No time for witty thread titles! Bocuse d'Or Grand Gala (w/pics!)!!!

[ghidorah97]

Here I am, back at work after an incredible long weekend to kick off F&WF. I'm operating on about 4-1/2 hours of sleep thanks to the dreaded weather-related travel delays, so if I start to ramble incoherently, please forgive me.

The meat of this review -- details on the Gala along with the pics -- will come later once I've gotten home and had the chance to upload them. For now, I will simply set the stage. My little crew consisted of the following:

Me -- Brad, 39 and very soon to turn 40. This trip was my lovely, amazing, far-better-than-I-deserve DW's present to me. Isn't she the best?
My Posse -- Will and Ken. My two best friends in the world, we've known each other and have remainded friends since our Sophomore year in High School.

We arrived on Thursday, departed Sunday, so this was to be a short yet action-packed weekend. My complete review will include details on the following:

Thursday evening -- California Grill
Friday day -- F&WF booths, opening of the Bocuse d'Or competition
Friday evening -- Raglan Road
Saturday day -- two free Culinary demonstrations, more F&WF booths, more Bocuse d'Or competition
Saturday evening -- Bocuse d'Or Grand Gala!
Sunday -- picking up the pieces

Unfortunately, work has to take priority now, so I will sign off until this evening when I plan to begin the reviews!

Brad

 

[frdeb1999]

Welcome back! Looking forward to your reviews!

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

Looking forward to it!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Cant wait!

 

[TigerKat]

This should be fun.......

 

[Tatania]

Can't wait! Did you get any recipes you can post?

 

[kabuki]

I'm in!

 

[JenniBugInPink]

I think I might actually be salivating!

 

[D&R love Disney]

Looking forward to the reviews

 

[John's Mom]

Count me in!

 

[ghidorah97]

I'll keep the California Grill portion of the review relatively short.

1. Because most of you have probably already read other, better written reviews of CG,
2. Because I completely forgot to bring my camera with me to dinner, so no pictures and,
3. Because most of you would rather hear more about the Bocuse d'Or Gala!

On with the review:

We arrived at about 6:00 Thursday night and, after a quick change into more appropriate attire, headed over very early to the Contemporary for our 9:30 reservations. No biggie, we planned to just sit at the bar and nosh while we waited for our table. Forget that plan as not 10 minutes into our wait -- BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ -- our table was ready. Wow! While at the bar, we had ordered two Flatbreads which they brought over to our table along with our bottle of Merryvale Starmont.

We had the "Sicilian Flatbread" with Sopressata, Tomato Compote, Provolone Cheese and Pepperoncini Relish; and the Roast Chicken with Applewood Bacon, Crisp Romaine, Caramelized Onions, and Lemon Mayonnaise. The Sicilian simply exploded in your mouth with the spicy relish and soressata while the roast chicken was like the best open-faced grilled chicken sandwich you've ever had. A great start!

We then moved to the Sushi section of the menu with the Yellowfin Tuna Three Ways -- Poki, Tartare and Tataki. Incredibly fresh, perfectly prepared tuna! Delicious!

At this point we were thinking about taking a slight break prior to ordering our Mains, but Charmaine (our excellent server) rightly pointed out that if we ordered immediately, we'd be able to finish in time to head outside for the fireworks. So we did:

Me -- Roasted Lamb Tenderloin with Eggplant "two ways", Rosemary Potatoes, Confit Garlic and Currant Tomatoes
Will & Ken -- Both ordered the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Button Mushrooms, and Zinfandel Glaze

After a quick fireworks break, we moved on to dessert:

First, we had the Cheese Board. Five cheeses for $17.00? Yes, please!

Next, we ordered:
Me -- "Peachy Keen" Peach Cheesecake, Bellini "Bubble Tea" and Spiced Tea Cake with Vanilla Creme Glace
Will & Ken -- Both ordered the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with molten center, House-made Apricot Ice Cream and Apricot Sauce

A GREAT meal. Really stellar and a perfect start to our weekend.

Coming tomorrow -- Raglan Road and Day 1 at the Bocuse d'Or with some pictures.

Brad

 

[oybolshoi]

Woo hoo!

Bring it on Brad!!!

 

[Krissalee]

I have to subscribe to this one!!!!

Bocuse d'Or Grand Gala! I have been dreaming about this event!

I hope you ENJOYED it!

 

[jeminni]

I'm in. I can't wait to see some F&W reports.

 

[cdtommie]

I'll keep the California Grill portion of the review relatively short.

1. Because most of you have probably already read other, better written reviews of CG,
2. Because I completely forgot to bring my camera with me to dinner, so no pictures and,
3. Because most of you would rather hear more about the Bocuse d'Or Gala!

On with the review:

We arrived at about 6:00 Thursday night and, after a quick change into more appropriate attire, headed over very early to the Contemporary for our 9:30 reservations. No biggie, we planned to just sit at the bar and nosh while we waited for our table. Forget that plan as not 10 minutes into our wait -- BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ -- our table was ready. Wow! While at the bar, we had ordered two Flatbreads which they brought over to our table along with our bottle of Merryvale Starmont.

We had the "Sicilian Flatbread" with Sopressata, Tomato Compote, Provolone Cheese and Pepperoncini Relish; and the Roast Chicken with Applewood Bacon, Crisp Romaine, Caramelized Onions, and Lemon Mayonnaise. The Sicilian simply exploded in your mouth with the spicy relish and soressata while the roast chicken was like the best open-faced grilled chicken sandwich you've ever had. A great start!

We then moved to the Sushi section of the menu with the Yellowfin Tuna Three Ways -- Poki, Tartare and Tataki. Incredibly fresh, perfectly prepared tuna! Delicious!

At this point we were thinking about taking a slight break prior to ordering our Mains, but Charmaine (our excellent server) rightly pointed out that if we ordered immediately, we'd be able to finish in time to head outside for the fireworks. So we did:

Me -- Roasted Lamb Tenderloin with Eggplant "two ways", Rosemary Potatoes, Confit Garlic and Currant Tomatoes
Will & Ken -- Both ordered the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Button Mushrooms, and Zinfandel Glaze

After a quick fireworks break, we moved on to dessert:

First, we had the Cheese Board. Five cheeses for $17.00? Yes, please!

Next, we ordered:
Me -- "Peachy Keen" Peach Cheesecake, Bellini "Bubble Tea" and Spiced Tea Cake with Vanilla Creme Glace
Will & Ken -- Both ordered the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with molten center, House-made Apricot Ice Cream and Apricot Sauce

A GREAT meal. Really stellar and a perfect start to our weekend.

Coming tomorrow -- Raglan Road and Day 1 at the Bocuse d'Or with some pictures.

Brad

Brad, this is a great review. Thanks to a fellow CT'er.

 

[CanadianPaco]

Can't wait!!! Where are the pics????

 

[HonnyDipp]

I'm in, bring on the pics!

 

[ghidorah97]

Welcome all to Day 2 of our little trip, where I learned just how hard it is to remember to take pictures without having my wife around to remind my forgetful self.

So after grabbing a quick food court breakfast (not worth dwelling on, believe me!) we shuttled on over to Epcot for the opening of the Bocuse d'Or competition. The doors opened promptly at 11:00, and we entered to a really well-designed competition floor. My pictures don't do it justice:

The competitors were behind the glass, already working on their dishes. Someone said that they had started at 8:00 that morning!

The judges were everywhere, flitting all about. Some of the judges were in the cooking area with the competitors, literally standing right over their shoulders like a ravenous vulture. Had to be incredibly nerve-wracking for the competing chefs.

Chef John Besh of August in New Orleans -- our host for the competition. You may recall Chef Besh from the Next Iron Chef competition on Food Network.

The problem that we had, though, was that you really couldn't see what the competitors were doing. So after staying for about an hour or so, we decided it was time to head out and start noshing around the world. Here's where I missed DW, as I once again forgot to take pics!! ARRGGH! (Not to worry, tomorrow will be much better LOTS of pics)

We tried:
Canada --
Cheddar Cheese Soup -- of course, and it was deeelicious as always!
Maple Glazed Salmon with Arugula and Roasted Corn -- good, not great, but good

Puerto Rico --
Mofongo (fried green plantains mashed with pork cracklings, garlic and olive oil)
Plantain and Beef Casserole
We LOVED both of these dishes -- highly recommend!

Mexico --
Chilaquiles
Quesadilla con Chorizo
Both of these were just okay.

Barcelona, Spain --
Chilled Tomato and Garlic Soup
Seared Tuna Loin with spicy red pepper coulis and garlic-herb ciabatta
The soup was very good, the tuna was okay (not a bad piece of tuna, but not the best either)

So that held us over until dinner @ Raglan Road. Now I'll have to throw out a big thank you to the DIS's own Oybolshoi (aka Brenda) as it is through her FANTABULOUS posts that I discovered this gem. Great beer, good food, free entertainment! What is there not to like?

Drinks first:
Will & Me -- Both had the Nations beer flight
Ken -- Had the Bushmills Whiskey Trio

For an appetizer, we all shared the Crock o' Mussels. 1-1/2 lbs of mussels served in a saffron, grape tomato and leek broth. This was stellar! And boy did it go well with the beer.

For dinner:
Will -- Serious Sirloin Steak - 10oz. sirloin topped with Irish whiskey glaze, drizzled with fresh basil oil.
Me & Ken -- each had the shortribs braised in Guinness

Really can't say enough good things about this meal. A relaxing, tasty, entertaining evening all the way around.

Yes, I know, not enough food porn pictures. You will have plenty of those tomorrow. I promise!!!

Tomorrow -- two free culinary demos you won't want to miss (with pics!), along with more F&W booth tastings (with pics!) and the end of Day 2 of the Bocuse d'Or competition!! (with pics that almost got me kicked out twice!! )

Brad

 

[ghidorah97]

I have to subscribe to this one!!!!

Bocuse d'Or Grand Gala! I have been dreaming about this event!

I hope you ENJOYED it!

ENJOYED is an understatement Krissalee. It was absolutely unforgettable. I have a bunch of pics and will have them all up by Friday night along with my thoughts on the event.

Brad, this is a great review. Thanks to a fellow CT'er.

My pleasure -- anything for a fellow beer fan! And I need several beers considering how our Mets let us down again. Are you there at Disney right now? I seem to recall that your trip was this week. If so, hope that you are enjoying some great weather and even better food and wine/beer!

 

[TigerKat]

Really enjoying your reviews!! We love John Besh, our hometown chef.