Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 2

What passes for bad weather in Grand Cayman continues

and I continue to love it. 

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The high is only 77 or so, the skies are cloudy, and the water is cold enough that I don't go into it every day or for long.  For sitting on the beach and enjoying the ocean and sipping a virgin mango daiquiri, though, the weather is just fine.

I did exactly that today after a small but quite satisfying lunch at the club lounge.


Dinner was at Blue by Eric Ripert, this time the Blue menu.  It was, as always, superb.

Cayman beach life is relaxing life.

Georgetown, chicken, and chickens

The weather continues to be cloudy but warm, with occasional hints of rain but, so far today, no actual showers.

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Heading down the island to Georgetown seemed like a good plan, so a taxi ride later and I was eating jerk chicken and conch fritters at the Caribbean Kitchen.


Even sharing the fritters, I finished barely more than half my sandwich and less than half my fries.  It was all tasty, though not outstanding.  The conch fritters were the star of the meal.

Chickens are all over this island (well, except at the Ritz-Carlton, where I've never seen any), strutting around as if they own the place.  This rooster and hen felt as if the road and the sidewalk were theirs and we were mere trespassers.


It all feels just fine, though, as humans and chickens seem to share the space easily and happily.

I've accomplished remarkably little each day here, and yet I'm fine with that, enjoying resting and reading and doing little.  My capacity for doing so little continues to amaze me.

Cayman beach life is low-demand life.

A lazy Cayman day

After a delicious long sleep and a bit of futzing around, and despite all the clouds and the strong breezes, the ocean beckoned.

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Lunch was in a Ritz chair on the sand, a lovely tradition.  A grilled cheese sandwich with tons of bacon and a side salad, along with my frequent beverage, the virgin mango daiquiri, made a delicious feast.

After getting quite warm--temperatures were in the high seventies and the sun was peeking through the clouds a lot--I spent some time in the chilly water enjoying the waves, then repeated the process in the much calmer pool.

A red sno-cone was a nice treat along the way.

The rest of the day proceeded similarly:  slowly, lazily, and entirely, for my purposes, perfectly.

Cayman beach life is easy life.

A windy last Cayman Cookout day

I absolutely love storms on islands.  The waves and the wind and even the rain fill me with happiness.  So, when I saw the rough chop and heard the breakers and the wind today, I was very pleased.

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Others on the island seem less happy, but for me, particularly on a day when events occupy most of my time, this weather is grand.

The big daytime event was the Bon Vivant Amateur Chef Competition and brunch.


As the amateur chefs on stage compete in a TV-style cooking competition, the judges (chefs Emeril, Irvine, Andres, Boulud, and Ripert) watch them work and eventually eat their creations.  Meanwhile, the huge crowd enjoys brunch from something on the order of two dozen stations scattered down a reception area and porch outside the ballroom.  I focused on not over-eating and on sampling only things I knew (from the reports of others or knowledge of the food and the chefs) to be good.  The approach worked well:  I enjoyed every dish and left full but not overly stuffed.

The next event, Rum and Robusto, is basically a drink-and-smoke-cigars gathering around a pool. I usually make only a quick pass through it, but today I ended up in a few interesting conversations and also just enjoyed the breezy weather--which served to keep the smoke away from me.

This guy had the best job of the event.


A nice addition was a pair of stations at which people could paint.


I liked more of the artwork than I would have expected.

All in all, the attendees seemed to have a good time,


and I enjoyed my brief visit to it.

The traditional final Cayman Cookout event is a dinner at Blue for which each major guest chef prepares a course.  This year, the tenth, brought a gala dinner with, naturally, ten courses.  The table settings were lovely,


and the menu promised amazing treats.


The chefs delivered on the menu's promises.  I enjoyed every single course, but the most amazing was the last, the dessert. 


By description and first glance, it was an apple with a side sauce.  After you pushed into it with your fork, though, it was so much more.


Sweet, complex, and entirely lovely, this dish was a complete success. 

Hats off to all the chefs, but particularly to Chef Thomas Raquel, the pastry chef of Blue, for this wonderful finale.

And so the Cayman Cookout event draws to a close.  I am fortunate enough to be staying here and enjoying this wonderful place until Friday, but I have to admit that I am both done with huge meals for a bit and also already looking forward to next year's Cayman Cookout.

Just my usual Saturday

Slept late and awoke to another perfect day in Grand Cayman paradise.  I forgot to take a picture of the sky, which late in the day clouded over and then rained on us, but for most of the day the weather could not have been better. 

I headed to an 11:30, two-hour, gourmet lunch featuring the food of Chef Dominique Crenn. 

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Each of the four dishes was delicious. My favorite was probably the Harbison cheese tart covered in truffles.


Yes, just another typical Saturday lunch.

I then hurried off to catch a session from Chef Michael Mina and his team, as one does on a lazy Saturday.  I hadn't known much about Mina, but I left the session impressed by his passion, his knowledge, and most of all, his focus on building a great team and giving credit to its members. 

After a short break, I joined a large crowd in listening to Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain tell stories, answer questions, and crack each other up.


I had to do a little work after that, and then I read for a bit before departing for the Emeril vs. (Robert) Irvine dinner, which rain had caused the hotel to move indoors.  There really was no competition, just one room full of people eating Emeril's food--I was there--and another with people enjoying Irvine's.  Emeril spoke to us a few times and mentioned in his first visit that the sold-out dinner (most events here are sold out) was a tribute to his mother, who died this past August.  It contained many dishes she made for their family when he was young.


Like any typical Saturday night dinner, this one included a small band playing some New Orleans jazz.


The evening concluded with a special tenth-anniversary live concert by the rear pool. 


My introverted side shifted into high gear and added the impostor syndrome nitrous booster as I realized that I was nowhere near cool enough to be at this party. 

And that was before the water dancers


and the synchronized swimmers


put on a show for us. 

The live band, a group from Barbados, then took over.  People were dancing and drinking when I left.  I expect they're still at it.

Yeah, just my typical Saturday night.

Way too much of everything

was the Cayman Cookout's motto for today, or so it seems.  Way too much beauty and sun. 

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Way too much fun, with Chef Jose Andres arriving in a helicopter, from which he leapt into the ocean, where a jet-ski picked him up and dragged him to shore.  He made his hour presentation as much fun as always, his manic energy both boosting the crowd and feeding off it.


He also had his team prepare and share with us an absolutely sinful creation:  Jamon Iberico with Ossetra caviar.


Wow, was it delicious.

Way too much food at Chef Sean Brock's delicious but heavy four-course lunch at Andiamo.


His country ham--a special one he'd started some time ago--with local fruits and heirloom peanuts he brought with him was the lightest of the three savory courses, and it was filling.


Way too much heat under the pavilion tent for Chef Daniel Boulud's presentation, which despite being oceanside managed to wilt many of the audience members.  Despite that, Chef Boulud himself stayed calm and gracious throughout the hour. 

I'd like to say Chef Rick Bayless' presentation had way too much information, because he shared an enormous amount of data with us--as well as serving us a great taco--but it really wasn't.  Chef Bayless is a great communicator who comes across as an amazingly nice guy. 

Way too many people at the Barefoot BBQ on the beach, where a wide assortment of food stands served freshly made delicious small treats while a live band played and people ate, drank, and mingled.  Oh, and we watched a guy in a jet pack perform in the dark over the ocean for us. 


All in all, it was a typically great Friday at Cayman Cookout, which is to say, quite an amazing day.

Excess is now the norm

At least for the duration of the Cayman Cookout, too much is the baseline, and we go only up from there.

Today's events began with a caviar and champagne (I skipped the champagne, of course) lunch that Paramount Caviar hosted at Blue by Eric Ripert.  The menu promised many treats

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and the chefs delivered: every dish tasted great, including the dessert, which fortunately for me did not taste too strongly of coffee.  It's hard to complain about a lunch that includes a dish with Ossetra caviar.


Meanwhile, outside the weather rewarded the organizers with a perfect day.


After a short break, I spent an hour sitting under a tent on the beach, listening to and watching a demonstration from Chef Dominique Crenn and her team.  I've never eaten at one of her restaurants, but after tasting her food here, I will hope to do so the next time I'm in San Francisco.

On the way to her demo, a grackle in a nearby bush decided to announce her/his presence.


He clearly was not afraid of me.

Back at the room, the hotel had left this odd treat.


It proved to be surprisingly tasty.

Another break, during which I was lucky enough to enjoy this dusk view. 


It was then time for one of the many Cayman Cookout traditions: the auction and wine fair/buffet dinner.  This is the place at which years ago I bought the week in an Italian villa. The event was the most crowded I've seen it.


Fortunately, the food remained good--though not great--and I managed to escape without buying any stays anywhere in the world.  Though I would have preferred it far less crowded, on balance I have to call it a success.

A trip to Caymana Bay

All the usual weather sources forecasted rain for today, but they were all wrong; it was absolutely beautiful.  This late-afternoon shot shows about as bad a sky as we had today, and no rain fell from it.

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Almost all day, the sky was sunny and mostly clear, with only lovely white cloud tendrils ambling overhead.

Instead of sitting oceanside, I opted to go into Caymana Bay, enjoy some Indian food for lunch, walk a bit through the small local farmers' market, and eat a cup of gelato.  A rooster and hen were also taking the air; you see a lot of chickens around here.


A few folks enjoyed the fountains whose sole purpose seems to be to let people choose to get wet.


After some time doing email and reading, I walked over to Andiamo, the resort's Italian place, for a lovely waterside meal of Caesar salad and pasta.

I love being here, doing little, and (mostly) not feeling guilty about it.

Back in Grand Cayman

It's Cayman Cookout time--well, it will be in a few days--so I'm back in Grand Cayman to enjoy this beautiful place, relax, write, and attend this wonderful foodie event. 

The view from my hotel room window is spectacular, as always. 

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It even looks great at night. 



With the door open, the sound of the waves is a soothing lullaby that turns me first contemplative and then sleepy, in rapid succession. 

This time, I even have access to the hotel's fancy Club Lounge, where food and drinks and quiet are available much of the day.  Here's just one of its several areas.


If you zoom in on the mini-fridge, you can see it's full of Pepsi products.  Fortunately, the hotel knows I prefer Coke Zero and Diet Coke, so they stocked some for me and keep it behind the counter.  It's not that I'm particularly special; it's that the service here is that good.

Just off the lobby, the hotel is keeping the holidays going to the very end.


Dinner was sushi at the hotel's own sushi place, which is a better than average but not outstanding restaurant.  Oddly, the highlight was the miso soup, which is one of the better renditions I've tasted. 


Adding the lime further improved it.

Tomorrow, my plans include sleeping late, eating brunch, going to the water, and not accomplishing much.

I do love this place.

A rare New Year's promise

I don't consider this a resolution; it is a promise:  I will turn into Baen the next Jon and Lobo novel before 2018 ends.

You can bank on it.

For disbelievers:  I'm happy to take bets and give odds. 

On another note, I hope your 2018 is wonderful and full of joy and love!