In hotels we have to adjust everything we do by the occupancy of in-house guests, time of year, and all other aspects that effect restaurants. This week, due to lack of guests in house the resort has decided to go Ala Carte only the first few days of the week. This gives my cooks a chance to show off our new menu to the guest we do have, and what local business we get this week. I decided that in order to get repeat business, we need to take special care of the guest we get when it is so slow. This is a little amuse-bouche to start things off right. I used scallions and roasted chestnuts for the bellini. Fresh figs and agar agar make up the fig jelly that holds when heated. Roasted duck topped with caramelized onion foam, dried fig chip and green onion sliver to finish this teaser. I also garnished with a fig and balsamic reduction and herb oil. All in all this is a nice, delicate amuse. It was nice to use and become more familiar with the agar agar and soy lecithin used to make this dish work.

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