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Guest Chef - Compass Point
DINING & ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE - JULY 2007
Guest Chef - Compass Point
Mario Williams at Compass Point
The high-pressure environment in a working kitchen often leads to displays of temper, but chef Mario Williams at Compass Point resort on West Bay Street is ?not one of life?s pot-throwers.?
A large, 34-year-old Nassau native with a flashing gold-toothed smile, Williams is pure geniality when he talks about his cooking style.
His dishes are ample but elegant, recalling Californian fusion. But ?I usually add a Bahamas twist,? he says, pointing to the coconut tempura that coats his fried shrimp, and the generous disks of crawfish (Caribbean lobster) that festoon his shellfish risotto.
He reflects that the culinary arts are ephemeral: ?You know that someone really enjoyed your creation only when they completely destroy it.? And however vibrant the dishes he prepares, Williams knows they?re in competition with the glorious sunsets that can be witnessed from his restaurant?s seafront location.
As well, there are celebrities for his customers to watch. The restaurant is within walking distance of Compass Point Studios where British soul singer Joss Stone recorded recently. Latin songstress Shakira had her New Year?s Eve party here, and actor Sean Connery, who lives nearby, is a regular guest. In fact, the most expensive bottle on the wine list?a $300 Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1993?was brought in because Connery fancies it. ?And since then he?s drunk nothing but Red Stripe [beer],? laments general manager Skip Skully.
Compass Point is a hangout for locals who come back for breakfast, lunch and dinner week after week. This means Williams has to constantly reinvent the menu, so he admits to ?doodling? with recipes between services in the kitchen.
It?s in the genes
The art of preparing delicious food is lodged in Williams? genes. His parents were both professional cooks. He took his first steps toward a culinary career when he was only nine, helping his mother make Sunday dinners. ?That?s a big meal for people in Nassau,? he explains. ?There?ll be pork chops, beans and rice, macaroni and cheese ? lots of stuff. And for me to cook that and have people appreciate it was something else.?
It was his father who influenced him the most as a chef. ?He had authority,? says Williams. ?My mother [would] say, ?don?t do that, you?ll burn yourself.? My father would say, ?Let him burn himself?how else is he going to learn???
Williams continued his apprenticeship at Resorts International, where he worked for many years, rising through the ranks to become head chef. Then he moved to the Cat Cay Yacht Club as sous chef in 1999. Three years later he worked at the then-new Four Seasons Resort at Emerald Bay, Great Exuma. When Compass Point reopened in December 2006 after a two-year hiatus, Williams was scouted by Simonetta Raymond-Barker, the restaurant?s interior designer.
Here?s how Chef Mario gives Pacific Coast-style cuisine an artful Caribbean twist.
Stuffed portobello mushrooms in a Barolo sauce
(serves two)
2 large portobello mushrooms
3 oz Gorgonzola cheese
2 oz chopped spinach
1?4 cup beef stock
1?2 cup Barolo (or other powerful red wine)
1 tsp tomato paste
3 tsp roux
Wash the spinach and shake dry. Sauté the spinach in a little oil or butter until wilted.
Wash the mushrooms and cut out the stems. Fill the caps with cheese and spinach. Bake in an oven at 350°F for 10 minutes.
Combine the stock and wine in a saucepan. Stir in the tomato paste and bring to a boil. Add the roux and simmer for five minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken. Pour over and around mushroom caps.
Lobster, crab and spinach risotto
(serves two)
8 oz lobster tail, cut into discs
4 oz crab meat
10 oz Arborio rice
1?2 cup white wine
2 cups vegetable stock
6 oz spinach
8 oz tomato, diced
1-4 cloves garlic (to taste), diced
3 oz heavy cream
3 oz olive oil
chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer the Arborio rice in white wine and stock for eight minutes. Sauté lobster and crab briefly in olive oil. Add the cooked rice, diced tomato, garlic and spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts.
Add cream, butter, salt and pepper. Keep sampling individual grains of rice, and cook until a grain offers just a little resistance when you bite. Stir in the parsley.
Surf and turf with peppercorn sauce and mango butter dip
(serves two)
2 8-oz lobster tails
2 8-oz filet mignon steaks
1?4 cup beef stock
1?4 cup red wine
1 oz green peppercorns
2 tsp roux
4 oz butter
6 oz mango puree
Broil the lobster tails for 15 minutes. Grill the steaks on high heat, 3 minutes per side for medium rare (4-5 minutes each side for medium to well done).
Simmer the stock, wine, peppercorns and roux for five minutes or until the sauce thickens. Pour the sauce around the steak. Melt the butter gently and pour off the clear liquid, being careful to discard any solids. Whip the mango puree into the clarified butter. Serve in a dish beside the lobster, for dipping.
Banana flambe
(serves two)
2 whole bananas
4 oz vanilla ice cream
2 oz banana rum
1 oz chocolate topping
1 oz strawberry topping
Cut the bananas into thick slices. Sauté in rum until the banana softens. Light the mixture and pour carefully over ice cream in a shallow dish. Top with chocolate and strawberry, as shown.
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