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Although we have a wide selection of good restaurants in Casa, where I always enjoy going for dinner, variety is always welcomed. Therefore, I was really excited to know that the famous chef Xabier Gutierrez was going to be here during the Casa de Campo Food and Wine Festival.
Xabier Gutierrez traveled all the way from St. Sebastian, Spain, where he is the Director of Innovation Arzak, the famous restaurant ranked number 17 of the world’s 50 best restaurants.
Excited to taste the special menu that Xabier Gutierrez had cooked up for us, we headed over to Altos de Chavón, which looked magical during that weekend, for dinner at La Piazzetta – which was also transformed for the special occasion. Lovely wines specially selected by El Catador accompanied dinner.
Appetizer
Xabier kicked off with Melon Ravioli with Foie and Gazpacho. The ravioli filled with Melon left a sparkling taste on the tongue, and the gazpacho made this appetizer impeccably fresh. We couldn’t wait to taste the next one.
Main Course
Accompanied by fresh white Albariño wine of “Don Pedro de Soutomaior”, the next two dishes had shellfish as protagonists. First, we were served Dominican prawn with pumpkin sauce and citric-sour touch, followed by a King Crab. This King Crab was served on top of a platter of black salt from the oven with sea contrasts, which gave the dish a special “straight from the ocean” feeling.
To stay in the sea-side mood, we were next served Tuna with Japanese Mojo. The tuna was perfectly tender and accompanied by details such as asparagus and balls of citrusy watermelon. A perfect combination of flavors.
Extra… Surprise!
Before moving on to the desserts, Xabier had one more surprise for us that came in the form of perfectly cooked veal with a tower of colored potatoes. A Tempranillo of “Carmelo Rodero Reserva” accompanied the veal.
Desserts
Not only had the chef prepared frosted apple cupcakes with silver veil and pineapple ice cream for us as a desert, but he also personally prepared a box with a frosted chocolate and mint donut, which he signed himself! Maybe the idea of the box was to take home, but it looked so good I ate it immediately.
The End
After this explosion of flavors which clearly showcased this world famous chef’s creativity, we were all bursting to share this experience with the other people in the restaurant and hear everyone’s opinion on the experience. Lucky for us, Chivas offered all the guests a tasting of their fine scotches, on the restaurant’s terrace. Here I actually learned that scotch is not only to drink “on the rocks”, but that you can get very creative with Chivas cocktails! Although we had the option of tasting popcorn and chocolate flavored cocktails, I choose a cinnamon and lemon one which was the perfect drink to close this special evening under the moonlight.
Loly Hazoury with Jorien van der Meij