For years, I've brought friends to Mercado la Paloma, the food hall and cultural center that is home to Gilberto Cetina's Holbox, the seafood counter that was our L.A. Times Restaurant of the Year in 2023 and last year was awarded a Michelin star. These days, there's always a line for Cetina's exquisite seafood plates, including his octopus taco with squid-ink-stained sofrito.
This October, Aruba is set to transform into a global stage for food, culture, and community as the Autentico Culinary Festival returns for its second year. From October 11-19, the island will welcome chefs, locals, and visitors for a weeklong celebration of diverse flavors, creative collaboration, and culinary storytelling. Organized by the Aruba Tourism Authority (A.T.A.), Autentico has quickly become the island's signature food festival, highlighting not only Aruba's rich heritage but also its position as a rising culinary destination in the Caribbean.
Hence the four-hands dinner, a dining experience that involves two chefs working together to create a special menu for a limited period. This summer has seen a bumper load, a highlight of which was Anne-Sophie Pic joining Marcel Ravin at Blue Bay in Monaco. And although this is by no means a new concept - back in 2008, Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz collaborated on what may well have been the culinary event of the decade - this fall it's in danger of jumping the shark.