Chef Karl McDermott puts a twist on fine dining
Published:Thursday | December 14, 2023 | 12:07 AMShanel Lemmie/Staff Reporter
Fusing fashion, food, and the great unifier that is camaraderie, Chef Karl McDermott is carving out a space for culinary excellence with his creation, Grandeur. Putting fine dining in the spotlight, the experience also brought forward the world of fashion with designs by runway designer, Nigel Ramsay.Treating guests to a culinary delight, McDermott presented a five-course meal inspired by flavours and influences from around the globe to fit in with his international theme.
“The theme is international,” he began, “so if you notice on the menu there is international, there’s French, there’s South American, South Korean, there’s a bit of no doubt Jamaican. As Jamaicans our motto is ‘Out of many, one people’, and well, so is our food. If you look at our food and how our food transcends, different settlers brought their culture to the Jamaican island. Jamaican food is a mix of all those cultures so I just wanted to highlight and help to put Jamaica on the map internationally.”
Citing the praise he and countless other chefs have received on Jamaican cuisine, McDermott said it was time to up the ante by giving texture its moment to shine.
“I like to play around with our palate. We have five senses and we have five points on our tongue. Also in our mouth, we have texture. For me, my style is just to tease the brain in different ways and leave you wondering, which then becomes a conversational piece at the table.”
Calling on some inspiration from his childhood, the first course was a Beet Carpaccio with tangerines, cucumbers and a reconstructed spicy crouton.
“As a child my mom would make beet salads and I would just mix the two of them (beets and tangerines) together. I didn’t like beets when I was a child. So what I would do to absorb it is I’d mix citrus with it. So this is just coming from childhood.”
Quickly moving on from the optimism of the first course, the second brought Jamaican culture into a new light with a Truffle Bourgogne Gnocchi. Smelling it before it even arrived, this meal’s mixture of callaloo and parmesan cheese was an unexpected hit. Creating some flair, McDermott even provided a live demonstration of how to make gnocchi, linking it to local dumplings.
Next up was the Sous Vide Filet Mignon with prawns. The boiled potato and leafy green vegetables are among the usual cast served with medium-well steak but the prawn was not just an added surprise, it was the breakout star. Once again invoking an unfamiliar textural experience, the seafood added some intrigue to what would have otherwise been a regular haunt.
Finishing off with a Chocolate Fondant Timbale for dessert, McDermott’s surprise inclusion of spice in the fondant timbale is such a welcome contributor to break up the monotony of the vanilla ice cream.
Noting he loves to cause a ruckus with his flavour pairings, McDermott attributes the bold choice to his home country. “Jamaica is the land of spice as far as I am concerned,” he said.
Hoping to establish Grandeur as an annual tradition, McDermott explained the ethos of the event. “Grandeur is a celebration of people, or life, of beauty, of love. I chose Grandeur because it means splendid. Splendid means elegant, chic and I came up with the concept of doing food meets fashion because everyone thinks about putting on whatever garments to attend a certain event and I thought to myself why not promote that. So I teamed up with Nigel Ramsay who is amazing, and we thought well why not just do it.”