Only Restaurants in an All Inclusive Resort to be Named to List
Playa del Carmen (September 13, 2011) Grand Velas Riviera Maya's signature restaurants Frida and Cocina de Autor were named to BBVA Bancomer's Gourmand List of the top 50 restaurants in Mexico. Both restaurants, part of the resort's "Beyond All-Inclusive, Beyond All Compare" plan, are the only restaurants in all inclusive resorts to be named to the list. Reviewers went to restaurant candidates six times within a year. Restaurants were judged on everything from the originality, flavor, appearance and quality of the cuisine and the selection, pairing, preservation and presentation of the wine list to the originality and general conceptual design and service. "When we opened our restaurants our goal was nothing less than to offer cuisine presentations and settings that could compare with the finest restaurants in any world capital," said Fernando Garcia Rossette, Grand Velas Riviera Maya's Managing Director. "We are delighted and honored to achieve such a prestigious ranking less than three years after opening."
Combining an elaborate menu that merges "Nuevo Basque" and Mexican cuisine, fine wines and modern décor, Cocina de Autor is the latest venture from Michelin-Pedigree Executive Chefs Bruno Oteiza and Mikel Alonso. The duo's Basque background and culinary expertise along with their training under famed three-Michelin-Star Chef Juan Mari Arzak have propelled the restaurant to be considered one of the Riviera Maya's culinary hot spots.
The restaurant was named one Food & Wine magazine's Top 100 Best New Food & Beverage Experiences in 2010. The signature restaurant's a la carte menu includes a tasting menu with wine pairing and a variety of finely-crafted dishes. Two menu items of note are the ‘Veal , 36 h / 145 °f', a rack of veal cooked for 36 hours served with yogurt foam, juniper and burnt milk paper, and a ‘Green Monochromatic' fish, featuring crisp pork skin in green sauce, poblano chilli pepper cream, and a ‘molcajete' green sauce.
Frida
Frida, named after the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, offers Mexican fine-dining in a contemporary and relaxing atmosphere by Chef Daniel Garcia Gomez. A sampling of the menu includes Grilled Flank Fillet with Roasted Cactus Leaves and Chipotle Chili Pepper Stuffed with cheese, Duck Tacos with Anise and Mole Poblano and Cactus Leaf Ravioli with Requeson Cheese in a creamy Guajillo Chile Pepper Sauce.
Frida also offers a now-legendary margarita menu, a selection of eight libations offering the latest in mixology, with flavors ranging from lemon, strawberry, mango, guava, tamarind, cucumber, peach and coconut. Grand Velas Riviera Maya offers the most varied, fresh, gourmet and sensory food and beverage program in the region, a virtual gastronomic voyage to all corners of the earth by way of its 15 food and beverage outlets. Its abundant dining offerings allow guests to explore and savor a worldly fusion of flavors without leaving the comfort of the AAA Five Diamond resort. For more information, call Velas Resorts at 1-888-323-2776 or visit www.velasresorts.com.