Restaurant Review: Sliders has well-choreographed cuisine and service in Fernandina | jacksonville.com

Restaurant Review: Sliders has well-choreographed cuisine and service in Fernandina | jacksonville.com

ST. BART’S DIVER SCALLOPS from Chef Michael Bennet of Bimini Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale

ST. BART’S DIVER SCALLOPS from Chef Michael Bennet of Bimini Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale: pExecutive Chef Michael Bennet has recently written a cookbook on glutten free cooking. Michael was kind enough to share his recipe for St. Bart’s Diver Scallops from his first cookbook: In the Land of Misfits, Pirates and Cooks. Chef Bennet offers Gluten Free Dining is South Florida. One of his tips is to, “Eat more [...]/p

Why does anyone go to live in the Caribbean?

It is the weather right?  Not this guy. I grew up in South Florida and have spent most of my life in tropical climes.  I was there to learn more about the food of the Caribbean.

What lures so many is the stunning beauty of the Caribbean Sea.  For centuries these islands have been attracting sailors from all over the globe.  The bygone era’s of pirates and even modern day swashbucklers make use of these waters and the islands that lie in and around these oceans as a refuge from persecution and shelter.

It was a tricky play for me to convince my family to agree to leave the conveniences of the modern world.  Eventually Miami’s gleaming towers of glass and steel were soon replaced by never ending horizons of blue.  The aquatic surrounding our new residence on the Island of Tortola made for glorious panoramas.  Daily scenes of mountainous isles jutting out of an azure sea so vivid you would might think this scene from my porch is an oversize post card.  We have lived our entire lives in the metropolitan landscapes of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and this new Virgin Island seascape was to me implausible. 

In my most recent daydreams of our Tortolan bliss, the seascape of blue was replaced by landscapes of green, yellow, orange and the crimson red of mango, papayas, pineapple and bananas. They line every road, trail and path multiplying copiously on every corner of our island. These small outcroppings were only dwarfed by my encounters with numerous wild groves.  As I pursued my uncovering more on foot, the high altitudes can really affect you. Did I remember to tell you that these islands are mountainous?

Imagine a Caribbean island filled with tropical foods.  A chef’s dream right?  I thought so at first, but found out what a chore it was to harvest these wild groves after climbing a combination of summits.  The altitude unsettled my self confidence.  Being someone that lived his entire life at sea level, this altitude made me confront and rethink my physical stamina.  Just about to give up this week’s attempt at finding another unusual food for dinner, I stumble across a man and his donkey. 

It seems that just a decade before the new millennium, this island had no automobiles and modern roads and donkeys were the best means of transportation.  The sun weathered old man with limited dentistry encounters, (wearing what might be graciously said as) sporting a tattered assembly of cloths and no shoes - told me that he climbs these hills daily to harvest provisions and later ensues that others have been doing this for years.  They gather on Saturday and Sunday at an aged (to put it in a good way) open-air market to sell these wild foods and I should go.  

It is not the amount of people that have crossed your path

But, how the path was accomplished.

Being at the market only a few minutes, I can see that this is the meeting place for “Belongers” to flock.  Not so much to sell their harvest but to be apart of a community.  Belonger’s are people that have lived on the island for a very longtime if not their entire lives.  This island’s populace is all about community. It seems as though everyone knows each other here.  It is unusual for you to walk any street and not be said hello. It is exceedingly strange to me, coming from Miami where nobody knows each other and most people are from someplace else.  The feeling of community is strongest on the island at the marketplace.  All the gathers sell their provisions but it really isn’t as important to make a sale as it is to be with friends.  Our time on this world can be assessed by how many people have crossed your path and affected your life.  In the Caribbean it is different.  It is not the amount of people that have crossed your path but, how the path was accomplished. 

Most Caribbean peoples share the same common history.  Discovering a social backdrop like the marketplace is just the tip of a very large iceberg. This entire social unification of islands and its cultures are different but the same in so many ways.  As a rule Islanders, are overflowing with the same atypical allegiance to its own peoples and their own individualistic cultures.  Each Caribbean island has a potpourri of divergent residents and not everyone originally comes from the same island which they now live.  Jamaicans and the people from “Down Island” (those people coming from the lower islands of the Lesser Antilles) make up Tortola’s diverse, yet the same populace.  It is awe-inspiring to be apart of a community where everyone has commonalities and feels as though they belong to something greater. 

The peoples of these islands not only have a different spirit of life that isn’t seen in America, it is poles apart.

Tortola is the “melting pot” of the Caribbean just as the United States.  Being a financial center, second busiest in the Caribbean, people from every where come here to work.  Commonalities bring people here but it is their uncommon allegiance to their home island that keeps them independently uplifted.  People from “down island” always chatter on about the natural beauty of their home island.  Dominique for example, is always said to be the most beautiful place in the world, with their rainforest and crystal clear rivers leading out to the Oceans where fishing is exceptionally popular.  While other down-islanders brag about their homeland, the Trini’s are always yakking on about Carnival. If anyone knows anything about Carnival in Trinadad, they don’t try to compare their island’s festival to a Trinadad’s.  The people of Jamaica are always talking about how beautifully rich their homeland is in natural attractions and culture. You can’t go anywhere in the Caribbean without running into a “Jerk-Shak”.  Jamaican jerk-shaks are so popular, you would think every Island has the same food.

Food is the separating and a bonding aspect to many cultures.

Being wrong once again Dad didn’t figure in the lack of everyday urban conveniences as a major dilemma for my girls.  They were to use to the modern amenities of Miami.  After one year of being un-accommodate of everyday requirements on this remote island, we returned to the good old US of A and a hip-hip- hooray’s ensued daily by my girls.

excerpt taken from my first cookbook 

"In the Land of Misfits, Pirates and Cooks"

copyright 2009, 2011

 

Chefs writing cookbooks

Chef Michael Bennett a new Cookbook Innovator

Celebrated chef and restaurateur Michael Bennett opened and operated several successful restaurants both in the United States and the Caribbean and yet for the last three years he has written and published three foodie books

February 08, 2012 - Author and Chef Michael Bennett - a culinary innovator.

Miami, Fl. ~ For some of us in the Foodservice industry, a lifestyle penchant is simply in one’s blood.

   Celebrated chef and restaurateur Michael Bennett opened and operated several successful restaurants both in the United States and the Caribbean and yet for the last three years he has written and published three foodie books while still being the main act as the culinary leader of Bimini Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale.

    An acclaimed culinary innovator, featured in international publications and receiving multiple awards from nationally recognized organizations, Chef Michael Bennett has helped to promote South Florida innovative cookery for more than a decade.

    Some cookbook reviewers have thought that Chef Michael Bennett’s innovative ideals have helped revolutionize and shape the public's reflections on and about chefs. He has encouraged people to use Social Media and locally available exotic tropical fruit and vegetables to promote what South Florida and our outlying Caribbean Islands have to offer the experimental home cook. “That is his gig, a monster of cooking facts”, says people that he works with.

    Caribbean-based, healthy cuisine was not always Chef Michael Bennett’s specialty, however since joining with the Rare Fruit Society International of South Florida changed his life forever.  At this time in his career, his cooking style was more Californian-Asian, probably due to the fact that it is based upon a healthier cookery regime. He was accustomed to eating bold, richly flavored foods that are heart-healthy. Later down the road he incorporated a new West Indian style into this new California-Asian food styling at the 26 year old restaurant legend - Left Bank restaurant. This is where he brought in the Caribbean flair and created special dinner events that grabbed the attention of foodies and reporting agencies from around the world.

Writing a New Book, gives a Chef a New Outlook...
    Chef Michael Bennett was also instrumental in changing attitudes towards working in the service industry with his latest book “Culture of Cuisine“ as it will edify young and unsure new chefs on how to advance in this business. This new book describes and highlights accomplishments of multiple South Florida’s “Top Chefs”. It describes how to use Social Media to advance one’s own career and what steps are involved in accomplishing it.

     As social media gets all of the attention these days, it’s important to understand why  customers are turning to social media for customer service and support. While some younger consumers may be more naturally inclined to use social media, the primary reason for people is that they didn't get good customer service to begin with through in person at the table, over the phone, by email or your website. You should focus on preventing problems from happening in the first place and, focus on improving your customer service operation so that customers don’t have to escalate the situation via a social media medium. While you can’t totally control how people feel about your restaurant’s menus and service, you can remove causes of frustration that would cause them to use social media to complain about your products.

     Email is another example of a traditional channel that companies should focus on improving for customer service before exploring social media. Often times, customers send an email to a company to repair a dilemma, but it can takes you a couple days before responding, this is more frustrating to the customer.

     One of the most valuable lessons was how to manage yourself and your staff. “Culture of Cuisine” speaks about what ideals are expected of them by the food and beverage industry. It is how you should represent yourself in this discipline that is covered unanticipated-robustly in the second and third chapters of the book. Every person who wants to work in a restaurant should consider their staffs as part of a large family. Michael is a big proponent of that – to work side by side with staff, get down in the trenches with them and earn their respect that way. To take the reins of leadership is only part of the equation, getting it right by working in every part of the equation makes it full proof.


Author Substantive:
Michael Bennett is a well-known award winning (Chef of the Year-1995) South Florida chef whose clients are a Who’s Who of Media and Sports personalities. He earned critical culinary kudos as the Executive chef for the 26 year-local culinary force Left Bank restaurant. Under his auspices he brought “Best of” (Zagat Survey), Four Stars (AAA) and Four Diamonds (Mobil) to the long-time three star rating. He also holds culinary affiliations with several culinary and food-related organizations. He regularly lectures on South Florida’s “Caribb-ican” cuisine.

Chef Michael's avail
           Like his first cookbook, a GLUTEN-FREE cookery guide - “In the Land of Misfits, Pirates and Cooks” and his second cookbook "Underneath a Cloudless Sky" also features 100 plus tropical / Caribbean influenced recipes, more than 40 Full color recipe pictures and an intriguing re-account about what it is like to be a chef working on the New American Riviera and the Caribbean.


Chef and author Michael Bennett, an acclaimed South Florida chef has made a
name for himself by mixing culinary traditions from different parts of the world and then,
using Social Media to tell others about it.



Follow links for more information:

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/cleanplatecharlie/2011 ...

http://www.examiner.com/cooking-in-miami/now-gluten-free ...

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/cleanplatecharlie/2011 ...

http://www.examiner.com/cooking-in-miami/america-s-first ...

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/cleanplatecharlie/2011/04/caribbean_kimchi_recipe_chef_michael_bennett.php

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/cleanplatecharlie/2011/10/fort_lauderdales_bimini_boatyard_for_boozy_chocolate_cake.php

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/cleanplatecharlie/2011/11/bimini_boatyards_boat_show_bonanza.php

http://www.examiner.com/cooking-in-miami/michael-bennett-chef-of-bimini-boatyard-wins-pairings-tasting-event-review

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