Preparing your own three-course dinner with the assistance of award winning chef Manolo Castillo is something else entirely. After expressing his own personal interest in cooking, guest Gregg Santo was invited to join Chef Manolo in preparing a delicious customized dinner consisting of involtini mozzarella, with parsley and basil olive oil; tom kah gai Thai soup, followed by a chocolate mousse with grand mariner.

Changing from his chef uniform to dinner attire, Santos slipped back into the restaurant in time to surprise his partner with his culinary talents. The evening was a great success and lots of fun for everyone.

Representing Ka’ana Boutique Resort, Executive Chef Manolo Castillo receives three medals at the 2008 Festival Gastronomical in Guatemala City. The two day event held September 9-11, 2008 at the Grand Tikal Futura Hotel attracts professionals from around the globe seeking top culinary honors.

Chef Manolo received first place in the team leader category. Directing a team of six, he successfully prepared a three-course meal in ninety minutes from a surprise basket of ingredients provided by the organizers. In the individual competition, Chef Manolo received second place for his rabbit terrine with pea and cold wasabi soup entre and third place for Tom Yum Gai, a popular Thai soup.

Chef Manolo was the only competitor representing Belize. “This is a big honor for the country”. said Ian Lizarraga, Ka’ana’s Resort Director. “We are very proud of Manolo’s accomplishments”. Recently opened in September 2007, Ka’ana Boutique Resort is a luxury resort in the Cayo District of Western Belize.

In keeping with its mission to empower, support and develop hotel personnel to be the leaders in their own fields, Ka’ana encourages employees like Chef Manolo to achieve excellence. La Cieba restaurant at Ka’ana Boutique Resort is open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Guests can sample a wide selection of gourmet dishes prepared by Chef Manolo and his talented staff.

Pollo de la nona, “Grandma’s Chicken”

Makes four servings

Ingredients:

1lb boneless chicken

1 cup lentils

2 cups peel whole tomatoes

1 small onion

2 bay leaves

3 garlic clove

3 teaspoon olive oil

8 oz bacon

1 bunch cilantro

2 whole tomato (diced)

Preparations:

Dice the bacon and place in a hot sauce pan, after 3 min add garlic, cilantro, onion and sauted for 5 more minutes, remove from heat. Once it cools, blend and strain, then save.

Place the 2 cups of lentils into 5 cups of cold water, so they could cook evenly and in less time. Make sure not to overcook them, when they start to get tender add the mix that we reserved previous. Let it come to a boil for 5 min. Then add salt and black pepper.

After the chicken is washed, add salt and black pepper. Add 3 tsp of olive oil. A.low it to get hot. At this point, dump the bay leaves and then grilled the chicken into the pan for about 5 min on each side. When it appears done topped with the lentil sauce.