The Seafood ice plate is not on the regular menu, but available for $20/plate upon request. Pairs with Sauvignon blanc or chardonnay.
The tables are set, and the guests are in their seats, ready to eat. The lights dim, and the room falls quiet. A parade of lights makes its way through the room and, to the delight of guests, the lights are placed in front of them, illuminating an elaborately designed ice plate holding lobster, shrimp, crab claws and a shot of watermelon gazpacho.
“It’s really just … a shrimp cocktail kind of plate,” said Mark Aleks, executive chef at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. He and the staff at the convention center prepare the seafood ice plate at the request of the client. “It’s something I came up with and then used it as an upsell. We refer to it as a show-stopper … [It’s something to] really wow guests if they want that wow factor,” he said.
Although he describes the dish’s ingredients as simple, it’s the preparation and presentation that make it special, as well as turn the dish into a spectacle. The kitchen staff receives the seafood early in the morning, and begins preparation by breaking the lobster tails down and saving the heads and bodies for stock for other dishes. Aleks uses plenty of fresh citrus—oranges, lemons and limes—as well as rice wine vinegar in which to boil the crab, lobster and shrimp.
Normal seafood preparation would add the seafood to boiling water, but Aleks prefers to boil the citrus and vinegar mixture for an hour to detract the ingredients’ flavors, and then lightly add the seafood when it’s not quite boiling. “If you put anything that’s alive in hot water, it’s going to shrivel up,” he said. “It’s like one of us jumping into a freezing cold pool.” Aleks said that the meat is more tender when it’s not added directly to boiling hot water. After about eight minutes, the seafood is removed and cooled.
For the plate itself, Aleks worked with ice carver Dean Carlson to create the design. The plate has a compartment for the gazpacho shot glass, a small hole for a sprig of rosemary, an ice “flame” and a place underneath the flame for the LED light to illuminate the plate.
Exec. Chef Mark Aleks
Palm Beach County Convention Center, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Ovations Food Services
Originally from Norfolk, Va., Mark Aleks moved to Florida when he was 18 to participate in the American Culinary Federation program sponsored by The Breakers hotel. After completing the program, he worked in every restaurant at the hotel, and spent time as chef at Phillips Point Club. “I had the hard-knock life learning through the chefs at the hotel,” he said. “It was actually really great.” In 2010, Aleks joined Ovations at the Palm Beach County Convention Center as executive chef.
Aleks enjoys the classic French style of cooking, but more recently has gravitated toward comfort food, with a twist. “It kind of brings people back to their childhood,” he said. In addition, he enjoys incorporating the “Florida flair” into the convention center’s food offerings, and utilizing a lot of seafood. The convention center’s location brings a diverse demographic, which allows Aleks to bring in island and Spanish influences.