Tag Archives: Cayman Islands

Let the Countdown to Caymadness Begin: Genuine Manresa Preview, Disgorging in the Ocean with Hugh & Oh So Much More

Posted on January 2, 2013 by | 1 Comment

Abracadabra! The sun has set on 2012 (thanks to Ella Schwartz for the beautiful time lapse from this past weekend…)  As you can see, the first of the new year turns our attention to Grand Cayman.  During January and February our home away from home in the Caribbean plays host to myriad culinary events where celebrity chefs and their willing victims come from far and wide to the island for delicious food and a generous helping of antics on the side. None other than the best kind of Caymadness ensues.  Just look at the track record of exquisitely tasty and equally as memorable events.  Dinner at Michael’s Genuine in Camana Bay with Michel Nischan?  A coup, but oh so much more with a flash of bling.  Bloomfield in the house? Why, yes please, and we’ll wash down her Lamb Scottadito with a Disarrono on the rocks.  It’s time to spin the roulette wheel once again, and we can’t wait.  Just another day in paradise, we say…  Be apart of it all, as it all goes down.  Take your pick here:

Eric_MoviaParty Like It’s 2011  Disgorge bottles of bubbly in the ocean? Suuuuure, Larkee’s done it in a bucket, so why the heck not.  We’re bringing back an old favorite Movia 2004 aged on its lees in honor of a new one: Hugh Acheson.  Join us for Slow Food Day’s first Farm-to-Beach event on February 2 and watch Eric work his magic, a festive opener to an even more festive meal on the sand.  Hugh’s family-style menu is a love letter to Grand Cayman’s farmers and their product in season, doled out with care and purpose — a genuine southern brand all his own. Get tickets here and Hugh’s just-finalized menu, here.  And don’t forget to wear your sandals…

header cookout 2013Cali, Cayman-Style with David Kinch  Michael welcomes guest chef David Kinch of Manresa on Central California’s wild coast for a memorable dinner that draws inspiration from his restaurant’s home in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains to bring to life Grand Cayman’s seasonal bounty. So far there is talk of arpege farm eggs, malabar spinach, okra, whelks, purslane, mizuna, passion fruit, and more.  The menu is going to be ready any moment now… We can’t wait.  You shouldn’t either!  Get tickets here for Genuine Manresa and more, as Jose Andres, Sherry Yard, Anthony Bourdain, and more descend on the island for an unforgettable 2013 Cayman Cookout weekend.

IMG_5126Get On Your Brunch Munch  Visitors to Cayman Cookout this year can finally get on their MGFD Sunday brunch munch, just like Ella Schwartz did this past weekend (see delicious chocolate cream-filled donut to the left!)  Launched in November, Sundays at the town center of Camana Bay are more genuinely delicious… and our beloved brunch finally has the waterfront view it deserves! Beginning November, our new all-new a la carte menu is available from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. offering a variety of small plates perfect for sharing and enjoying Sundays as they should be.  Check the menu out here.

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Posted in Cayman Correspondence, MGFD_GCM, Special Event

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Cayman Correspondence: Tickets Now Live for Slow Food Day’s Farm-to-Beach Feast with Guest Chef Hugh Acheson

Posted on November 28, 2012 by | 1 Comment

As previously posted, we are prepping fast and furious for the second annual Slow Food Day event in the Cayman Islands, this year welcoming visiting chef Hugh Acheson!  Slow Food Day 2013 is made possible through a collaboration of local chefs and farmers and is comprised of a famers market tasting and Slow Food dinner with the goal of generating demand, as well as more opportunities for farm-fresh products to show up on restaurant menus and grocery shelves across the island.

We are excited to announce that tickets are now live for the main event, the Farm-to-Beach dinner at Camana Bay Beach!  Kick off your shoes and enjoy Hugh’s fresh approach to Southern food as he explores the local cuisine and its ingredients in a feast on the sand, with support from the Michael’s Genuine kitchen including chef Schwartz and his executive chef on-island, Thomas Tennant.  After last year’s amazing inaugural event with Jonathan Waxman at the restaurant, it’s the first time we are taking Slow Food Day to the beach, and frankly, we think it’s about time!  The meal will include passed snacks, dishes put out from stations on the sand, a pit with delicious local meats roasting and smoking, and, of course, plenty of cocktails and wines that love the beach care of Wine Director Eric Larkee.  Our local farmers will join us to celebrate their labor of love, prepared fresh, simple and pure.  Copies of A New Turn in the South will be available on-site for purchase and signing by the chef courtesy of Books & Books in Camana Bay. The fun begins at 5:00 p.m. at Camana Bay Beach Park off West Bay Road at the Coral Caymanian site next to Royal Palms. Stay tuned for updates on the menu, travel and accommodations ideas and any deals we can conjure from gateway cities like Miami, and most importantly, snag your tickets while they last! See you in the sand! Continue reading →

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Posted in Cayman Correspondence, Farmer Update, Food Philanthropy, Local Ingredient, MGFD_GCM, Special Event

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Second Annual Slow Food Day Grand Cayman is Set for February 2, 2013

Posted on November 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

With Michael and Eric headed to Grand Cayman today for two great events, Pork & Pinot and our first brunch service, we wanted to share some big news for 2013.  We are thrilled to share that planning for our second annual Slow Food Day event is underway in partnership with co-founders Alan Markoff of Slow Food South Sound and Kerry Forbes of Cayman Islands Agricultural Society.  This year’s event will be held Saturday, February 2, and will be bigger and better than ever with more local farmer and chef participants, as well as a great new guest chef from the States with fresh eyes through which we can all see the island in a fresh light: our talented friend from the south, Hugh Acheson!  We found out he makes a mean corn kimchi and more, after his Empire State South Pizzeria pop-up at Harry’s in September, and we can’t wait to see how he interprets Grand Cayman’s ingredients in season and more (did someone say lionfish?)

Slow Food Day was born earlier this year from our desire to see Cayman Culinary month embrace more than just amazing international cheffing talent, and look inward at its own amazing bounty and the people behind it, from whom we source for our daily-changing menu.  With help from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Cayman Airways, and many more sponsors including Caymanian Compass & its Flava publication, Bon Vivant, Home Gas, Blackbeard’s and our home in the town of Camana Bay, 2013′s event will raise awareness of Grand Cayman’s own food producers and the chefs that support them in two events:

9-11 a.m. Farmers Market Tasting at The Grounds – Participating chefs will each be paired with a local farmer and are asked to create a dish using their locally-grown ingredients. Guests attending Saturday’s weekly Farmers Market at The Grounds will be able to enjoy a complimentary tasting of these dishes and get the recipes to make them at home.

5 p.m. Farm to Beach – Relax and enjoy  local ingredients from the land and sea brought to the beach in our guest chef’s signature style. Nabbing two 2012 James Beard Foundation Award this year – one for best chef southeast and the other for his cookbook, “A New Turn in the South,” Canadian-born chef Hugh Acheson comes to us from Atlanta, GA where he is the chef/partner at Five & Ten, The National, Gosford Wine and Empire State South. You may have also seen him as judge on Top Chef. We cannot wait to host Hugh and get a taste of his fresh approach to Southern food on Camana Bay Beach, and shoeless!  Expect lots of different snacks to be passed, as well as dishes put out from our cooks at stations on the sand, a pit with delicious local meats roasting and smoking, and of course plenty of cocktails and wines that love the beach.

For updates on participating chefs, stay tuned to the new Slow Food Day page on our website, where you can also find a link to pictures from last year’s inaugural event featuring Jonathan Waxman. Tickets will go on sale to the public there the week of November 26.  And we can’t wait!!!

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Posted in Cayman Correspondence, Farmer Update, MGFD_GCM, Special Event

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