What do Chefs Pepin, Bourdain, Ripert and Bernstein all have in common? They entertained and fed La Diva one Friday night!

Godhead Anthony Bourdain. I loves him.

Darlings, how many times in your life do you get to be in the same room with FOUR PEOPLE you really admire? I'm not talking about the regular people in our lives but celebrities that are actually talented and industry leaders? It doesn't happen often, if at all, for some people.

But, La Diva had that very experience a few weeks back on Friday the 13th. Me and my sidekick, DJ Nevah L8 (4 dinnah!) were lucky enough to attend the Celebrity Chef Series at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami with Chef Anthony Bourdain hosting an interview and cook-off with Chefs Eric Ripert and Jacques Pepin.

Swoon.

All Celebrity Chef photos taken by Juan Monino, 2009

La Diva was thrilled. As well as scoring the tix for free, La Diva was going to be meeting up with interesting new foodie friends that we'd been trying to have dinner with for months! This was going to be a great night!

Here's my take on each of the guests:

Anthony Bourdain, an irreverent and knowledgable host and adventurous travel hero, I love his passion for food (and his ability to eat freakin' offal!) and of course for his smart-alec ways.

Eric Ripert, beautiful and talented (always a brilliant combo) who does great food porn. I'll never forget watching him make, and eat, a decadent dish of sea urchin roe with a simple buttered pasta for Tony's Food Porn episode....sigh..... (and I must get to his restaurant one day...)

Pepin, a classic French chef that found success and popularity in America over two decades ago and was ever-so--patient with the sometimes difficult Julia Child. Jacques Pepin is such an affable, food television veteran, he makes entertainment cooking look so easy.

All of them get my respect and attention for the various roles they've played in advancing my food knowledge and education.

The ever-charming Chef Jacques Pepin. You can click on the photo to learn more.

The night started off with a question and answer segment for both Ripert and Pepin and then was followed by a cooking competition between them. The challenge was like an episode of the TV show "Chopped" with the contestants given a mystery basket and a time limit to complete the dish. They were to use chicken, fish and oranges and complete the dish in one half hour.

I have to tell you how very impressed La Diva was with Pepin's calm and methodical way of cooking in front of a large audience as well and his constant explanations and comments of what he was preparing during the entire show. Darlings, when one is cooking, it's actually quite hard to talk all the time, even if you are a "talker." I find it quite challenging at times to constantly talk in my class while focusing on making the food at the same time especially for three straight hours. With Eric Ripert barely uttering a word, it was obvious Pepin's 20 years behind the camera gave him a distinct edge. It's harder than you think to constantly talk and "engage" your audience while cooking as well as doing it successfully and Pepin has again proven himself to be masterful at the task.

Some memories from the night:

Jacques worked with daughter Claudine and was charming, boyishly "sneaking" wine in a silver mug and saying one should always pretend it was coffee in front of an audience! And when he expertly peeled an orange in one long skin for the camera, the audience clapped with appreciation.

Bourdain to Ripert about Jacques Pepin's speed at creating THREE dishes while Ripert struggled with one: "Hey, Ripert, Grandpa's kickin' your butt over there!"

Darlings, DON'T expect me to remember what they made. Between the wine I drank and the terrible camerawork, it was difficult to even see the dishes let alone remember them from over two weeks ago now! The cameraman didn't seem to have a clue as to how to focus on the dishes and spent most of the night on Pepin, which was frustrating. I doubt the cameraman had ever even watched a cooking show.

Bourdain was an excellent host and displayed an obvious respect and admiration for both Ripert and Pepin. His wit and candor in his question asking and story-telling made La Diva feel she could sit, watch and listen all night. Never a dull moment with Bourdain as the host, one was not quite sure what would come out of his mouth next.

Like this question he posed to Pepin and Ripert: "What is the memory that will make you wake up screaming?" All agreed that Chef Joël Robuchon was a "bear" to work for and dished out mega abuse that had evoked nightmares in Tony for years!

Also interesting was the fact that both Ripert and Pepin are married to Latinas with Pepin's favorite dish being his wife's "arroz con pollo" and black beans! They also commented on their favorite Miami restaurants including Casa Tua, Michy's and Prime 112 Steak house. Tony, naturally, commented on his (and mine) fave Miami Beach dive bar, Max's Club Deuce. (Happy hour is from 8 am til 7 pm and the place is daaaark and nas-tay, just the way we like it!)

Also discussed was the fate of the old school, fine dining restaurant in the new economy. Would it survive or die out with so many chefs opening up scaled back casual restaurants? Both Pepin and Ripert agreed that there is a certain customer that will always frequent the fine dining restaurant and expect impeccable service and ingredients. I couldn't agree more, it always amazes me to see lines out the door and booked-for-months reservations for the ultra-expensive restaurants in town.

As expected, Tony Bourdain lambasted Guy Fieri a few times and cracked us all up with his comment: What's with the backwards sunglasses, Guy? You're 40-years-old for God's sake!

Also, Ripert had mentioned something that made him grind his teeth and Tony quipped: " Guy Fieri makes me grind MY teeth!" You can only imagine how funny it was to hear Bourdain say it in his snappy, snarky style!

In summary, the show had a great flow and was highly entertaining with three interesting personalities not clashing or fighting for stage presence but complementing each other. It was nice to get a glimpse of the personal lives of these industry icons. My only complaint was the lousy camera work.

Friday the 13th Part II!!!

The back bar and prep station at Sra. Martinez restaurant in Miami's Design District

After the show, we went over to Miami's hot Design District to check out Chef Michelle Bernstein's latest endeavor, Sra. Marinez, a modern tapas bar. (Sra. Martinez is Senora Martinez, Michelle Bernstein's married name) It was 10:30 pm and the place was jumping and not a table to be had. Luckily, La Diva spotted four open spots at the bar to eat, so we didn't have to wait, which was good as the wine was starting to make my head spin and La Diva needed some food STAT!

I like sitting and eating at the bar. You get to see all the action and we happened to be in front of the chefs responsible for plating cheese and slicing the Spanish jamon for the tapas plates. It was also a great spot right next to the kitchen and Michy popped her head out now and again to check on orders going out and what was happening "front of house."

Lovely serrano jamon and manchego cheese croquetas, mmm....

Letting our host's lovely wife order (as she had been to Sra. Martinez's numerous times) was a great idea as she knew the menu well. We had a lovely sampling that started off with the traditional Spanish appetizer: freshly roasted piquillo peppers (which according to my neighbor, who lived in Spain, raves about.) Of course, we titillated our taste buds with a few fabulosa cocktails as well!

MATADOR
Finlandia Vodka, Strawberries, Basil, Jalapeño Syrup, Lime

JALISCO MULE
Milagro Tequila Blanco, Lime Juice, Chili Syrup & Regatta Ginger Beer

PISCO NUEVO
Gran Sierpe Pisco, St. Germain, Lychee, Orange, Lychee Syrup

The cocktails were really nice...similar to La Diva's cocktails for my small bites, BIG DRINKS class that utilizes flavored sugar syrups for customized full flavors.

Sorry about the blurry photos but I had to post the DIVA Select Calasparra rice from Spain, m'kay?

Here's what else we had, straight from the menu with my comments in parentheses:

BACON WRAPPED MEDJOOL DATES
Valdeon Blue cheese, Marcona Almonds (Classic, comforting and melt-in-your-mouth delicious)

CROQUETAS
Spinach, Feta OR Jamon Serrano, Manchego (We had the ham and cheese, melty-cheesy-crispy-crunchy-fried-goodness!)

CALAMARI “A LA PLANCHA”
Arroz Negro (Black Rice) (Calamari was incredibly tender grilled over creamy black rice. Must try making this myself one day...)

CRISPY ARTICHOKES
Long Stem Chokes, Lemon-Coriander Dipping (Again, if you fry anything it's good but to fry something I love like artichokes? DIVINE, darlings! And the mayo dipping sauce was decadent!)

ROASTED BONE MARROW
BBQ Eel, Apples, Soy, Apple Butter (Honestly, La Diva got a bit "left out" on this dish. I didn't have any marrow on my bone! While everyone else was "oohing" and "aahing," La Diva looked on, still not sure what the whole bone marrow fascination is all about!)

Dessert:

CHURROS
Spicy Chocolate Dip (TO DIE FOR! Who doesn't like fried cake with a warm and spicy, chili chocolate sauce?)

TORREJAS
Rum Sauteéd Bananas & Figs, Fig Walnut Ice Cream (OMG, figs n cream n rum n bananas n nuts....mmmm)

Ego or vanity? Ego wins and I post a crap photo of me but a great one of Michy!

La Diva had noticed Michy had popped out of the kitchen again to survey her jumping restaurant and I seized the opportunity to request a photo and have a quick chat. (see, I TOLD you it's good to sit at the bar!)

Michy is truly a nice lady, I've met her twice now and you know she is all about "doin' you right" at her restaurant. Quality is important to her and it shows in everything from the decor to the exquisite food presented. I told her I had met her before, was thoroughly enjoying our meal and, by the way, "Would she ever be a permanent judge on Top Chef?"

"It ain't gonna happen!" she quipped. Ah well, as blogging buddy Shamu says: "A girl can dream, can't she?" We chatted a bit more about her FABULOUS bitch-slap to mean-spirited Top Chef judge Toby Young about her "paella pronunciation correction" and laughed about it. She was so open and accommodating. What I found admirable about Michelle Bernstein was that in spite of the frantic pace of her restaurant, she still took the time to talk to me with genuine interest and eye contact. Thanks Michy!

Oh yes she did!
The fabu CFM choos hubby bought me for our anniversary! 4.5 inch heels.....and Diva didn't fall once!

The restaurant staff was wonderful, food was excellent and La Diva adored the impeccable service especially from the General Manager Jorge himself. With a sneaky sense of humor, he not only offered to take our photo but also used it as an opportunity to have a bit of fun and sneaked in a photo of him in the kitchen en route to deli for our photo session! Tee hee! You know La Diva loves a good sense of humor! (the photos did not turn out though, BOO to my crappy old camera.)

At the end of the night, Jorge was having dinner at a small table behind us, and La Diva introduced myself and gave him a card and thanked him for the great service. He was very cool, and especially loved it when I said to him: Do you like MY SHOES? Displaying standard Miami protocol, we kissed each other on both cheeks and bade the other a good night. Sigh. The beautiful Epic hotel the week before and now this: two fabulous weekends in Miami in a row and high season hasn't even started yet!

Want to see ALL of Chef Michy's dee-lights at Sra. Martinez? Click HERE for her divine menus. Also, a HUGE thank you to our restaurant hosts Billy and Helen and to Design within Reach Coral Gables who kindly provided the tickets!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!
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