 1 Sunday was the Taittinger-sponsored champagne brunch, with Top Chef champion Spike Mendelsohn emceeing the finals of a competition between Ritz Carlton chefs from around the world |
 2 The celebrity judges for the competition were Tony Bourdain, José Andrés, and Eric Ripert |
 3 Both chefs competing were women, the winning chef had her young son as a sous chef |
 4 Time is almost up- ready, set, plate! |
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 6 Delivering the goods to the panel of judges |
 7 Max with Alan and Evelyn, a couple from Dallas we became friendly with |
 8 A brief chance to watch the sunset from our room while we rallied for the final gala dinner |
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 10 The gala started with cocktails on the outdoor patio at Blue by master mixologist Adam Seger. Martini glasses chilled with ice water while he concocted a mad scientist giant beaker of 100 year old armagnac, japanese pear liquer, and several other exotic ingredients. With all of the macerated herbs, the slurry had to be poured through a filter funnel into the cocktail shakers. |
 11 Quite the theatrical cocktail event, the next step was to properly shake |
 12 Tomato granite was put in the bottom of the glass and the cocktail mixture poured over it. Of course, no drink is complete without 3 thick slices of black truffle floating on top! The final step was a couple of drops of artisanal bitters from the tiny flasks with the droppers in them. |
 13 The gala dinner in Blue was 7 courses, each course conceived by one of the celebrity chefs |
 14 At the end of the meal, the chefs take a bow as Eric Ripert introduces them. Videocams were setup in the kitchen and monitors spread throughout the dining room so that we could watch the preparations as the meal proceeded. |
 15 Our table companions for the gala dinner |
