After a refreshing break, Chef Okan Kizilbayir of Salt, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island’s award-winning fine dining restaurant with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, returned to Amelia Island to unveil the newly transformed Salt on January 7. Afterwards, he flew to Washington, D.C. for an event at the French Embassy.
When you read this, the Michelin-trained Chef Okan will already have been inaugurated as a new member of Academie Culinaire de France, a worldwide organization that promotes and improves culinary science and excellence. Recognition from Academie Culinaire de France means that, no matter the dish being prepared, the discipline and structure of French kitchens and cooking provide the foundation on which is built its texture, flavor, temperature, and color. Chef Okan and his team will work this culinary magic at the new Salt, filling the space with fresh ideas, imaginative foods, and happy people.
Residents of Amelia Island and visitors alike can enjoy the new Salt at one of their monthly events or evenings for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. Recently, my friend Patti Burch and I experienced the February Chef’s Theater: A Taste of New Salt. Over the course of the year, the interior design of the restaurant had been completely re-imagined, with stunning effect.
Water, salt, and oyster were the themes that twinkled in my untrained eyes. Set design for this theater was majestic: parallel to the water was a long table and a cooking stage. Framing the stage were large picture windows of the ocean with shimmering colors of water and sky. Curtains were shade-shifting mauve, periwinkle, steel, smoke, and silver. As chandeliers have been an iconic feature of Ritz design since its 1898 Parisian opening, the new Salt steps into its own place in chandelier history: over our table dangled a couple of dozen giant illuminated salt granules, each from its own thread. It was stunning. On another wall was an oyster sculpture.
On this day, Chef Okan taught us Tuna Tartare with Dashi Gelée, followed by Seared Dover Sole with Brown Butter. With recipe programs in our hands, we watched ingredients come to life and we asked questions; then, we turned around to sit and taste.
The tuna was perfectly paired with Passerelles Sancerre 2022, and the fish with Far Niente Chardonnay 2021. When we had finished, Pastry Sous Chef Kiki Swayne taught us a Chocolate-Coffee Bar, a curious stack of flavors with Chocolate/ Sable ganache, Chocolate Espresso Crémeux, and Mascarpone Chantilly, served with Moet Imperial Champagne. How wrong I was that what seemed to me to be conflicting flavors were in fact well-balanced and outstanding, as Patti and I were able to taste each special ingredient.
Good news for residents of the island is that Salt has added a lounge with its own menu. Items include caviar, two kinds of oysters, beef tartare, snapper, endive, pasta, and cheese. The one that excites me most is the Salt-styled Scotch egg, with seafood sausage and smoked trout roe.
Come and experience the new Salt. See the chandeliers and the impressive new design, enjoy a meaty chef’s tasting menu, relax in the lounge, plan an event for the private dining room, or attend an upcoming Chef’s Theater to watch, learn, dine, and go home with some special recipes.