsas, ceviche, and guacamole with an Asian flair.
2 Fried plantains for dipping
3 That is one awesome hunk of tuna steak for making ceviche
4 Sunday morning just doesn't start right without some freshly made margaritas. Hard to believe that we have to go to a champagne brunch in about an hour. It's a tough job, but we're up to it.
5 Video of Rainer making a classic roasted salsa with some lemongrass for an Asian flair
6 During the champagne brunch, the two finalist teams from the local cooking school compete in a cookoff
7 The judges are Tony Bourdain, Eric Ripert, José Andrés, and Rainer Zinngrebe. As the clock winds down and the judges have become well-lubricated, the play by play commentary can get pretty raucous.
8 Plating as the final seconds of the cookoff tick down
9 The first team serves the judges as they explain their concept and technique
10 Tony Bourdain is ably assisted by his daughter Ariane
11 Eric and José "discuss"
12 The second team serves the judges
13 The look on Ariane's face says it all for the second team's creation. The first team is the winner of the cookoff!
14 Sunday evening is the capstone event, the gala dinner. Held at Blue, there is very limited seating and it was sold out last year before we had a chance to get tickets. Seven courses with wine pairings, each course by a different chef. We were really looking forward to it this year, despite the fact that I had to be on the dive boat bright and early the next morning. Oy!
15 The evening starts off on the patio with mixologist Charles Joly mixing up some wild and crazy libation he calls the "Double Agent". Everybody needs one of those six foot tall infusing towers for their wet bar.
16 The first course is a burratta and Japanese baby peaches byJosé Andrés, amply decorated with flowers and blossoms
17 Chef Sven Elverfeld's Maine scallop with leek and pomegranate
18 José Andrés and Sven Elverfeld stop by the table after their first two courses
19 The third course is Sean Brock's seared yellowfin over Carolina rice porridge, with shitake mushrooms
20 You can sense the pattern here- Sean Brock visits the table after his course is served
