Camana Bay, Grand Cayman (Thursday 9 January): To Chef Eric Ripert’s 6th annual weekend of enjoying food, wine and the natural beauty of the Caribbean, the town of Camana Bay adds another reason for celebration on Saturday 18 January: the success of Cayman’s divers, scientists and chefs who have banded together to protect the islands’ reefs from the ravenous lionfish.

Camana Bay’s Saturday night Cayman Cookout Dinner Party will kick off with a lionfish cleaning and cooking demonstration embodying the “kill ‘em and grill ‘em” spirit that is helping control the lionfish population. Avid diver José Andrés will join fellow Cayman Cookout headline chef and James Beard award winner Michael Schwartz, Thomas Tennant of Michael’s Genuine® Food & Drink and Jason Washington of Ambassadors Divers as they share tales from their own lionfish hunt and techniques for culling, cleaning and cooking the frilly yet ferocious predators.

After the presentation, guests will dine at one of Camana Bay’s participating signature restaurants, where local chefs will partner with a Cayman Cookout guest chef to create a one-of-a-kind meal. José Andrés will be a special guest at Michael’s Genuine® Food & Drink where Chef Schwartz will present lionfish and other classic dishes; Quebec’s “wild chef” Martin Picard will appear at Abacus; Daniel Boulud will bring French flair to Mizu; and Rick Bayless will unite with Chef Cindy Hutson at Ortanique. A few ideas of what diners can anticipate:

Michael’s Genuine® Food & Drink

José Andrés will be an honoured guest as the Michael’s Genuine team serves up the bully of the ecosystem with a roasted lionfish course. Diners will also enjoy signature grass-fed tenderloin and grilled swordfish (or wahoo depending on who’s friendlier to the fisherman Cayman Cookout weekend) – fish whose populations are in part maintained by the dedicated lionfish cullers.

Abacus with Martin Picard

Quebec’s “wild chef” Martin Picard will meet his match in Cayman’s most irrepressible restaurant duo as they serve carnivorous Quebecois creations from squid ink poutine to foie gras pancakes to “duck in a can” to stuffed pig trotters with lobster.

Mizu with Daniel Boulud

Having infused the soul of his renowned French cuisine into his latest restaurants in Beijing and Hong Kong, Daniel Boulud will work with culinary craftsmen behind the island’s authentic regional Asian fare to present spiny lobster with lemongrass-kaffir cream, rice-crusted snapper with green curry sauce and tamarind glazed duck.

Ortanique with Rick Bayless

Rick Bayless’s traditional Mexican artistry will meet Chef Cindy Hutson’s beloved Cuisine of the Sun for an evening that is as bold, fresh and fun as the menu which will include oxtail and lobster ravoli, prime ribeye in an Oaxacan mole and tropically sublime Ortanique Coconut Cloud.

“Camana Bay is thrilled to once again host the Saturday Cayman Cookout Dinner Party and welcome discerning diners from around the world to our own culinary destination within a destination,” said Ken Hydes, vice president of special projects for Dart Realty (Cayman) Ltd., the developer behind Camana Bay. “Camana Bay now has more than a dozen restaurants and eateries, and Cayman Cookout offers us an opportunity to spotlight the craft and creativity of our most acclaimed chefs.”

Cayman Cookout, which is hosted by Eric Ripert and presented by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman and FOOD & WINE magazine, will bring some of the best known and most respected chefs in the world to Grand Cayman for the Caribbean’s premier culinary event. They include José Andrés, Lidia Bastianich, Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Anthony Bourdain, Daniel Humm, Martin Picard, Michael Schwartz and Jacques Torres.