A Gastronomical Soirée to Remember

It was an inspired evening, indeed, at The Muse restaurant in the new Beacon Escazú Hotel on Dec. 14, when the San José chapter of the international gourmet society Chaîne des Rôtisseurs inducted 13 new members, including French Ambassador to Costa RicaFabrice Delloye, the guest of honor.

Also inducted was Executive Chef Jean- Pierre Peiny, who was chef at La Serre in the U.S. city of Los Angeles for more than 13 years. Peiny created a tour-de-force dinner for 57 guests that included such classic French fare as terrine of duck with pistachios, shrimp bisque, beef tournedos with foie gras and a made-in-heaven chocolate mousse.

Enjoying the gala evening, which also included dancing to a jazz combo, were Jessica Ying-Hsiu Lin, Dewi Derckson, Minor Solís, Diengo Chou, Mariella Cabezas and Edward Florián, all of San José. Another highlight of the evening was the presentation of bronze medals to General Manager Sidelau Salcedo and Executive Chef Brad Lloyd of the Paradisus Playa Conchal resort in Guanacaste, for their leadership contributions to the 80-member Chaîne since its inception here in 2005.

–Dorothy MacKinnon