Bon Appétit experiences at
Ruth’s Chris Steak House Emirates NBD’s Bon Appétit club members enjoyed a relaxed evening, hosted by BBC Good Food ME at the elegant Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Address Dubai Marina, last month. Photographs CRIS MEJORADA
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teakhouses are aplenty in Dubai, but to find one that exudes a refined elegance and serves great steak as well as specialities that they pride themselves in, is rare. Ruth’s Chris Steak House originated in New Orleans over 47 years ago and opened in Dubai in 2009. The award winning restaurant – Winner of the best steakhouse category at the 2010 BBC Good Food ME Awards – opened its second, bigger outlet at The Address Dubai Marina, earlier this year. Around 50 guests – who are Emirates NBD card holders and loyal fans of the restaurant – were invited to the Emirates NBD Bon Appétit event as a way of thanking them. Guests sipped on refreshing white and red wines, as well as mojitos and Shirley temples, in the lounge area of the restaurant, while waiting for the interactive masterclass with Paul De Visser, executive chef of Ruth’s Chris Steak House, to begin. They also enjoyed canapés such as shrimp cocktail and spicy chicken spring rolls before the class kicked off. The foodies then took a seat at the bar stools set all around, while some opted for the upstairs lounge area, giving them a balcony seat theatre-type of experience, and keeping them as close as possible to the action. On the menu for the night was Blackened ahi tuna for starters; Filet Oscar style with crab cakes and sauce for mains; and a decadent Crème brulee for dessert. Each course was cooked in
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front of the audience and guests got to sample taster portions, while tempting aromas wafted through the restaurant. Many eager foodies had questions about the tuna, including how to achieve the required doneness and where to get certain ingredients, all of which were answered by the friendly chef; he also shared tips and tricks on what meats to choose when shopping when demonstrating the steak recipe.“ As soon as the crème brulee was cooked, guests devoured their samplers, and lingered around to speak to chef and some even opted to stay on to dine at the restaurant. That's not all, two lucky guests also walked away with a Kenwood Kmix blender, and a dinner voucher from Ruth's Chris from the raffle draw at the end. Everyone enjoyed the evening thoroughly, if their feedback was anything to go by! According to Eileen Lee-Conor, one of the guests, "The main course was delicious! I’ve learnt so much this evening, from the way to present this dish as well as how to choose meat.” Nasser, a retired chef said, “I like learning new recipes all the time, it’s great to try out something new and these are very easy to make.” Another guest who also happens to be a Food Club member, Riz Sandford, added, “I was glad I got a seat on the upper lounge area which was so close to the cooking station. It was very entertaining watching him and you can see that Paul is very passionate about what he does.”
Chef Paul De Visser cooked up a storm Guests enjoyed trying out the sampler portions
The chef got interactive with the audience
The ‘Bon Appétit Experience’ is an extension of the ‘Bon Appétit’ programme that was launched last year by Emirates NBD, and enabled premium cardholders to enjoy exclusive discounts at over 600 restaurants in the UAE, when they use their Emirates NBD Debit or Credit Card.