Dining at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman: a new experience in the Caribbean
Two restaurants by Le Bernardin chef, Eric Ripert, headline an incomparable roster of food and drink venues
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (January 2, 2006) – With two restaurants created by Eric Ripert, one of the world’s top-rated chefs, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman represents a dramatically new dining experience for the Cayman Islands and the entire Caribbean. Committed to providing the most discerning global travellers with a level of quality and creativity rarely found in the islands, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman has achieved a level of culinary excellence to rival any resort in the world.
Born in Antibes, France, Eric Ripert’s illustrious career includes tenure at La Tour D’Argent, the Michelin three-star Jamin, the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC, and work in New York with David Bouley. Under Ripert's direction, Le Bernardin, where he became chef in 1994, has been named the number one restaurant in New York and recently earned the coveted Michelin three-star designation in the company’s first rating of New York’s restaurants.
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman has five restaurants supervised by executive chef Eric Scuiller, who comes to the Cayman Islands from the Beverly Hills Hotel in California. In addition to the Beverly Hills Hotel, Eric Scuiller has held executive chef positions at The Inverness Hotel and Golf Club in Denver and at Paris, Las Vegas where he was an architect of that city’s fine dining revolution in the 1990s. He also worked at Coccolaba Plantation Resort on Anguilla. A master chef of France, Scuiller’s responsibilities at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman include oversight of all the resort’s restaurants, all banquet services and culinary operations, and management of a staff of 150.
Richard Brower was named sous chef at Le Bernardin in 2000 after joining the restaurant in 1998. He began his career at the Huntington Hilton Hotel on Long Island and also worked at Seasons Resort and Conference Center, the North St Grill, Tapika and Sign of the Dove before joining Le Bernardin. Richard Brower serves as chef de cuisine for both Blue and Periwinkle by Eric Ripert.
BLUE BY ERIC RIPERT
Blue by Eric Ripert is both a culinary journey into the deep transparent Caribbean waters and a fine dining discovery of seafood. Fish is elevated from the perfect to the sublime when every activity in the kitchen centers on maximizing the promise of its quality and freshness. Only the finest olive oils and most delicate herb-infused flavourings are allowed to mingle with fish that has travelled from boat to plate inside 24 hours.
In the tradition of Le Bernardin, Blue offers a three-course prix fixe menu as well as a chef’s tasting menu. Selections include chilled spiny lobster in a coconut-ginger soup with avocado and mango, and mahi-mahi with apple, cucumber and caper salad with tomato-verbena gazpacho and aioli crab cake melting in a rich lobster saffron broth with poached shrimp and croutons.
Blue also features grill selections of wahoo, swordfish, tuna, lamb and New York strip marinated in herbes de Provence and extra virgin olive oil. These grill favourites can be paired with intriguing sauces such as rich coconut curry broth or passion fruit béarnaise.
The restaurant seats 122 guests (82 in the dining room; 40 on the terrace). In addition, a semi-private room accommodates groups of 30 to 40 people and a private dining room accommodates 10.
PERIWINKLE BY ERIC RIPERT
Whimsically named for both the bluish color and the tiny mollusk that lives on land but must stay very near to the sea in order to thrive, Periwinkle by Eric Ripert pays homage to the pleasures of simply prepared seafood.
Recalling Ripert’s Andorran and Provençale heritage, the palette of this alfresco grill is shaped by subtle flavourings and creative pairings. The menu includes moules mariniere, mussels and chorizo steamed in white wine and herbs, watermelon salad with buffalo mozzarella, chile oil and basil, and coconut marinated shrimp ceviche with mango, fresh chiles and herbs.
Like Blue, Ripert’s fine dining restaurant, Periwinkle, offers inventive grill selections. Yellowfin tuna can be accented with a mango mostarda and accompanied by tomato Provencal. A skirt steak with white truffle aioli is grounded by parmesan french fries.
Desserts at Periwinkle epitomize the restaurant’s culinary creativity. A fried banana tempura is presented with chocolate, caramel and citrus dipping sauces. Coconut tapioca is topped with passion fruit sorbet and basil syrup.
Periwinkle seats 130, with approximately half the seating covered.
7 PRIME CUTS & SUNSETS
Warm and welcoming with a dash of West Indian spice, 7 takes its simple name from the Caribbean’s most famous beach that lies right outside its door.
7 Prime Cuts & Sunsets serves a daily a-la-carte breakfast and buffet featuring seven signature cappuccinos, including white chocolate, hazelnut, passion fruit and guava, as well as a full lunch menu. Guests can choose to dine in the light-filled dining room or on the terrace overlooking Seven Mile Beach and the Caribbean Sea.
In the evening, 7 is home to the Caribbean’s finest steaks. The menu is underscored with island influences, proving that steak and potatoes is anything but expected with seven selections in every category. Offering only the highest quality cuts, the chefs of 7 perfectly season them with a selection of sea salts from either the sea surrounding Cayman or international waters. Guests can also choose from seven piquant sauces. Creative starches include wasabi mashed potatoes, traditional Caribbean peas and rice, and beer-battered onion rings. Seafood lovers need not abstain as they have a selection of local catches and perfectly matched delicate sauces.
7 Prime Cuts & Sunsets seats 178, with 100 seats indoors.
SILVER PALM LOUNGE
Caribbean elegance reigns in the lounge named for the Cayman Islands’ national tree, the silver thatch palm. Upon passing through the reception area of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, guests are drawn to soaring arched windows and a view of waterways and fairways punctuated with lush tropical blooms. Silver Palm offers a broad range of culinary experiences. Guests can enjoy light fare from citrus conch salad to international caviars to foie gras infused with Cuban rum. On Saturdays Silver Palm hosts a traditional tea to honour the Cayman Islands’ status as a British Overseas Protected Territory.
To the right of the lounge, the Silver Palm Wine Bar features fine champagnes, a couvenet with an extensive selection of wine by the glass and a martini luge that dramatically dispenses perfectly chilled cocktails. The ladies and gentlemen of Silver Palm can make recommendations of rare vintages complemented by a card highlighting the complex features of the grape.
At the opposite end of Silver Palm, a menu of silver-themed cocktails enlivens the relaxing Silver Palm Bar. Featuring a humidor stocked with hand-rolled Cuban cigars and a smoking terrace that faces northeast towards Havana, Silver Palm pays homage to all the sensory pleasures of the western Caribbean.
BAR JACK
Sure to become Grand Cayman’s number one sunset vantage point, Bar Jack pool bar and grill is poised right at the widest stretch of Seven Mile Beach. Named for the silvery reef fish so plentiful offshore, the casual restaurant serves cocktails and refreshments against a lively but soothing beat, with soft jazz and calypso offered in the evenings.
For more information contact the resort at (345) 943-9000 or to make reservations call 1- 800-241-3333 in North America or 0800 234 000 in the United Kingdom.
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