Breaking Bread

I was not aware that there was yet another chef competition on yet another cable channel.
Firstly because I haven't figured out how cable works...where do I get this cable? Does it come in different shades?
Secondly because in Italy chefs think they already are the "fairest of them all" so a competition would confuse them greatly.

I was cruising in Europe with my hubby, when I discovered that on the on board free-on-demand channel they were offering the whole latest season of "Top Chef".
I was not taken by the title.
Top Chef, Tops of the Pops, Top Gear...Top Gun? Top Shelf?
But after the third day of lazing around and indulging my gluttony, I decided that I need to broaden my horizons and watch something on TV. Trust me when you are on a cruise and EVERYTHING is done for you, any kind of commitment seems a mountain to climb. So I put on my brain hiking boots and selected Top Chef season 11, Episode 1.
It was love at first sight.
Actually obsession at first sight.
The mixture of passionate professional cooks and the occasional unpolished ones was very appealing.
Not to mention the America's next top model hosting the program. I am referring to Padma Lakshmi.
The lady that made chopping onions as glamorous as posing for Harper's Bazaar. Actually I think she might have done both lately and with the same effortless stance.

Padma.

 I wish I looked like that while eating a sticky rib...I am sure I would resemble Hannibal Lecter more than anything...And mind you she is doing it while arranged on white sheets.
The other chefs had to pack their knifes if eliminated, Padma packs her brushes. Not even. Her brushes spontaneously follow her forming an adoring congregation.
And she eats too. Not like those "other" ladies who eat their food with that expression on their faces, like they were perpetually smelling a fart. Padma eats and burns her food simultaneously. As I said effortlessly.
The way she talks tops it all off. Like caramel in a Banoffee pie. She sounds sweet and polite even when she is telling a chef that if he doesn't season his dish properly next time, she will chop his head off ( together with the chive ). She is the woman you would love to hate, but you can't.You'd probably prefer to eat her...
Good for you Padma. I love you. I think I will be you next Halloween.

Another lady I fell head over heels for was a contestant in the competition. She is a wonderful Saint Lucia native and ( to my utter delight ) lives in Miami! Her name is Nina Compton and I couldn't get enough of her. She has trained in French, Caribbean and Italian kitchens.
Self-proclaimed "gnocchi queen", strongly believes one should enjoy the moment whenever they are cooking. And I did enjoy every moment of her cooking! She has a "hands on" attitude that I find very attractive in a woman. And she wears Converse All Stars sneakers with "chef Nina" embroidered on them. But she looks as good in a black Gucci number as when she is wearing her chef coat. Not as Vogue as Padma but as believable.
A very good friend of ours whom we will call from now on Holy Trinity ( "HT". Because she has the looks, the brains, and the right disposition ) knows my hubby and I well.
She sent this to us last week:

Nina Compton pop up dinner flyer.

When I went online and looked up what this "Breaking Bread" picture conveyed I almost had a micro stroke. Nina was hosting and cooking a one time only pop up dinner event at "Cafe Mistral" in South Beach on Monday the First of December.
Needless to say I got on the booking of a table like a bridezilla on the booking of her wedding venue. I called the restaurant and the hostess told me that the lady responsible for the evening was gonna call me shortly to confirm availability. Okeeeey?!?
15 minutes later my phone rings.
It was THE chef Nina calling me to confirm the reservation and to become my new BFF ( best friend forever ).
Second mini stroke of the day.
But I managed to keep my composure.
Good for me.

Monday came and off we went, hubby, Holy Trinity and I to enjoy Nina's five-course meal of "refined Caribbean" fare. And also to geek out on her big time. I was gonna get on her like an Apple devotee would get on the latest iPhone. A bit desperate but sincere.
Cafe Mistral really fits Nina's easy going ways and authentic flair

Mirror, mirror on the wall..

The view from my seat.

And up on the mezzanine where the kitchen is located there she was. Our Caribbean cook extraordinaire. Our caramel food goddess. Looking very at ease even when maneuvering in an unfamiliar kitchen.

Chef Nina Compton

My new BFF

I had to use lots of restraint not to run up the stairs and be uncool...
Instead we got seated and ordered our usual round of Prosecco. We like our bubbles. They make us happy.
Next to our table a delightful couple in their sixties. Peter and Robin. She had a very Elaine Stritch quality about her. Minus the alcohol abuse. And she was wearing a classy 80's linen jumper that was utterly delicious.

Elaine/Robin

They are "professional travelers" and turned out they have cruised on the same line I cruised when I found out about Top Chef. And they have visited my birth place back in Italy. The exact town. Small world.
Peter complimented my necklace so I have now two more BFF and I can't wait to take residence in their penthouse. But they don't know about it yet.

The menu was printed in a very simple manner, a very Caribbean laid back fashion.

The Breaking Bred Menu.

Needless to say it was just delectable.
All of it.
Ambrosial even.
Yes, because food and dining experience must come together like a hot summer day and a glass of frozen white wine spritzer. On their own they are good but together they win the cake. Pun intended.

THE MENU

Conch and Abalone Croquette,
pickled mango gribiche.

Even the shell it came in was pretty. Too bad the gribiche would have been to difficult to wipe off otherwise I would have gladly shoved it in my LV purse. I am not above a tacky souvenir.

Yellowtail Snapper & Aji Amarillo Cheviche.

The way the fish was arranged reminded me of the shape of the island of
Saint Lucia. Very fitting considering our chef's origins.
And it tasted like heaven. Heaven Lucia.

Florida Seafood Boil, potato crema, jerk corn.

The best thing about this presentation was the lime and the spices it was dipped in. It was like biting into an island party. Tangy and spicy.
Parental guidance advised.

Curried Baby Goat & 
Sweet Plantain Gnocchi.

Nina's signature preparation.
Gnocchi, gnocchi, gnocchi.
Mother back in Italy would not have been happy.
They were as good as hers. She would have probably said that they weren't all of the same size...Bummer for mother.

Roasted Pineapple, egg crema, rum jus.

We were doing the Caribbean thing, rum was in order.
And since Nina prefers a cheese course at the end of a meal ( I know her so well already ) this was ideal. Not too sweet, but definitely island style. 










But the best part of the whole evening was Chef Nina coming to say hello to each table.
But don't worry readers I did not make a fool of myself. My mouth did it for me.
The moment she said "Hi I am Nina" the Pandora's Box got opened. I told her the whole story of how I got to know her on the TV show and I proceeded to inform her that she should have won the competition and not the other boy chef with the hair-raising laugh. She just kept looking at me trying to not look petrified by my verbal dysentery.
I suppose a nice "great dinner tonight" would have been enough, but I don't do enough, I do plenty.

I wanted to take a picture with her, but by the time we were done the second rush of patrons arrived.
Nina went back to the mezzanine kitchen, on the top of her culinary Olympus where she belongs.

We had a lovely night.
An authentic dinner experience, with an authentic cuisine master.

And I would have seconds and thirds of "authentic" every night.

Ciao for now