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– Deliciousness comes with an Extravagant dinner –

Last week, on March 12th and 13th, Hotel Krasnapolsky had their Second Extravaganza Star Dinner. We were invited to dine on the first day of this event.

These evenings are devoted entirely to taste of the top dishes and enjoying the exclusive culinary surprises. The host Ramon Beuk and SVH Master Chef Edwin Vinke, together with the chefs of Krasnapolsky, Suriname Chefs Association, Suriname Culinary team and the students of the SCHT and SHTTC, have done their utmost to make it a memorable evening and delivering it.

The dinner was held in the transformed space between the lobby of the hotel, Rituals Coffee House, Rumors Lounge Cafe, Popeyes – Louisiana Kitchen and Pizza Boys. It was transformed into a true dinning room. Situated at the Rumors Lounge Cafe you could see the chefs work really hard to deliver us the spectacular dinner they promised to give us.

Our evening started as we arrived a little later than planned. The dinner was suppose to start at 19:00h and we arrived at 19:20h, due to the fact that we had worked later that planned too.

As we arrived we were welcomed by 2 hostesses. They checked the guest list to see if our names were on it and than guided us to our seats. The tables were seating 10 people, so the guest would sit with people they don’t really know unless they are with a group of 10 :).

The room was magnificent! That what is usually an open space, was a dinning room with walls of black cloth hanging from the ceiling. Round tables, about 12 to 14, each was set with wine glasses, water glasses, cutlery and napkins. If not said before, the dresscode was black and/or white, as was the decor. The tables were set with white cloth and the chairs were black.

Hans Huiskes, Director Kersten Hospitality, opened the dinner with a speech around 20:00h. “One of the goals of the event is to raise the culinary level in Suriname by bridging the gap between Dutch and Surinamese cuisine by sharing culinary knowledge and skills”, he said. He also mentioned at the opening of the dinner that Krasnapolsky has partnered with Beuk and Guild Dutch Master Chefs, making it possible to retrieve Chefs from the Dutch Cuisine and to bring them to Suriname each time. The first Star Extravaganza Dinner took place in 2013 as the opening of Bergendal Amazon Flavors. “It was a great success and asked for more. That is why we have further developed this activity”.

A total of 8 dishes would arrive at the tables, including an Amuse. Ramon was the host and he made sure that every dish was explained before it was set before you.

Before were graced with the first dish, we received a glass of Prosecco… We actually forgot to write down the name of it. Please forgive us for that. 😉

Marloes Luiting is a wine specialist. She selected the wines for the evening. She paired them well with every course that was presented.

The First dish – Oysters with tomato foam, the taste of caiperina, kidney beans cream and celery oil in a glas, Crispy fried kidney beans and fried salted meat.

It was our Art Directors first time to eat Oysters. At first he thought not to eat it, as it is strange to him. But after listening to the explanation Ramon gave, he thought again.

The oyster was smooth and soft, you could barely taste the tomatoes in the foam though. It was more like the taste lingered a little in your mouth at the end of consuming it. The creme or pasta of kidney beans with celery oil had a complete different taste than you would imagine. Spooning it just like that made the taste a bit sticky. The taste of it was was beany and raw, but combined with the oil it tasted much more like a topping for breakfast on a thin melba toast. The best taste of the kidney beans and celery oil, was to match it up with the crispy fried kidney beans and the fried salted meat. That combination was exquisite.

The Second dish – A peanut ice-cream, served with a mild spicy chutney and crispy peanut

This soft dish was a surprise to most of the guests. It looked like a peanut and tasted like a peanut… and it was most definitely made of peanuts. 🙂

The Third dish – Ceviche of Surinamese fish with hand-peeled SeaBob shrimp, pickled vegetables with a cream of avocado and lime

Combined with La di Motte Pinot Grigio

The surprise in this dish was the combination of the bitter vegetables. The bitter melon was prepared differently than we Surinamese are used to and the string beans were first made a cream or juice and than placed in the fridge and after spooned on the plate as Surinamese pears shaved ice. A real treat, a good surprise. Edwin Vinke brought sea banana from Zeelandia, it has a fresh salty and citrus like taste.

The Fourth dish – King prawns with smoked foie gras with mango carpaccio, bitter vegetables & crispy Brong Brong

Combined with Villa Maria Riesling

The bitter vegetables were wrapped in a leave blanket. The foie gras tasted smooth and melted on your tongue. The shrimp/prawn… cooked to perfection. A delicious piece of art coming together as one.

Kevin Headley – our magazine’s Art Director – enjoying his favourite, shrimp.

He wrote an article for Starnieuws about this splendid evening. In Dutch: Extravaganza Star Dinner: een culinair avontuur vol smaken

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The Fifth dish – Farm calf, tail, tongue, fillet and mashed potatoes with battenbergs zealand sea vegetables and limes

Combined with Fabiano Valpolicella Classico Ripasso