May
25, 2006 The Mother of All Mother’s Day
Brunches…Delray Beach Marriott Takes the Cake and a Whole Lot More
by Robin Roth
For the very first time, I am actually at a loss
for adjectives (if you can believe that!) to describe this more than
stellar Mother’s Day Brunch. There are simply NO words GRAND enough
to describe such a sensationally lavish event. The Delray Beach
Marriott put the HAPPY in Happy Mother’s Day!
This annual
extravaganza was like attending a MAJOR Hollywood wedding. From the
talented live band to the room decorated with lights and flowers,
and the seats covered in white material with attached colored bows,
all made the Marriott ballroom a vision to behold. It was quite
obvious that there was NO expense spared on this glorious day. It
was sophisticated, elegant, stunning, serving a delectable gigantic
array of delicious foods, beautiful and, above all, was dripping
with CLASS! That said, the brunch was also comfortable and relaxing,
as if you were in your own happy place!
Even though there were hundreds of people around
(1,300 LUCKY “brunchers” throughout the day), it surprisingly felt
as though you and YOUR family were the only ones there. Not only was
there every kind of food that you could possibly imagine, but the
service, staff and attention to the guests’ needs was impeccable.
All the servers were hospitable, charming and aimed to PLEASE.
I absolutely must give kudos to the BRILLIANT man in charge
of this event, who pulled it off with ease (or so it appeared),
Executive Chef Adam Savage (more on Mr. Savage
later).
Readers, I don’t want to make you jealous…BUT let me
go into greater detail about the foods the guests enjoyed. I DON’T
care how educated you palate is, there is no way ANYONE, ANYWHERE
would not have been WOWED and DLEIGHTED by the ocean of tastes
experienced by all who attended. Furthermore, the beautiful displays
of foods (on table after table) were more than impressive. It was
quite a sight!
Every type of salad you can come up with was
available, ditto for the pastas that were made in front of you.
There was an obscene amount of shrimp, overflowing fresh and plump
oysters, yummy caviar (with all the trimmings), an abundance of crab
legs, mussels, and let’s not forget the steak tartare. Jealous yet?
NO? Well then, let me continue! Every type of cheese you love was
there for the taking, as were fruit you dream of enjoying, fresh raw
vegetables of every kind, cooked salmon and cold nova salmon, (yes
of course there were bagels), waffles prepared to your liking, eggs,
omelets, bacon, sausage, French toast (nice with the whipped cream
and fresh berries), pastries and rolls. NO, I AM NOT FINISHED! There
was prime rib, turkey, duck, chicken and all types of potatoes and
vegetables etc. etc… Even if you are not jealous, you would be if I
went into the massive display of breathtakingly ‘delish’ and divine
desserts, created by Pastry Chefs Emmanielle Sualez and Brandi Page!
I will kind and spare you the rest of the details. All I can say to
the pastry chefs is, YOU GO GIRLS! I would be remiss if I didn’t
give due credit to the amazing Garden Manager Chef Brooke Weiner and
Banquet Chef Derek Leinonen. You all deserve the “Best Brunch in
America” award! You certainly have my vote!
Okay, don’t shoot the messenger if you
unfortunately missed out on this fantabulous event! Lucky for you,
the Delray Beach Marriott repeats this event on all major holidays.
Trust me, don’t be shut out of any of them, but remember to book WAY
in advance!
Let me get back to the award-winning, creative
Chef Adam Savage for a sec. YES, he is movie-star handsome, but
don’t let that fool you. HE IS AN AMAZING CHEF TOO! “SO CUTE”…
OKAY, I will move it along! He creates dishes that have texture,
color, taste and visual appeal that also reflect his focus on
freshness. Adam designed his amazing food creations for some of the
finest restaurants in Florida, earning him the AAA Four Diamond
Award several times. In addition, he has also earned the Five
Diamond Award by the Academy of Hospitality Sciences, the DiRona
Award as well as The Wine Spectator Award. If that is not impressive
enough, Chef Adam has trained and worked with world class
chefs.
My point is this: The Delray Beach Marriott has a
restaurant that you can frequent and enjoy all year long called The
Seacrest Grill that is out of this world. The menu includes
everything from steaks, seafood and chicken to pasta dishes. This
restaurant is wonderful and totally delicious… Don’t miss out on
Chef Adam’s creations. GO, ENJOY, and tell them Robin sent you!
Especially ADAM! “SO CUTE!”
The Delray Beach Marriott is
located at 10 North Ocean Blvd. For reservations, call
561-274-3200.
PHOTO IDS
1. Jumbo shrimp galore 2.
Sweet, plump oysters 3. Perfect, tender steak tartare 4.
Pastry chefs Emmanielle Sualez and Brandi Page 5. Brilliant chef
Adam Savage 6. Breathtaking brunch ballroom 7. Creative chefs
Brooke, Adam and Derek Photos by Robin
Roth