Chef’s Stories

With the food & beverage industry being one of the hardest hit in 2020, Chef Federico Destro of Bacaro, decided to create an event that allows Cayman’s foodies get up close and personal with the island’s best chefs. He’s teamed up with 12 well-known chefs on island to create a one-of-a-kind event to support and highlight chefs and their businesses. The event price includes unlimited drinks, live music and 12 chef stations with 2 dishes each ie 24 bites. With plans to have multiple “episodes” over the coming months, I’ll be highlighting each of them once they occur.

Episode 1: Childhood Memories

The inaugural event for this series allowed the chefs to turn back time and treat guests to their favourite culinary childhood memories that were classically made with a few cheffed up versions. Some of the standouts for the night included Chef Jonathan Rivard’s (Steak Social) Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich, Chef Roman Kleinrath’s (Dining at Home) Kaese [German Cheese] Spaetzle, Chef Federico’s (Bacaro) Gnocchi, Chef Eliot Wilkie (Chef Eliot)’s spin on a Chicken Liver Pâté, and Chef Maureen “Mo” Cubbon’s (Best Life Culinary) Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese. Check out some of the dishes below to see what we else we enjoyed!

Episode 2: First Day At Work

The second round of Chef’s Stories took place on February 27th 2021 with a dozen of Cayman’s best chefs telling us about their ‘first day at work’ through food. This event once again brought chefs out of the kitchen and face-to-face with some of their biggest fans who got to learn more about them through their stories. Some chefs chose dishes that their first restaurant was known for, such as Chef Thomas Tennant’s shrimp version of a Lobster Thermidor, whilst others went another direction by using ingredients that they were in charge of prepping, like Chef Paul Furze with his Tuna Tartare. Needless to say a lot of delicious food was had along with a selection of cocktails, beers and wines. Some of my favourites included Chef Dwayne Brady’s (Arbutus Gallery) Cayman Style Beef with Potato Salad & Fried Plantain, Chef John Herzog’s (Agua) thinly sliced Pork Sandwiches, Chef Federico Destro’s (Bàcaro) Oricchiette Primavera and Chef Joe Hughes’ (The Bird) Pea-inspired canapé.

Chelsea Tennant