Chef Heidi Kabath
Chef Okan Kizilbayir
CHEF THEATER With its new Chef Theater experience, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island and Salt, its AAA Five-Diamond restaurant, offer guests a chance to learn from some extraordinary chefs. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DICKIE ANDERSON
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n invitation to participate in one of The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island’s Cooking Theaters was an offer I could not refuse. Salt, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island’s AAA Five-Diamond restaurant, has launched a monthly series of cooking experiences. The concept originated with General Manager Greg Cook, who wanted to highlight the resort’s talented team of chefs. In the past, cooking classes offered at the resort started in the kitchen, where attendees worked side-by-side with the chefs and later sat down to a meal of the delicious creations they had helped prepared. In the new format, guests are invited to gather around the Demonstration Table, overlooking the dunes and the ocean, for an intimate conversation about the dishes, preparation, cooking tips, techniques, and the chef ’s background and training. After each demonstration, the guests dine on the course with a paired wine. The third course and demonstration is a seasonal dessert dish. Guests are provided with the day’s recipes and list of wines served. Chefs Okan Kizilbayir and Heidi Kabath treated us to an amazing experience over our three hours with them. Chef
Kizilbayir’s appointment as Chef de Cuisine at Salt at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island started at a job fair in Turkey. His sponsor, Eric Ripert, was opening a bistro restaurant in Washington, D.C. It was the beginning of a 14-year mentorship. Kizilbayir’s last stop was at Ripert’s Michelin 3-Star restaurant Le Bernardin in New York City. Heidi Kabath is a prize-winning pastry chef. She completed a four-year pastry program, earning her bachelor’s degree in 2006. She has served at several Ritz-Carlton properties, including Tyson’s Corner, Key Biscayne, Naples, and Charlotte. She has participated in two regional and one national pastry competitions with the Chaine de Rotisseurs, winning the MidAtlantic Pastry Chef award in 2017 and 2018. We were greeted and invited to step outside for a champagne toast. Robert Ardinger, Salt General Manager, slid a specially designed saber along the seam of a champagne bottle and with the blunt side of a saber hit the lip of the bottle, opening it dramatically. The ceremony, which is used for special occasions, became popular in France in the time of Napoleon, who once continued on next page
43 AMELIA ISLANDER MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2022
www.AmeliaIslander.com
