Chef's Corner

Expert Executive Chef Victor Olivares began his career at Amazonia Churrascaria ten years ago as grill master, working his way up through the organization. Prior to that, this dedicated chef worked for eight years at the Sun Club at the Costa Linda Beach Resort.

Culinary Tips
An expert in purchasing, handling, preparing and cooking meat, Victor prefers to use tenderloin (lomito) from Brazil and Argentina, and USDA choice beef for all the other cuts. “For red meat, I prefer a dry rub of kosher salt and black pepper. For lamb and lamb chops, chicken breast and legs, and pork tenderloin, I prefer a marinade of olive oil, herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil), salt and pepper.

“Preparing meat to the desired doneness is an art as much as a science. Use high heat to seal; then lower the flame. For a 2” thick cut such as a New York or rib-eye steak, I suggest the following:

Rare: Check doneness by pressing with a finger; when it feels very soft, steak is rare (cook 5 – 6 minutes each side).

Medium Rare: Cook 9 – 10 minutes each side.

Medium: Cook 11 – 12 minutes each side.

Well done: Cook 14 – 15 minutes each side.”

“When shopping, buy meat only when bright red in color. It should be sufficiently marbled so it will be soft and juicy on the grill. A skirt steak is a good cut for the grill. Use only the outside skirt steak. This cut is longer and narrower than the less expensive and tougher inside skirt steak used for fajitas which has a membrane and must be steamed first.”

Busy Executive Chef Godfrey Vargas of Texas de Brazil oversees a kitchen staff of 20 who serve anywhere from 200 – 350 diners nightly. Not a piece of cake, even for this veteran chef with twenty-two years of combined experience in Venezuela and Aruba. Godfrey previously worked in Aruba at Pelican Nest, La Trattoria El Faro Blanco, Old Cunucu House, and Casa Tua before assuming his current position three years ago.

“Each of our 12 carvers is a specialist in one of our meats, whether it is picanha (top sirloin, our most popular selection), filet mignon flank steak, lamb, ribs, chicken, pork loin, or our special chorizo (Brazilian sausage). All are taught how to cook it to perfection utilizing a special system that cooks only the quantity required à la minute. This keeps all of our meats juicy.”

“Our USDA choice meats are seasoned only with salt and pepper and prepared medium rare (with red center), maintaining their taste and high quality. When using a charcoal grill, it is best to select cuts with some fat and to leave some after trimming. When purchasing the meat, it should be red in color and soft to the touch. It should remain in the refrigerator no more than two days before cooking because the cold temperature actually burns it. After this time, the juice leaves it and you will notice a change in the color; it loses it taste, as does meat that is frozen.”

At Texas de Brazil, when your disk is turned to the green side (Sim Por Favor), the carvers will continue to visit your table. When you flip to the red side (Nao Obrigado), they know you are done.

Being able to sit down with Chef Giovanni Barros, Executive Chef at Driftwood for the past decade, is not an easy matter. This energetic, multi-tasking chef oversees a busy kitchen brigade to produce hundreds of mouth watering seafood plates every day. Caught by Driftwood I and II fishing boats, the fish he prepares is the freshest possible. While that is key to quality, Chef Barros has a few culinary secrets up his sleeve.

DRIFTWOOD’S FIVE STAR SOUP has become an island tradition. First chef boils head of sea bass or other fresh catch, shrimp heads and salmon skins, along with celery, leeks, onions, salt and pepper, and peeled tomatoes to create a flavorful broth. Then he adds shellfish - shrimp, mussels, clams and king crab. After three hours, the soup is ready.

To prepare mahi-mahi, grouper or barracuda on the grill, he suggests that total cooking time not exceed 15 minutes. Because wahoo is a dry fish, and snapper contains too much water, he suggests that those fish be pan-fried instead. To prepare the garlic sauce for these fish, brown the margarine, add parsley and white wine, season with salt and pepper.

To make calamari and such fish as wahoo very tender, soak them in milk for ten minutes before cooking.

While most people enjoy fillets, many enjoy fish steaks - bones and all. Kingfish is a popular choice; when grilling, seasoning other than salt and pepper is necessary.

After 21 years as a pastry chef (of which 13 years was at Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino in Aruba), Charles Wagner moved to the resort's Ruth's Chris Steak House several years ago, joining a top brand with restaurants throughout the US and Europe, and in the Caribbean region, in Puerto Rico and Aruba. Hailing from Curaçao, Chef Wagner attended the Aruba Hotel School and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He opened several resorts in Aruba and Curaçao early in his career. Now Executive Chef at New Orleans-inspired Ruth's Chris Steak House, he leads the kitchen brigade with discipline and precision, preparing the finest Midwestern corn-fed beef to perfection.

Chef Wagner's success lies as much in his culinary creativity as in his passion and dedication. "For inspiration, I would often go on-line and create new desserts, then finalize the recipes and teach them to the staff," he explains. He is a master at using complementary flavors: mango and pumpkin; mango, orange and pineapple; papaya and orange; and mango and chocolate, combinations that blend excitingly well.

I also enjoy preparing traditional Aruban desserts such as cashew nut cake (bolo di cashupete) and prune cake (bolo di pruim), sometimes adding Caribbean fruits including the sweet guava and mispel, sour tamarind and soursop, and sweet-sour passion fruit. "The secret to being a good pastry chef is making everything with love; taste and presentation are equally important," Charles reveals.