
It was such a special evening with divine food, superb company and film chat I will never forget. .
The Champagne Welcome Karen (the Ritz-Carlton F&B Director) was at the door to welcome me and I thanked her for the suggestion that I stay at Four Seasons: The Surf Club in Miami. Then I found my Texas friends and we caught up over champagne cocktails in the garden area. Blue By Eric Ripert Once in the restaurant Asil (who arranges my Weekend Financial Times at the Ritz-Carlton) took me to my table, where I found we were sitting with the charming young founders of the Cayman International Film Festival. Does life get any better than this? 'Signature' Appetizer After an amuse-bouche, we had tuna carpaccio 'accessorized' with Iberico ham chutney, chives, sea beans, croutons and lemon. All these interesting ingredients produced a new flavour experience with each bite. An exquisite dish that I found interesting to be eating with a fish knife. I guess they are back 'in'. Poached Scallops From Heaven Next it was poached scallops that had the best texture I have ever eaten. With wild maitake (dancing) mushrooms, turnip & smoked butter this was a truly divine dish. Beef Tenderloin With A Red Wine-Truffle Jus The main course was a seared tenderloin with an oxtail praline, peas and a red wine-truffle jus. It blew my mind that this dish was being cooked for such a large room but was still perfectly executed. With the melt in your mouth beef and the rich earthy truffle flavour, a dish you really wanted to savour. Dulcey Chocolate Dessert For dessert there was a velvety dulcey chocolate cube that had a creamy almost shortbread taste with a liquid gooey centre. This dish was another riot of textures & flavours with coconut and tart passion fruit. A perfect end to the meal but there were petit fours too. A Very Special Night Over dinner we discussed the Pixar founder I met on the Friday night and his role creating Black Rock City's Burning Man gathering; Martha Stewart; photographer Vincent Versace came to speak to us and the whole event culminated in us meeting Eric Ripert. A different, and special, evening I will never forget. 🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻 (7 out of 5 ‘teddies’) - a '7 teddy' dinner. The food was superb, the company & conversation enchanting and nothing could be faulted. My tip:- if you want to eat in 'Blue by Eric Ripert', but do not want to break the bank, you can order snacks at the bar and experience the 'almost raw', 'barely touched' and 'lightly cooked' food at lower prices. | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |