Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
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
Saturday, March 24, 2012
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
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Michael Bennett, chef of Bimini Boatyard wins “Pairings” tasting event in Fort Lauderdale.
For
Immediate Release
September 18th, 2011
South Florida
September 18th, 2011
South Florida
Chef Michael Bennett, chef of Bimini Boatyard
wins “Pairings” tasting event in Fort Lauderdale.
Miami, Florida ~ Chef and Author of three cookbooks, Michael
Bennett the Executive chef of Fort Lauderdale’s Bimini Boatyard, judged “Best
Overall” by New Times magazine.
Author
and Chef Michael Bennett has been Bimini
Boatyard’s chef ever since he returned to the U.S. from his three year expedition
working through the Caribbean. Chef Michael Bennett tells a story about the foods
of the Caribbean through his dish - that won “Best Overall” recipe - at
this premiere Fort Lauderdale foodie event.
Chef
Michael describes his Caribbean Escolar as an ode to the
Caribbean nations he has visited. Meaning; each part of this recipe represents
a vast array of Caribbean cultures via the ingredients that he uses. Escolar is
a white tuna and it is found in the waters off Florida’s west coast and the
waters around Mexico’s Pacific Ocean. First chef Michael dusts the Escolar fillet
with a spice rub composed of a Caribbean spice palette of; pink and green
peppercorns, mace, ginger and “just
enough of a good thing” - cocoa. “It is tribute to the western Caribbean’s Incan
culture”, says Chef Michael Bennett. The actual addition of Cocoa was made to
heighten the flavor profile of the north Florida Oak grilling of the Escolar.
As the fish cooks, it
absorbs the flavors from the grilling and to counteract the grilling char he
added a French Caribbean beloved flavoring, Frangelico in the beurre blanc that
he uses to nappe the Escolar. Of course,
Frangelico has a great flavor profile for dessert chefs, but Chef Michael has
proved that Frangelico is not just for Crème
Anglaise anymore. “The richness of Escolar and the Frangelico Beurre Blanc calls to me for balance
this dish with an acidic yin and yang”, says Chef Michael. So he pairs
the dish with a Kimchee made from a characteristic Caribbean market basket,
consisting of papaya and pineapple. Chef Michael Bennett says, “It goes a long
way to bring this dish into the Caribbean cuisine realm and also acts as the
perfect foil to the Escolar’s richness, along with the flavor profile balance”.
Chef Michael also added
a texture related counter-balance with the crunch
of Tobacco onions. The ideal to add texture balance was to revise a classic Caribbean cooking premise and present the Escolar in a snappier,
more memorable, exciting and groomed manner. The notion of total plate
counter-balance was in vogue back in the early '90s. Nouvelle
cuisine taught
us well. Small
portions of exceptionaly subsequent plate oppose-balances and beautiful
food, is now the model rather
than the exception
About Chef and Author Michael Bennett:
Chef Michael Bennett’s first cookbook, "In the Land of Misfits, Pirates and Cooks", has been revised to be 100 percent Gluten-Free.This cookbook is the result of chef Michael Bennett’s equating and collaborating hundreds of years of compelling Caribbean food and cookery elements with a Gluten-free scope. This book is overflowing with a scrumptious mix of seasoning blends and marinades, salads, appetizers and entrees written in a way where you are the aspirant chef and, YOU can compose or alter recipes while atop the stove.
The modern metropolitan recipe styling captures a distinct local flavor, one that illustrates a multi-national cookery heritage. Vibrant photography, easy to use design, one-of-a-kind recipe flow, interesting and helpful sidebars and an unique concept of using QR (Quick Response) codes, blend to create the perfect sampling of what this modernized, Caribbean based cookery style has to offer. This Gluten-free cookbook was developed as a way of changing the idea that Caribbean cuisine is only "curry powder" or a "jerk glaze" repertoire.
Chef Michael
asserts that after working as a chef for the past four years in applaudable
Caribbean dining venues, each has played an important role in the successful
dispatch of this book. Michael's travel and oeuvre throughout the Caribbean,
whether on a British, American, French or Spanish island nations, has helped
Michael to shape this unprecedented recipe collection.
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.
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.
About The Professional Image, Inc.
The Professional Image was founded in 1991 and as a “budding” Chef/Author services provider for chefs - and soon to be authors, has helped to publish food-related articles and books on a regional and national basis. The Professional Image is based in South Florida with outposts throughout the Caribbean. TPI provides chef/authors with direct and personal access to quick, quality orientated publication in trade paperback, custom leather-bound, and full-color formats.
For more information, please visit http://www.foodbrats.com and
E-mail: :the_professional_image@yahoo.com
or call at 1-305-851-3441, to receive a free publishing
estimate.
The Professional Image only publishes
Cookbooks.
Creative Director/Art Director/Designer:
Michael Bennett
Chief Photographer:
J.Christopher photography
Food Stylists: Michael Bennett
Editor-in-Chief: Eileen Clark
Creative Director/Art Director/Designer:
Michael Bennett
Chief Photographer:
J.Christopher photography
Food Stylists: Michael Bennett
Editor-in-Chief: Eileen Clark
###
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