The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island held its inaugural Amelia Island Cookout on Oct. 21 and it was a day full of beautiful weather and delectable food.
Although it was just the first year the event was being held, the Ritz-Carlton hoped it would be something that becomes a community tradition for years to come and its inaugural year left no doubt that there is an interest surrounding it.
There was a bevy of food vendors lined up around the resort’s oceanfront lawn and under a giant canopy that allowed for a nice breeze but also shielded guests from the sun and rain if needed.
However, the weather remained immaculate and the view of the Atlantic Ocean while eating some of the finest cuisine from around the country proved to be the perfect combination.
The food on hand including everything from Adana kebab, which was traditional ground lamb skewers with red onion and sumac prepared by chef Okan Kizilbayir of the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island’s own restaurant Salt, to whole hog BBQ sliders topped with pork cracklings and Gesus Palomino candied jalapenos by pitmaster Tank Jackson of Holy City Hogs in South Carolina, and grilled octopus with sweet plantain croquettes and chorizo coconut crema cooked by chef David Echeverry at David’s Restaurant & Lounge in Fernandina Beach.
It was important for the event to showcase a local flare to go with some of the top chefs nationally, especially if it meant capturing the local vibe of Amelia Island with “local legends,” as Joe Murphy, director of marketing with The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, calls them.
As are the various parts of the First Coast region, there are different personalities about these areas that make them unique, and it stems from the people that live in those areas.
Capturing the unique Amelia Island aura was something The Ritz-Carlton strived to do, and they did a masterful job of it.
Some of the other unique food samplings available were Choptank Schooner crab dip with AIBC Lucile pale ale from chef Cory Fey at Amelia Tavern and another who was inspired by the island theme was Island Spiced BBQ Chicken with corn, plantain, pumpkin and mango prepared by chef Omar Collazo of The Omni.
There were also several mixologists that attended the event as well, such as Simon Crompton of Door No. 4, a cocktail bar in the Cayman Islands, who was mixing up Kudo Coolers for attendees.
There were many Ritz-Carlton’s represented at the event, as mixologist J.P. Belonni with The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, chef Sean Blanchette of The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and chef Manuel Gutierrez of Wyld at The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch took part in the showcase.
“This is just such an amazing event,” Blanchette said. “We don’t have views like this (as he pointed to the ocean front) back in Dallas.”
