My family and I have become quite addicted to Chef Jean's culinary wonders. At the occasion of the first meal he
 prepared at my home, there was a lot of skepticism coming from the elders, my
 80 year-old mother and 82 yea-old aunt. They were a bit suspicious of this
 young man preparing our Thanksgiving meal. The questions were endless, does he
 cook traditional Haitian cuisine? Will his dishes be an Americanized version of
 a traditional meal? And so on and on…. They even got the young ones worried.  
 But our first Thanksgiving meal
 prepared by Chef Jean turned out to be an extremely memorable event for the
 family. My daughter still talks about
 the juicy turkey, the stuffing and the potato au gratin. My sister’s favorite
 was the traditional rice with a Chef Jean twist ( he won’t reveal his secret
 ingredient), while my son’s main focus was the ham and the sautéed string beans.
 For me it was everything but more particularly the “eggplant tropicale”, a
 delicious eggplant dish, layered over caramelized sweet plantains and sprinkled
 with a yummy cheese mixture. Hard to explain this odd combination, except to
 say that it was DELICIOUS and much appreciated by Grandpa the vegetarian. Dessert was a sinfully delicious coconut flan.
 Chef Jean has set the standard, and his
 dinners have become a family tradition and my home the most coveted dinner.

 

Jacqueline Ann Vaval
 destination.