Island Love Fest: Schwartz, Bourdain, Ripert, Trotter & More

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'Twas a real love fest at the Cayman Cookout's guest chef dinner at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink Saturday night to which intrepid, erstwhile Eater Miami correspondent Jackie Sayet--and some chef-driven Tweets--can attest. Saturday's guest chef dinner at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink fast became the place the industry chose to spend their night off... and what a night it was. Speech! Speech! Speech?! Early ticket holders Anthony and Ottavia Bourdain sat with honorary emcee Jose Andres and his wife Patricia, Eric Ripert's wife Sandra, and a late arrival, but not one to be upstaged, Charlie Trotter and his wife Rochelle, who seized her own Steven Slater moment before the evening was through. We can now confirm that Mrs. Trotter is most definitely not married to chef Charlie Palmer. And we won't ever forget it!

Under the glow of Michael Schwartz's signature red silk lanterns, the chef expedited with his friend chef Michel Nischan behind the line to a dining room that was like a group hug, with chef Andres reminding us all that a meal tastes better when you hear from chefs about how and why it came together. So after much applause and glass-clinking atop chairs, Nischan shared what he learned from Friday's foraging trip with Schwartz, like how farmer Patrick Panton embraces the culturally diverse planting methods of the Jamaican and Filipino workers cultivating his land. He grows an impressive array of produce with just five staff, like the baby Asian eggplants Nischan wood oven roasted with tomato ginger sauce and crispy onions for the dinner.

Best sip: Sparkling Pinot Noir, Movia, Puro Rosé, Slovenia 2003, disgorged a la minute by Michael's Genuine sommelier Eric Larkee
Best bites: Pan Roasted Local Queen Snapper succotash of local vegetables, a collaboration between Schwartz and his island chef de cuisine Thomas Tennant, and executive pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith's caramelized pineapple “tart tatin” local coconut water sorbet, bruleed local bananas, Macadamia crisps and lemongrass granita.

NoReservations Jan 15, 11:00pm via Twitter for iPhoneTrouble : left to right: Les madames Bourdain, Trotter, friend, Ripert, et Andres.

http://twitter.com/NoReservations/status/26493336713953281
http://yfrog.com/h4zewhj

OttaviaBourdain Jan 15, 11:08pm via TweetDeck@MGFD_GCM best dinner ever!!!

@chefjoseandres José Andréshttp://twitpic.com/3qadme - @mayssamaha @ericripert @NoReservations Cayman is a magic plc I'm about to propose eric + Bourdain