Montauk Pioneer - March 20, 2009 - Spa Cuisine at Gurney's Sea Grille

Last month Gurney's Inn held a Spa Cuisine class in the Sea Grille Restaurant. Executive Chef Chip Monte conducted the class along with Fitness Director, Candice Monte. There were fifteen people in attendance and everyone had their own station. To start off each person got to pick their own knife. Chip explained that you should always use a knife that you feel comfortable with its grip and to cut with.

First we prepared our Celery, Apple and Walnut salad. We were given an apple and celery stalks that we cut julienne style and laid on a plate. Chip offered a tip that when you are cutting anything, make sure to tuck your fingers under to avoid cutting them off accidentally. We topped our salad off with walnuts that were either whole or chopped. Next we prepared our Apple Cider Vinaigrette dressing which was made by combining mustard, oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper and put in a separate bowl.

Now it was time for the vegetables. We cut up yellow squash, zucchini and carrots and then put that in a bowl that we set aside. Then we were ready to prepare the main course. We tore off large pieces of aluminum foil and lay them flat on our cutting boards. We laid the freshly filleted pieces of cod on the tin foil. The cut vegetables were placed on top of the cod and sprinkled with salt and pepper and some people also put in fresh cut fennel or garlic. Chip showed us how to fold the foil up like a swan which most attempted. Stickers were placed on each one with our names written on the stickers and were placed in the oven at the same time for fifteen minutes.

While those were cooking, we drizzled our salad dressing atop our salads and sat at the table that was beautifully set. Everyone was laughing and commenting on their salad creations. This was the first time I tried this combination and I found it quite refreshing.

Our cooked cod and vegetables were brought out and you could smell the aroma of a great meal as we opened the folded foil. I thought cod was a great choice of fish because it doesn't have a fishy taste or smell and good news is that the waters of Montauk are full of plenty of cod! Our cod was caught fresh that morning and you can tell by the taste of it. Candice shared with us that this was a quick meal that was great to eat if you don't have enough time or are eating late. At the end of the meal a birthday cake was brought out for one of the ladies as a surprise. Everyone enjoyed the evening of preparing and eating their own creations and thanks to Chip and Candice Monte, we all learned something that will stay with us forever.

Chip shows us the foil swans

A perfect foiled swan from the oven.