Lakes Region Foodie — South of the Border

What could be a more perfect break during the month of February, than a trip south of the border; to Panama and Costa Rica. My classmate Sandy and I joined alumni groups from several other colleges for the adventure, a voyage through the Panama Canal. We boarded the five-star MV Le Champlain, a French ship commissioned last year, the latest addition to the Ponant Line. We had traveled on a Ponant ship, Le Boreal, last year, from Portugal to London, and anticipated comfortable cabins, excellent food and service, we were not disappointed. Unlike the giant “floating hotel” cruise ships which carry up to 2000 passengers, Le Champlain is a luxury small ship, with only 92 suites and staterooms, all with private balconies. We flew from Miami to Panama City, then were bused to the port city of Colon, on the Caribbean side, where we boarded the ship. Before starting through the canal, we had a tour of Panama City. The Spanish Conquistadors called the area Costa Rica, or “coast of riches.” The Spanish sought to colonize the area after Columbus’s arrival in 1502. More than 25 percent of this fertile country is a national park, wildlife refuge, or protected rainforest. This small country has the distinction of being the greenest country in the world, and the leading destination for eco-tourism.

The Panama Canal, which opens to allow ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and vice-versa, cutting through the Great Continental Divide, is an amazing feat of engineering, which spans 50 miles, and took us about 10 hours. The canal took 33 years and 100,000 laborers to complete, at a cost of about $400,000,000. Teddy Roosevelt was president, and visited the project. When completed, it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World allowing ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in a fraction of the time it took go around the tip of South America. If you would like the story of this amazing engineering accomplishment, find David McCullough ‘s book, “The Path between the Seas -The creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914,” a very good read!

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, or galley for a ship, I had the opportunity to speak with the Executive Chef, Jean-Christophe Awogadro, who is from Grenoble, France. He was trained at the Grenoble Professional Technical Institute, plus a year in presentation, which was very evident in the way the dishes appeared on the Champlain. The well known chef, Alain Ducasse, serves as a consultant. He told me he has one sous-chef. He has experience in Culinary Food Cruises (I have to look into this!) and adapts the menu to “local conditions.” He told me that “American taste is different from the French.” We did not discuss the point as he had to get back to the kitchen!

I did not turn down dessert at any meal, one of my favorites being the Chocolate Mousse.

Chocolate Mousse

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

½ cup strong coffee (Liquid)

2 TB. butter

4 eggs, separated

2 TB rum, brandy or kirsch

Grated or shaved semi-sweet chocolate (or mini chips) for garnish.

Place chocolate and coffee in top of a double boiler and cook over medium heat until chocolate has melted and the mixture thickens a little. Remove from the heat and beat in the butter, then the egg yolks, one at a time! In a separate bowl, beat the whites until they hold a stiff peak. Fold whites into chocolate mixture gently with a metal spoon. Fold in rum and mix gently. Spoon into goblets or wine glass and sprinkle shaved dark chocolate over each glass, or present in a glass bowl.