Cook it!: ICEx St Lucia

A taste of the Caribbean at the Restaurant at Drakes

We eat out in so many different ways. Some of us eat out because we are crazy about good food and fascinated by different styles of cuisine. Some of us eat out because we are celebrating a birthday or anniversary. Some of us eat out for convenience, a few even because they cannot cook or perhaps be bothered to cook. Then there are those that see food merely as fuel, this I fail to understand but that’s just me, and I am certain that I will not offend them as they are unlikely to have read this far.
I love to eat in and I love to eat out – but even eating out has changed. These days we have so many new opportunities to experience interesting foods, we have food festivals, farmers markets, master-classes, pop-up restaurants, supper clubs… the options grow at an almost alarming rate.
My favourite dining experiences right now are themed dinners. Events staged by restaurants that feature or celebrate something special, whether it be a seasonal ingredient, a special wine event or a guest chef.

At the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival we have championed dinners that feature local produce, local and international wines and great chefs. With dinners where three chefs share the kitchen and together create one dinner course by course to dinners that welcome chefs from across the world, we have created events that have become hugely popular and brought together lovers of great food and great cuisine.
The International Chef Exchange project has been central to this and here at Latest I have been able to make seven hour long TV programmes that showcase the very best of what Brighton & Hove has to offer. The shows have become part of the evidence that explains why the city has knocked London off the number one spot for food-loving visitors according to a survey run by the prestigious magazine Condé Nast Traveller.

The project continues, there is a final episode of the TV show shot in Vancouver still to be screened and in August The Restaurant at Drakes will host a new exchange: International Chef Exchange St Lucia. Drakes will welcome chef Craig Jones from Cap Maison in St Lucia to their excellent restaurant for one night only for the next International Chef Exchange.
Craig will be preparing a St Lucian-themed meal, assisted by Drake’s own head chef Andy MacKenzie so you can expect fine dining Caribbean style!
The menu sounds so tempting; ceviche of island conch, yellow fin tuna and mango balsamic dressing followed by tortellini of Caribbean shrimps with a lemon grass, lime leaf and coconut nage, then pan roasted oxtail with curried pumpkins, caramelised plantains and crispy okra. Finally there is Rabot Estate chocolate truffle, avocado ice-cream, banana foam and spiced doughnuts.
At £75 per person the price includes pre dinner St. Lucian Rum Punch, the amuse bouche and 3 fine dining courses, wine pairing, coffee & truffles and Cap Maison’s very special Solera blended rum to finish. Add all that up and once again it has to be great value for what promises to be a great evening of fine food, fine wine and good company
International Chef Exchange ST Lucia, The Restaurant at Drakes, Wednesday 26th August 2015
Dinner served at 19.30
Tickets bookable at
drakesofbrighton.com or
brightonfoodfestival.com
Drakes
43-44 Marine Parade
Brighton BN2 1PE
01273 696934