Yesterday morning, D and I spent our morning at Fairchild Tropical Garden’s 17th Annual International Mango Festival. This year I resolved to splurge on the mango brunch to see what it was all about. We then walked around the festival, which has undergone some improvements since two years ago.
The brunch this year featured chefs Allen Susser of Chef Allen’s; Mark Militello, executive chef at the Regent Bal Harbour; Roly Cruz-Taura, executive chef at The Biltmore; Charles Froke, executive pastry chef at the Four Seasons hotel; and Giancarla Bodoni, chef at Escopazzo.
Hundreds of mango varieties were on display in the room. We heard from Bruce Greer from Fairchild’s board of trustees, who introduced a new mango – the Bachelor mango – to a very excited audience, and from Richard Campbell, senior curator of tropical fruit. Then, it was time to eat.
D and I went and got out first dish, an open-faced pulled pork sandwich with mango salsa prepared by Delicious Catering Services Creative Tastes Catering. We returned to our table to find some people who felt the food would run out. They had a strategy, they said, so they stacked plates wherever they could. At one point, there was a plate atop the bread basket, which was atop the table number. Wow. D and I just laughed it off and enjoyed the rest of our dishes — one at a time.
Chef Allen Susser cooked up my favorite dish of the morning curried mussels with a crab, green mango and keffir lime mix.
We then moved on to the mango waffles presented by the Whole Foods culinary team. Unfortunately ours were cold but the mango butter almost made up for that.
Our next dish was the Florida rock shrimp with champagne mango, mango-cucumber terrine and mango-walnut popcorn prepared by chef Cruz-Taura of the Biltmore. The presentation was nice and I liked the flavors of the rock shrimp, mango and walnuts together.
At this point we were starting to get a little full but we had only one dish to go before we moved onto the desserts. Mark Militello’s pickled Keitt mango salad with jumbo lump crab meat and fresh coconut was good but it wasn’t a favorite. The pickled mango salad was tangy and sweet but there seemed to be too much going on in the plate as a whole.
We could’ve done without dessert but chef Froke’s mango and coconut tart looked so tempting I had to try it.
The coconut tart was topped with a mango mousse and fresh fruit. That’s the part I ate and enjoyed the most as the coconut tart was a bit sweet for my taste.
By the time we finished our whole table had left so we were able to dash without guilt and walk around the festival. There were many more vendors this year. This cart selling conch fritters was tempting but we had zero room for any more food.
I’ve had blueberry and raspberry beer but never mango beer. We got a taste of the Sierra Nevada Kellerweis and the Virgin Islands Tropical Mango Pale Ale. I would only consider the second one a mango beer; it smelled like mango and had some taste of mango too. The other one, not so much.
The international fruit market had several varieties of mangoes for sale.
Chef Crissy Dumaine from Garnders Market showed the audience how to make a mangospacho and gave everyone a taste. The culinary demonstrations were moved to a larger space and they were filmed so that people who ended up in the back could see what the chef was doing. Volunteers brough out tasting portions for everyone so people could remain seated instead of — like the last time I went — having a mad rush of people going up to the chef’s table to get a bite.
Having been absent from the festival last year, I was pleased to go back and find that it has improved on several levels. The food at the brunch was good but I don’t think I would go back. Next year, I’d rather just pay the $20 and buy myself some conch fritters and a mango smoothie.
Awesome Post! I would have never guessed that there were so many varieties of mangos! I bet the mango festival was a blast!
The mussels and the rock shrimp dishes look really good. Sounds like a good festival. I’ll have to consider it for next year.
Sounds like the brunch was a pale reflection of what they offered last year. The dishes this year are intriguing, though. How were the kaffir lime leaves used in the mussel dish? Are those little green bits in the picture finely shredded leaves? I bought a kaffir lime tree to ensure a regular supply, but I’ve been daunted in actually including them in recipes.
I’m also curious about the mango-walnut popcorn. How did that work exactly?
Thanks for the effort of writing it up. I wrote up last year’s and I know it’s a major undertaking.
Sounds like a great time. I missed it this year but next year I have to go. If only my wife liked mango. How could I marry someone who doesn’t like mango? Great review!
What a great review and the pictures are beautiful!
BillJ – I’m trying to see if I can get the recipe for the crab salad but my best guess is that the leaves were used and maybe some zest?
Jackie Sayet from Short Order has a close up picture of the mango-walnut popcorn. It wasn’t popcorn, it just looked like it. The chef used liquid nitrogen to create what I would describe as kernels of mango ice cream, which were sprinkled over the dish. There were also real walnuts mixed in with the rock shrimp. My husband’s dish had a disproportionate serving of the “popcorn” and he definitely wasn’t expecting it to be ice cold. It was funny to see his surprise when he tasted it.
George – How can one not like mango? It’s one of my favorite fruits.
Thanks for the reply and the link to the popcorn picture. I’ve got to say that that concoction looks more like industrial scrambled eggs than popcorn to my eye, but I suppose that’s not the most appetizing description. I was hoping they had freeze-dried the mango and walnuts, ground them to powder and dusted popcorn with it. Or at least made a mango-flavored caramel and made caramel popcorn with it.
That last actually sounds like a pretty good idea. I may give it a shot.
BillJ – That sounds delicious. Let me know if you make it. I read your mango brunch recap from last year and the dishes do sound a lot better.
Thanks for lovely recap. How much was the brunch, Paula? I’m with you about getting fritters and smoothie instead. When you’ve paid, you end up pigging out, hoink, hoink.
I hope you don’t mind me jumping in about BillJ’s query for keffir lime leaves. Khanya Moolsiri who’s affiliated with the Thai Temple gave me a whole bunch from her tree so I froze them. They make your dish taste very exotic and lemony, I love it, very refreshing, try it.
Eleanor – the brunch was $75 for members and $100 for non-members.
BillJ – Please tell me where you bought your kaffir lime tree. I used to live on Maui and worked at a restaurant where we had 4 trees growing in our herb garden. I would like to plant a tree in my yard. As far as recipes, use the leaf (cut the small rib out of the middle &; cut crosswise in a fine julienne) You may buy a container of panang curry paste (Mae Ploy brand is best) and saute’ some chopped shallots(1/4 cup) and the kaffir lime leaves (4each), until the shallots are translucent. Add the whole container of curry paste(approx.2cups) and gently saute’, stirring constantly for approx. 5 minutes (you will smell the curry,”bloom”). Add approx. 1 & 1/2 cups of unsweetened coconut milk (not coconut “water”), stirring constantly and bring to a gentle simmer (do not boil). Cut heat and remove from stove, put into a clean container and cool. You may cover only after you have cooled it completely in your refrigerator. When you want to make a dish (seafood, chicken,beef) and julienned vegies, saute’ them first and add your curry paste towards the middle of the process and heat till done (goes well on top of jasmine rice).
I’m so disappointed that I have to travel to Homestead to get a mango that’s not from Mexico.
Bill J, Where did you get your Kaffir Lime Leaf Tree from? I cook a lot of Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes and I have been looking for one. Are they expensive?
You can get kaffir lime trees by email from:
Nate and Anna Jameson
Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery, LLC
480 CR 416 South
Lake Panasoffkee, FL 33538
352-793-6861 (office)
352-793-3674 (fax)
http://www.briteleaf.com
[...] was a good time. The milder temperatures definitely help to make it more enjoyable than, say, the mango festival. Here are some [...]