There are over 6,000 food festivals a year, but for the monied, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen has traditionally been the main event. Perhaps not for much longer. The Cayman Cookout, held Jan. 17-20, 2013 at the Ritz-Carlton on Grand Cayman, is rapidly gaining credibility as the place to be seen with a napkin in your lap and a goblet in your hand. The Cookout is no crowd-pleasing cattle call, but an intimate winter-season affair with just 2,000 well-heeled gourmands personally waited on by famous chefs Eric Ripert, José Andrés, and Anthony Bourdain.

At last year’s event, for example, Penta attended the “Caribe Luncheon With Laurent Gras.” The painfully shy and generally little-known Gras is a three-star chef who has quietly worked at some of the finest restaurants in France and America. We dined at long table, à la terrasse, on conch with caviar and Caribbean rock lobster, followed by wahoo, a ginger- and cilantro-infused local fish. The dishes were paired with German Rieslings ranging from mildly sweet to pucker-tart.

A gourmet of epic proportions from Calgary demanded that Chef Gras emerge from the kitchen to sign the cookbook he had penned and was sitting in her purse. Gras dutifully appeared and quietly told Penta that the delicious wahoo we ate had very little fat, which was why “you have to serve it rare. Or else it totally dries out.”

Such face time with the great chefs doesn’t come cheap. Last year, Cayman events ranged from $160 for cocktails and ceviche, to $650 for the gala dinner. Tickets for the 2013 blowout go on sale Oct. 1 on the Web at Caymanislands.ky; red-hot chefs David Kinch and Spike Mendelsohn will be attending this year. Ritz-Carlton’s rooms will start at $956 a night, including fees and taxes.

Richard C. Morais

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