It was the opening of the St. Barth Gourmet Festival, held at Fouquet’s in Gustavia’s lovely Carl Gustaf Hotel. My guest & I were early . . , the “wine stations” hadn’t even opened when we arrived just before the 6:30 start time. So we briefly hung-out . . . not a hardship, admiring the view!
Within minutes, however, festivities were in full swing, so to speak (& literally, to the tunes of Sasha, a local, young DJ friend).
Many of the Festival restaurants had “tasting” stations, with samplings of specialties de maison (I think it was Cheval Blanc’s station that served lumps of caviar on the back of one’s hand . . . reminiscent of long ago nights at Autour du Rocher where substances on the back of many patrons’ hands were inhaled instead of digested). All of the participating restaurants, in any event, passed canapés prepared by their local & visiting counterpart chefs. All were exceptional, but special note goes to the offerings of L’Esprit which were packaged in small banana leaves, folded & clipped together with mini-clothespins.
Local participating restaurant chefs & their key staff members circulated with visiting chefs . . . every one with smiling, happy faces — “almost like being in love!”
After a couple of hours of memorable decadence, however, I longed for a sit-down dinner & accepted the kind invitation of L’Atelier Robuchon’s partner in charge of International Development, a fellow guest, to finding seating at L’Atelier for us.
My evening companion & I were accorded lovely treatment . . . an avocado & crab starter pour moi
followed by a main course of pasta (which they kindly provided gluten free) in a tomato & lobster sauce
Kimberly Reed
. . . supporting me in this feasting evening . . . had chicken dumplings (also commonly known as “potstickers!”) & cheeseburger sliders
It was a remarkable evening. I’ve attended most — perhaps all — of the Gourmet Festival evenings since they began, & this one was kicked-off especially memorably. I can’t say enough about the sophistication, panache, & finesse of its execution. Then, on top, a Robuchon evening was “frosting on the cake!”
As a local close friend is fond of saying— and I steal his line — “I’m a lucky boy!”
Within minutes, however, festivities were in full swing, so to speak (& literally, to the tunes of Sasha, a local, young DJ friend).
Many of the Festival restaurants had “tasting” stations, with samplings of specialties de maison (I think it was Cheval Blanc’s station that served lumps of caviar on the back of one’s hand . . . reminiscent of long ago nights at Autour du Rocher where substances on the back of many patrons’ hands were inhaled instead of digested). All of the participating restaurants, in any event, passed canapés prepared by their local & visiting counterpart chefs. All were exceptional, but special note goes to the offerings of L’Esprit which were packaged in small banana leaves, folded & clipped together with mini-clothespins.
Local participating restaurant chefs & their key staff members circulated with visiting chefs . . . every one with smiling, happy faces — “almost like being in love!”
After a couple of hours of memorable decadence, however, I longed for a sit-down dinner & accepted the kind invitation of L’Atelier Robuchon’s partner in charge of International Development, a fellow guest, to finding seating at L’Atelier for us.
My evening companion & I were accorded lovely treatment . . . an avocado & crab starter pour moi
followed by a main course of pasta (which they kindly provided gluten free) in a tomato & lobster sauce
Kimberly Reed
. . . supporting me in this feasting evening . . . had chicken dumplings (also commonly known as “potstickers!”) & cheeseburger sliders
It was a remarkable evening. I’ve attended most — perhaps all — of the Gourmet Festival evenings since they began, & this one was kicked-off especially memorably. I can’t say enough about the sophistication, panache, & finesse of its execution. Then, on top, a Robuchon evening was “frosting on the cake!”
As a local close friend is fond of saying— and I steal his line — “I’m a lucky boy!”
