In just two days, on Thursday, Chef Erwin will be cooking at the Secret Garden, a menu of delightful dishes that will forever remain etched in your memory.
Fact: I had the best Tarte Tatin, ever, at the Secret Garden. The upside down French apple tart with candied nuts, and vanilla ice cream, is difficult: Gotta serve it sensationally crisp, straight from the oven, because if you dilly dally the butter and fruit topping conspire to make it soggy. No, one can’t have a soggy Tarte Tatin. And mine was perfect on Thursday night.
The dessert was so sensational that is overshadowed the totally fantastic Shrimp Taco, a soft shell taco filled with tempura shrimp, caramelized onions, pickled onions, cilantro, habanero spice, garlic-mustard-lime mayonnaise. The best taco you will ever have, and a signature dish of Chef Erwin.
But I was enthusiastic from the start when the Amuse, a Potato-Truffle soup, garnished with Parma ham, croutons and chives, showed up at the table shortly after 7 pm, the day I attended the culinary feast, put together by Chef Erwin Husken, and evet planner, chef, gardener and Tina Bislick.
Who doesn’t know Chef Erwin Husken? A teddy-bear of a man, who started his career in Aruba at the Flying Fishbone in Savaneta, then transitioned to the Screaming Eagle, on Eagle Beach, as head chef/owner for 13 years.
The pandemic brought along many changes in the way we eat and in the way we dine out, thus since the summer of 2020, Chef Erwin is a chef-at-home, a chef for hire, reliable, talented and experienced, he cooks in clients’ homes around the island and caters private parties, except on Thursday, in just two days, when he will bring his toque and ginzo knives into the kitchen of the Secret Garden.
The lushly landscaped, open-air back yard of The Secret Garden sets a perfect stage for the Michelin-trained Chef Erwin, to woo foodies, with his favorite recipes.
Erwin serves a multi-course dinner having teamed up with Tina Bislick, who in a past life curated events for two U.S. Presidents as well as VIPS and celebrities in the U.S. She is the homeowner of The Secret Garden along with her local musician husband, Michael Bislick. Tina will be overseeing the evening along with hostess extraordinaire Tracey Schilders.
One the menu:
Amuse: Potato-truffle soup, Parmaham, croutons, chives
Appetizer I: Tuna tataki, mix lettuce, wakame, pickled cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, croutons, jalapeño sour cream, roasted garlic-soy dressing
Appetizer II: Shrimp taco, soft shell taco, tempura shrimp, caramelized onions, pickled onions, cilantro, habanero spice, garlic-mustard-lime mayonnaise
Refreshing intermezzo
Main course: Spiced lamb chops, honey-sweet potato, green asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, Lebanese yogurt dressing
Dessert: French apple tarte tatin, candied nuts, vanilla ice cream.
USD $95 per person.
A lovely wine pairing is available, with wine curated by Divino NV’s top sommelier and owner Michael v/d Berg.
Space is limited to 20 guests. Tickets to this event can be purchased on Event Brite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-moon-the-stars-chef-erwin-tickets-136289320025?aff=ebdsoporgprofile.
For more information, WhatsApp 730-4675, email [email protected], or send a message to The Secret Garden’s Facebook page.