MIAMI – Nestled in the historic Palms Resort and Spa on Miami Beach, Essensia Restaurant and Bar features a celebration of mindfully sourced healthy cuisine, the two indoors and outdoors.
At the helm of Essensia is Chef du Delicacies Diana Tandia, whose culinary journey commenced in Mauritania, Africa, wherever her spouse and children instilled a adore for scratch-produced food items. Following honing her techniques with renowned cooks like Daniel Boulud and Jean Georges Vongerichten in New York, Tandia discovered her genuine calling.
“Then one day I just picked up the mobile phone and I referred to as my mother and I reported I would appreciate to be a chef,” she reported. “But being African, our mother and father have really high anticipations. Becoming a chef was not plenty of. You need to have to be a health care provider, a nurse, or an engineer, or marry a company dude.”
But Tandia persevered, going through the problems head-on.
“Honestly, there have been not that quite a few people today that looked like me, my color, and getting a female. So I wanted to get the job done 10 situations harder than everyone to break the limitations,” she claimed. “And I imagine after we turn into a chef, we can do it better than any person. Due to the fact we are very nurturing. We pour our coronary heart into what we do.”
That is obvious in her Jungle Seasonal Vegetable Curry, a vegan delight crafted with locally grown deliver and served with stir-fried forbidden rice. Even for the duration of Ramadan fasting, Tandia’s enthusiasm for her craft shines by.
“It is really so stepped up exquisite, so considerably taste,” said CBS Information Miami’s Lisa Petrillo immediately after tasing. “The veggies are so clean and tender. And how about that rice? Really excellent.”
“That rice goes again generations,” she stated. “Only the emperor of China was allowed to try to eat it.”
Tandia’s worldly influences glow in dishes like her Thai-influenced Grilled Jumbo Solar Shrimp Tail Duet, showcasing coffee lime butter, and her total roasted Florida snapper marinated in lemongrass, tamarind, and her home made seasonings.
“It truly is the lemongrass and the tamarind paste with this tremendous new fish that provides it so considerably flavor,” Petrillo mentioned. “Oh, this is a unique fish.”
The culinary journey concludes on a sweet note with Essensia’s Citrus Olive Oil Cake paired with olive oil gelato, a perfect harmony of moist sweetness.
Essensia Cafe and Bar welcomes attendees seven times a 7 days, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
