Party pairings with chef joe hughes & amba lamb

Most of us know that red wine pairs well with steak and burgers with beers, but what about cocktails? That’s exactly what Cayman Cocktail Week’s Party Pairings event hosted by bartender extraordinaire Amba Lamb and Chef Joe Hughes of Bay Side was all about. In the intimate setting of Bon Vivant’s test kitchen, our inquisitive group were keen to learn how best to pair food and booze. We started the evening with an exploratory food and beverage map where we would try a food item (chocolate, salami, wasabi peas) and sip a cocktail (aperol spritz, margarita, whisky) to learn what we liked and didn’t like. Some interesting combos definitely came out of it, but a favourite that echoed across the room was cheddar cheese with sake surprisingly.

The remainder of the evening had Amba and Chef Joe pairing a three course meal with cocktails, explaining why they worked and answering all of our questions. Our new copies of the Flavour Bible had notations about ingredients used in each course and made us think a bit harder about what we were eating and drinking. They did a phenomenal job in demonstrating how we could pair our own cocktails and dishes at home, such as curried plantain with a coconut-based cocktail or in a more classic example they used coffee, chocolate and nutty flavours for desssert.

This event was excellent not only because of the delicious food and cocktails, but a chance to learn more about how flavours work and pair with one another. I look forward to using my Flavour Bible to challenge myself in the world of food and cocktail pairings at my next dinner party.