New Menu At The Panamonte Inn & Spa Kicks Off 2011.

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by: bearmcc
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Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 Time: 6:41 AM
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A new era greeted The Panamonte Inn & Spa at the opening of 2011. Since 1914, The Panamonte, Panama's only registered Small Luxury Hotel, located in the Boquete highlands, has been providing personalized hospitality for international travelers. Today, featuring all updated rooms, and new Garden Terrace rooms and suites, the Panamonte has taken another step forward in upgrading their services.

Executive Chef/owner Charlie Collins, an internationally acclaimed chef and innovator of cuisine, introduced a dramatically new menu. The menu reflects Chef Collins' philosophy that food needs to use the freshest ingredients available, be prepared with sophistication and simplicity (no fussy, over the top sauces to mask the flavors!), and presented beautifully.

In addition to the menu, Chef Collins has recruited a rising star in the world of cuisine to oversee The Panamonte's kitchen. Paola Solis is young, energetic, creative and passionately dedicated to fine food.
"I began cooking at the age of 12," she remembers. "I come from a family that cooks. Everyone cooks, and meals were sharing moments. Every Saturday was lasagna day and I wanted to make it. So one day, my mother said, 'All right. Today you make the lasagna for the family.' I did," Paola remembers, laughingly, "and my mother said it was better than hers! Then she told me she was permanently on vacation and from now on Saturdays were my days to cook!"
A chef was born.

Today, working closely with Chef Collins, Paola oversees a menu that incorporates the freshest ingredients with traditional Panamanian dishes, and gives them an international twist. There are rich Italian risottos with asparagus and truffles; pastas with profoundly flavorful short rib ragu. There is Peruvian inspired "tiradito," thinly sliced sushi grade tuna carpaccio basted with fresh citrus. A curried quinoa salad has its roots in Hindu cuisine. Prawns marry chorizo sausage to bring Spain to the table. Salmon filets grilled on cedar planks, fresh local trout, Angus beef, skirt steak flamb?ed tableside, hearts of palm ceviche, and roasted beet and blue cheese salads are some of the new menu items.

Paola Solis executes Chef Collins' philosophy and vision beautifully. On a recent evening, my friend and I dined on the roasted beet salad, the grilled salmon, the truffled risotto, and finished with arbol de tomate (a tropical fruit) poached in a red wine reduction, served with wedges of sharp Spanish cheese. A truly exquisite, perfectly prepared, beautifully presented meal that we will long remember.
Hats off to Chef Collins and Chef Solis. What's for dinner?

About the Author

Panamonte Inn and Spa is your perfect choice for a Boquete Hotel. Visit Boquete Panama and stay at the premier Panama bed and breakfast, The Panamonte