Photo: David Wolfe
Chef Eric Ripert can’t wait for the Cayman Cookout to begin on 13 January.
“I’m excited. I already have my plane ticket,” he said back in November.
Ripert, owner/chef of one of Manhattan’s finest restaurants, Le Bernardin, is also an owner of the restaurant Blue at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. He can’t get enough of the Cayman Cookout.
Considered the Caribbean’s premier culinary event, the Cookout attracts some of the best chefs from the United States and the world.
“We have great chefs,” he says “We had great chefs last year, too, but now we have more.”
Joining Ripert for return appearances at the Cookout will be top chefs Anthony Bourdain from the United States and José Andrés for Spain.
Now entering its third year, the Cayman Cookout has gained such a reputation in the culinary world that chefs ask to be involved.
Joining the line-up for the 2011 Cookout will be Hong Kong-born and Toronto-based chef Susur Lee; Irish celebrity chef Rachel Allen; Chicago’s Charlie Trotter; and Miami’s Michael Schwartz.
“It’s a very unique festival,” Ripert says. “Everyone wants to come to Cayman to cook for it.”
What makes the Cookout so unique is its variety of small-sized culinary events, many of which take advantage of Cayman’s natural beauty.
The 2011 features several cooking demonstrations at The Ritz-Carlton beach pavilion, a picnic lunch at Starfish Point at Cayman Kai and an exclusive culinary event to Stingray City just for American Express Centurion Card holders.
“We have a lot of activities that are surreal to someone not from Cayman,” Ripert says, noting that he is particularly excited about the event at Stingray City “Even though I’ve done [Stingray City trips] about 20 times, I’d love to do it again.”
For the picnic lunch, Ripert will take his culinary skills into Cayman’s waters, as he did during the filming of an episode of his television show ‘Avec Eric’ in January 2010.
While guests enjoy a gourmet picnic basket on the beach, Ripert will lead a team in the water in grilling local fish. Ripert says he isn’t bothered a bit by the challenges of cooking in the sea.
“Any occasion to go on a boat, I’m cool with that.”
But there are other parts of the Cookout that appeal to Ripert and the other chefs as well.
“The Cookout is very intimate,” Ripert says. “We keep the ticket sales low so the events aren’t overcrowded.”
The event also caters to people who appreciate good food and wine.
“We already last year started to have serious foodies coming to the event,” Ripert says, adding that he has several Le Bernardin clients who ask him about getting tickets, which can be tough to get.
Of course, the Cookout is about more than food.
“There is no such thing as a good dinner without wine,” says Ripert.
Noted winemakers on hand to conduct tastings during the 2011 Cookout include Bo Barrett of Napa Valley’s Chateau Montelena and the movie ‘Bottle Shock’ fame; Heidi Peterson Barrett of Screaming Eagle and other renowned Napa Valley wineries; and Dennis Cakebread of Cakebread Cellars.
Although most of the Cookout events take place at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, there are events at many other restaurants on Grand Cayman as well as the ‘location’ events.
“It’s not only about the Ritz-Carlton,” he says. “We want everyone to understand it’s about the Cayman Islands. The event attracts a very sophisticated audience, so the Ritz-Carlton plays an important part, but this event benefits everyone in the Cayman Islands.”
One event that Ripert particularly recommends is the Gala Dinner in Blue at The Ritz-Carlton on Sunday 16 January. That event will team the culinary talents of Chefs Ripert, Allen, Andrés, Lee, Schwartz and Trotter as they prepare a seven-course dinner that will be the gastronomic highlight of the weekend.
Ripert says he’s sure he’ll have fun.
‘If chefs like myself, Anthony Bourdain and José Andrés didn’t enjoy it, we wouldn’t come back!” WH