COURTYARD Marriott's The View Bar & Restaurant was the evening's venue for 'At The Chef's Table'.
August 9, 2017
Demonstrative Moves at the COURTYARD Marriott
Perhaps in a bid to encourage more flair in domestic kitchens, but definitely to demonstrate the culinary prowess of the COURTYARD Marriott; Executive Chef Coatiest Gabbidon invited Thursday Food and an intimate circle of foodies to a cooking demo and three-course dinner christened ‘At The Chef’s Table – A Unique Dining Experience At The COURTYARD’, on Friday, July 28 at the hotel’s View Bar & Restaurant in New Kingston. Plucked from Gabbidon’s team was his protégé and sous-chef David Wellington, who deftly broke down each course from his tropical ravioli to his slippery wickets and banana flambé dessert. Guests left the dining table with a stronger connection to what they consume and possibly desiring to discover and experiment more on their own. We now present a table that provided dining, yes, but also further culinary understanding.
The evening’s welcome drink —The CourtyardSummer – a blend of peach schnapps, pineappleand orange juice, Appleton Jamaica Genesis Rum,Grenadine and Blue Curaçao garnished with lime anda maraschino cherry.
Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay2014 and Trapiche Oak Cask Pinot Noir2016 were the evening’s pours.
RecordingartistePeter Lloydprovided thesoundscapefor theevening.
Plantains, callaloo, pumpkin, cream cheese and pesto were sautéed to create the first course
After sectioning his ravioli dough, Wellington spooned dollops of filling onto each square.
The COURTYARDMarriott sous-chefsecured the contentsof his ravioli bycrimping the edges.
As the reduction progressed, beetroot juice was added to what would become the boursin beet coconutcream sauce for the tropical ravioli.
To bring this plating to a close, the tropical ravioli was dressedwith curry and parsley oils.
Voilà! The tropical ravioli first course consisted of homemade pasta dough stuffed with sautéedpumpkin, plantain and callaloo mixed with cream cheese and pesto, accompanied by a boursin beetcoconut cream sauce, drizzled with curry and parsley oils and garnished with dehydrated beetroot,carrot and alfalf
Sous-chef DavidWellington assembledthe slippery wicketskebab with precision.
The kebabson the grill.
The stacking of the grilled kebabs.(Photos: Naphtali Junior)
Sous-chef David Wellington presented hisslippery wickets – a kebab of sugarcaneskewered shrimp, chicken and bacon-wrappedpineapple on a breadfruit and potato cake, withcrispy salad greens and rum butter sauce.
Sous-chef David Wellington presented hisslippery wickets – a kebab of sugarcaneskewered shrimp, chicken and bacon-wrappedpineapple on a breadfruit and potato cake, withcrispy salad greens and rum butter sauce.(Photo: Naphtali Junior)
Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay2014 and Trapiche Oak Cask Pinot Noir2016 were the evening’s pours.
Diners Janna Miller (left),customer service representativeat C&WJ Co-operative CreditUnion, and Joni-Gayle Cawley,human resources manager atDHL – the former celebratingher birthday that day and thelatter having done so the daybefore – were invited to thechef’s demo station to assistWellington with dessert.
The crushedoatmeal cookies
Wellington (left) topped the sandwich cookies with caramelised bananas. Assisting cook Dwayne Lamont looked on.
Wellington topped the sandwich cookieswith caramelised bananas.
Sous-chef David Wellington brought dinner to a close with hisbanana flambé of liqueur-infused homemade oatmeal cookieswith caramelised bananas, soursop and ginger sorbet (served asa slush) and flaming crème de banana garnished with fevergrass.INSET: The flame in Wellington’s flambé sat atop the crème debanana infused with Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum andcubes of dried mangoes.
COURTYARD Marriott Executive Chef Coatiest Gabbidon (second right) and sous-chef David Wellington (centre) with some members of the hotel’skitchen and front-of-house teams at varied levels contributed to the success of the evening. (From left) Guest Care Manager Marlon Bantan, linecook Damion Mason, cook Dwayne Lamont, commis chefs Kadian Johnson and Andre Woodhouse.
COURTYARD Marriott Sous-chef DavidWellington presented three courses – atropical ravioli (left), slippery wickets(right) and a banana flambé – which wereeach preceded by a start-to-finish demoeach conducted by the sous-chef.(Photos: Naphtali Junior)
COURTYARD Marriott sous-chef David Wellington(right) presented a three-course demo under theapproving eye of his mentor COURTYARD MarriottExecutive Chef Coatiest Gabbidon.
Each placesetting wasfurnishedwith acopy of theevening’sthreecoursemenu.
