Did I mention that I am going to Panama to lead a cooking demonstration highlighting recipes from some of the grandest restaurants of the Hollywood mystique? I am practising these recipes here before I go, hoping to get your feedback. I started yesterday with an iconic 1980s Plantains and Caviar with Black Bean Puree appetizer from the restaurant that defined the outsized egoism of Hollywood in the 1980s– Trumps. I am looking back to the glamorous beginning of the restaurant tradition in Hollywood today by featuring a cocktail from The Cocoanut Grove.

You see, I was invited to Panama by a group of rather glamorous ex-pats (Boquete Gourmet) who get together and learn about food by inviting chefs and other food-obsessed freaks like me to come to the beautiful town of Boquete, near the Costa Rican border and cook. I am doing an evening of small plates highlighting recipes from several legendary Hollywood restaurants.