It is humbling to look back on a year of “once in a lifetime” meals with visionary guests across the country. This season is a truly special one. I can’t wait for you to see it and to experience each meal with us. More importantly, it’s a chance to absorb the insight, the wisdom, the inspiration, the secret sauce that each guest shares during our meal. That’s the entrée. That’s the good stuff. It’s funny. Each season – I think it will get easier to get the show, the guests, the restaurants on board and what I’ve learned is that it is anything but easy. It involves a lot of incredibly difficult days where I’m not sure it’s going to work. But somehow, here we are! This program is truly a labor of love and a toast to great restaurants around the world and a special fist bump to the restaurateurs and hospitality professionals who have devoted their lives to great hospitality. It’s also a toast to people of all disciplines who are trying to do something great, create something new and turn “nothing into something.” We began shooting in January of last year in the Caribbean island of Anguilla. The guest, Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, is a well-known travel journalist who has truly created a dream career as a “Carivangelist” aka an evangelist for the Caribbean. The location is out of a movie. A swath of sand in the middle of the Caribbean that is home to only a restaurant. No electricity. The restaurant is generator and solar powered. No residents. Just a restaurant where the warm staff and fresh food and produce arrives by boat. It’s called Sandy Island....and it is breath-taking. As beautiful as the setting was and as delicious as that rum punch was I had in my hand (thank you to bartender Dion!), the story of Sarah’s journey to carve out this dream career was even more delicious. Her vision for her life and career and her ability to make it happen is why we do the show.
