MIXIN' MATTERS

the search for the most talented chefs and bartenders to represent T&T came to an end with a... hmm... bang doesn't seem right to say as we're talking about cocktails. let's go with SPLASH! day 2 of the THRTA food & beverage competition was the mixology round in which 18 bartenders (minus one who unfortunately passed away before the competition) competed for the 1 coveted spot on the team. now, just to give a quick insight as to why it's such a big deal, the T&T team is the team to beat at the annual TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN competition. last year in miami, the team won gold and master mixologist daniyel jones won prizes for best rum drink, best vodka drink and most creative cocktail overall. in other words, we have it goin' on.

anyway, the competitors worked 3 at a time (with one group of 2) and had 4 minutes to complete 2 glasses of their original cocktails. one for the judges/samples and one for display. and yes, the audience got samples too. a good competition to be at if only for that.

there were 3 rounds. in the first round, the bartenders got to prep their garnishes before preparing a rum drink and likewise in the 2nd round for a vodka drink. the top 6 competitors from these two rounds went on to the final round in which they had to produce 2 glasses of their unique creations from a mystery bar of ingredients. they were given 15 minutes to submit a recipe for their cocktails, then 10 minutes to execute it before the judges.

though the bartenders exhibited a sense of style in their presentations, some even going as far as describing the processes they were using, this wasn't a flair competition. the judges were focused on the classic cocktail and the methodology behind them.

once again, people following the competition over the years commented that the level this year was remarkably high. i guess we came in at a good time. now we did get shots of the drinks and such and footage to put the names to the faces, but we have to hold off on the ingredients for now. can't sell out the blends before the competition. it's serious we tell yuh! check them out (click on the slideshow to view photos):

the final 6 boiled down to (in no specific order) daniyel jones, amanda richards, carla cupid, abiola jules, clinton ramdhan and asha beharry.

as we mentioned, we have to hold off on the recipes for now, but maybe when they announce the winners in 2 weeks, we'll see what we can gather. if not, we'll update the blog after the competition when things aren't so secret. it was an exciting time. our first mixology competition was everything that we expected. check out the vid and see the stars in action:

WHAT'S LE BRUNCH?

it's a refreshing thing when someone says they're doing something different and you really see the difference. even though a growing number of spots in T&T offer brunch these days, brunch isn't all that common (for example, this brunch started swinging at about half 1! i doh think we get it yet). so the idea of a brunch party is like a double whammy to most. different kinda party... different vibe of party... different time of party. now truth be told, i'm more of a limer than a clubber (got that out my system very early in the game), so i don't know how powerful my words are in this department. but to answer the question i've been getting since mentioning it on twitter, le brunch is the kinda scene i will attend. starts at 11. serves nice food for brunch. alcohol flowing. music in the background. friends to link up with and new people to meet. de occasional boogie if it come up. i good wid dat. at least while i was there, it was just a cool scene in a cool place.

apparently this was the 2nd le brunch. ah guess they got most of the kinks worked out, because i don't really have anything to complain about. chaud was a good venue for the intimate crowd, with the right kinda ambiance for an event like that. and with robert de gannes on board, yuh know yuh could expect some digital fun, like a live twitter feed updating on big screens.

this pic has no real significance to this entry. maybe somebody ordered it or got it as a gift or something, because i didn't see vodka on the menu. however i needed to document this to remind me to ask the question "aye! how come i doh have a cool ketel one bucket wid a bottle of vodka in my house?" ah mean, come on!!

not that i was lacking likka anyway. the media table was well taken care of. well, every table was well taken care of, but we were close to the bar so our drinks were coming super fast. on the drinks menu there was FRANZIA sangria which i only had much later on hence no pic. not really a sangria lover anyway. but this MT GAY rum punch was nice. the trick was to ask for a splash of bitters in it.

and there were SPERONE mimosas too. plus there was a MONSTER bar outside serving samples of different mixes. in other words, alcohol was abundant up in dis.

but on to what i really went for. the brunch itself. well of course, it's a food blog. they were wise enough to prepare special media plates so we could sample more than one of the menu items prepared by chef kahlid mohammed, the brain child behind chaud. we got a platter with 5 of the 7 options available which excluded a wild mushroom frittata with porcini sauce and a field greens salad, as well as a grilled tofu & vegetable kebab with tabbouleh salad and hummus.

these were just samples. the actual plate was bigger than this. decent helpings for a brunch. before i found out we were getting samples of more than one item, i selected this one. bangers and mash, served with mushy peas and some english mustard. i was right. it was the one i enjoyed the most. a well made sausage over creamy mashed potatoes. tasty.

also good was the bbq shrimp & white corn grits. the shrimp was the star here. real nice guava bbq flavour. points.

now i am very funny with eggs. freakishly funny some might say. so this dish, though it looked interesting and well executed, wasn't really my thing. smoked salmon with a poached egg, baby spinach and hollandaise sauce on an english muffin. i had everything but the egg, so i'd say i didn't really experience the dish. the remaining elements were ok though.

again my preferences came into play. i couldn't remember being asked about the temperature of my meat, but i prefer a medium to well piece of beef. the beef on my plate was more on the rare side. it was roast prime with a cheddar popover served with a traditional gravy and horseradish foam. not really my thing.

a lot of people were wowed by the idea of the chicken & waffles with spiced honey sauce. even i was. but i think the idea created a different expectation from what was plated. not that it didn't taste great. it did. it just wasn't the chicken & waffles i was thinking about. that being said, not a soul on the table left anything back on the plate. the spices gave it a kinda jerk flavour and the well executed waffle played a nice supporting role.

you can expect some swag from an event like this. what i didn't expect was to get one of the most suggestive swag bags i've ever come across. a shot of beefeater gin, some blue waters, a small colgate, a nature valley granola bar (nutty), 2 durex condoms, eclipse gum, monster coffee energy drink, a 15% off coupon for the naughty grape and a 10% off discount card for the lulu-rue boutique. according to cheryl lala's response to my twitter post "subtle like a ton of bricks!"

all in all, i think it was a nice way to spend a sunday. nice food, nice drinks, nice vibes. the team mentioned that they are trying to do 3 per year. i wouldn't mind if they have it in the same spot. chaud works. and if people really do make it le brunch and not le late lunch by being seated at 11 would be cool too. something different... good show. keep it up.

A FUN FRIDAY @ FANATIC

we've been hearing about fanatic friday for a while now, so when our friends at FKS invited us to our first one, there was no way we were going to say no.

like most of the events in this unique space, this was an interactive affair that featured cocktails and tapas with mixologist hans crosby and chef shelton alexis 'the orgasmic chef'.

so in one corner, hans mixed up some tasty cocktails and refilled drinks all night.

we couldn't decide which was more fun. having the drinks or looking at hans make them.

but he wasn't just making drinks. while he poured his magic, he was giving us a step by step demonstration. an education in mixology.

and of course, he brought some volunteers up to practice what he was just preaching.

as it turned out, the crowd was full of quick learners who got it shaking in no time.

meanwhile, tapas were coming along on chef shelton's side. he had a lot in store for us.

tasty little bites like this fried plantain with spinach and feta cheese that were as delicious...

as they were beautiful to look at.

lots of different little things to dip like fried breadfruit.

and lots of things to dip them in, like this tangy white fish sauce.

and this tangy pommecythere dip.

not to mention these conch fritters with this spicy sauce.

anyway, back on the cocktails side, it became apparent to the crowd why hans was giving all the instructions. there was a cocktail competition and guess who was one of the 3 judges? that's right, this lovely lady in white.

oh yeah, i was also a judge. fun times.

so basically there were 4 contestants who were free to use whatever ingredients they wished to concoct their unique cocktail. the ladies went first.

then the guys stepped up to the plate.

the submissions were actually good. the winning submission (2nd from the right) tasted like something i would order at a bar. grapes and kiwi with vodka for the win. it was a fitting way to bring the evening to a close though. all in all, fanatic friday was a lot of fun. i'm sure this isn't going to be my last.

TAKE ONE FOR ARTHUR!

for guinness drinkers like us, thursday the 22nd september was kinda like christmas.

ok, we didn't have trees and parang, but on arthur guinness day, we did have somewhat of a sleigh taking gifts around to good little boys and girls. that is of course if your imagination allows you to see a mazda hatch back as a sleigh, good little boys and girls as friends and random guinness drinkers and gifts as beastly cold guinness.

just call me santa claus and it all works. we drove around delivering bottles of the cold dark stuff to make sure more trinis celebrated arthur guinness day with the rest of the world. through the day up to 17:59... which is 1 minute to 6. it was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. why not yuh friendly internet food blog right? if we could have covered the whole country we would have, but product, energy and gas were limited resources yesterday. anyway, we had a good time doing it. take a look at some of what went on:

here's to arthur guinness from BITTT and the detnator family.

DIY... drinks it yuhself

i adopted this new rule that is saving me a lot of money. i decided that i would only purchase meals that for one reason or the other are more efficient (or satisfying) to pay someone else to make. that pretty much leaves wings roti, santa cruz roti, sushi for now and pizza because i'm not that good with flour. i left room for the occasional treat, but for the most part, i'm making my meals.

i've taken the same approach with drinks. i mean, i have no real problem with enjoying the ambiance of a tgi or a samaan bar once in a while, but that's all i'm letting it go to these days. once in a while. maybe i'll head out just for a little change of scenery, but for the most part, i'm drinking at home.

when it comes to alco, i've done the royal extra thing, the guinness thing, absolute and johnnie. then i entered a gin mode after being introduced to the simple pleasure of a gin and tonic with a wedge of lime.

but i met these guys recently. rum isn't my thing, but these flavored rums ain't half bad for sips at home. apple, raspberry and citrus.

the razz, is nice with apple juice and two caps of lemon juice over ice.

cranberry and bacardi apple worked for me.

the limon actually helped me eliminate another thing off my "willing-to-spring-for" list. helium shots. the first time i had one was at mor vino. they use absinthe, but i thought... well... rum can flame too.

they also use blue curacao, but i opted for amaretto.

so what you do is swirl the alco around the glass because you're goin to blaze it. yeah. fire.

like so. it takes a little doing to get it started. just hold the fire in a bit and it will start spreading over the liquid.

when it does, place the glass on the mouth of the other like this and use the base to rotate it gently. i guess this is a good time to mention that you want to use something like a brandy glass with that curve and a base that would allow you to hold it when it gets hot, as well as anything like a round whiskey glass or something, so that you can do this. there's another reason why you need this combo. you'll see soon.

so after you blaze it for a while, maybe about 10... 15 seconds, (i jus go until i start to feel scared that the heat will break the glass or something) pour the flaming liquid into the waiting amaretto.

as soon as you pour the liquid out, cover it like so. oh! this is the other reason you need that glass combo. yeah so, what you're doing here is trapping the vapors. here comes the fun part!

take this shot by inhaling the vapors then knocking the drink back. to do that, get a straw and tear a small hole in a napkin. place the glass quickly on the napkin...

cover the mouth of the glass, insert straw and suck out the vapors...

then shoot dat!! better tasting than the ones i had on the outside... not to mention cheaper, but just as much fun.

there's also a coconut flavor that i think i'll pick up sometime. i anticipate a malabu-ish taste, which is why i didn't pick it up this time. but so far, bacardi gets the thumbs up.

leh we guzzle.