Chef's Table at Hard Rock Riveria Maya

During my recent stay at the Hard Rock Riveria Maya, I had the chance to enjoy the chef's dinner.  This is available for an extra charge and usually held a few nights during the week.  Check with your travel professional or guest services at the hotel for information on booking. 

One of the entertainment staff hosted the evening and introduced the chef who prepared each plate in front of us.  

First course was a tuna appetizer with tomato.    Nice chunks of red tuna which had marinade of sesame, soy and orange.  Twirls of seaweed salad, sesame seeds and alfalfa sprouts added some nice cruch.

Next course was a beet salad.   

There were slices of red beets, a cheese which was somewhat like marscopone and an orange wedge for a bit of acid.  This was my least favorite dish since it didn't respect the beets.  The beets were very dry and lacking flavor. And there was nothing in this dish to really bring it altogether.  Perhaps that was that purpose of the cheese, but it needed more like a traditional vinaigrette.  

 While you await the best course, I will tell you one of the most exciting parts of the dinner.  Each of the first four courses was paired with a Mexican wine.  Now usually you would ever think of Mexico as having notable wines.  That is (and has been) changing.  These were two of my favorites from the night. 

The first was a Grenache style rose from the Guadeloupe region.  Fruity and refreshing.   

Next was a Chenin Blanc from Casa Madero which is in Coahula. 

Next course was a soup.  But not any ordinary soup.  This has the flavors of Mexican street corn which if you haven't had, you should.  Sweet, savory corn with a hint of cheese.  Topped with a crunchy radish and thin slide of Serrano pepper.  

And to top it all off, the chef provided a perfectly cooked lamb chop as the "spoon".

Next course was an amazing plate of short rib.  

 Having made short ribs before, I can tell you how time consuming they can be. They take many hours to braise and to still keep them juicy, I always recommend making them a day before to let the braising liquid soak back into the meat.  It definy seemed like the chef used that truck here.  And the seasoning was with five spice powder, cranberry juice and maple syrup.  If you are not familiar with it, five spice powder is used in many Asian dishes and can have different recipes.   Traditionally it is ginger, cinnamon, fennel, peppercorn and star anise which has a licorice flavor.  Certainly ingredients I never would have considered putting together.   Such a smart combination of spice, sweet and tart - all working together    The rib was served over some velvety cauliflower puree.   I don't even want to think how much butter had been emulsified to make what ended up almost being like a buttery spread.  Roasted carrots and zucchini were nice additions to drag through the cauliflower.   

And finally the dessert course.  

This was a flourless chocolate cake served with a passion fruit ice cream, topped with a berry compote.  The cake had a slight flavor of Mexican chocolate which has a nice spice.  It was too dry, but the passion fruit ice cream and compote helped with that.  I also like the small pieces of fresh fruit.  I really liked the passion fruit ice cream and could have eaten that by itself.  

Overall it was a very good meal.  One misstep with the beet course.  Saved by the soup course.  And the short rib was a crescendo that put an exclamation point on the meal.  Two takeaways for me.  I will consider cranberry and maple syrup next time I make short ribs.  And lamb chops make great utensils!!  I suspect they change this menu and the winea frequently so your experience may vary from mine. But chef's dinners are a great way to expand your food comfort zone.