Gunter Mathieu is Guest Chef at Crave Restaurant

The idea was very simple, get two restaurants together to create a smashing successful evening of fine dining. And things could not have been a more successful with the expert culinary finishings of Gunter Mathieu of Mathieu's Delicatessen who was chef for the evening at Crave Restaurant on Saturday, September 24, 2011.

It's not a concept that is entertained by most competing restaurants, but now that Gunter has started catering to the needs of some restaurants on the island, it was an idea that both establishments jumped on. And the response from the public was phenomenal; seats were sold out fairly quickly. So by 7p.m. Crave, located at the Coral Reef Hotel on Barrier Reef Drive, was buzzing with socialites during cocktail hour, before dinner.

Dinner was a six course meal worthy of culinary awards, as Gunter really showed off what he is capable of. Owning a small Delicatessen on the island, most people know of Gunter's fine breads and specialty pastries, but very little of his culinary expertise. We knew that we were in for a special treat as the staff had already experienced gunter's fine cooking when he whipped out four amazing lion fish platters for Gerry, on his very first "What's Up Today, Gerry?" video blog.

Menu of the evening:
Amuse Gueule (a fancy way of saying “Small Bites”) which included salmon on a crustini, salmon rolled up in flour tortilla and barracuda sausage. Very delightful and interesting!

Homemade Pate with mango chutney and cranberry rye bread – Homemade chicken pate accompanied with a tasty mango chutney and bread.

Sea Bass “en Croute de Pommes Terre” with celery mousse and red bell pepper sauce – Simply put, a very delicious sea bass on a fantastic celery mousse and bell pepper sauce that sing to your taste buds. Lots of rich flavors!

Spinach Basil Ravioli with tomato salsa and balsamico – A large single ravioli stuffed with a creamy spinach basil and a great tomato salsa and balsamico.

Beef Tenderloin with red wine and thyme sauce, potato with sage and fresh honey vegetables – The main course, excellent! Hard to believe that one can get a great tender and juicy cut of meat in Belize, but Gunter outdid himself on this one. The crunchy grated potato with sage on top of the meat had a great taste to it and the vegetables were sweet. Thumbs up to the main course.

Medley of Kakaw Chocolate, fresh fruit and Mexican Vanilla – Not to sweet, but definitely a rich dessert with great tasting Kakaw Chocolate, very much like a creamy ice cream, but definitely different. Orange, bananas and the exotic passion fruit adorned the plate. Superb!

That’s it! WOW! A great six course meal that was definitely worth it and with the excellent service, ambience and company of great friends, the dining experience at Crave was fantastic. I had an excellent evening and got to meet new people!

Expect more great events from these two establishments. Mathieu’s Delicatessen is reaching its one year anniversary and has great things in store for the near future. Crave just recently opened its doors as well, but already has people buzzing about its great food!