Common, OneRepublic and a slew of celebrity chefs made their way down to the Caribbean to take in the food and festivities at the fifth-annual Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival at Baha Mar.
Marcus Samuelsson, Buddy Valastro, Maneet Chauhan, Tristen Epps and more famed foodies took a break from hosting master classes and exclusive meals to let loose at A Taste of Baha Mar, a VIP party featuring bites from the resort’s numerous restaurants and a special live performance by OneRepublic, on Friday.
“When I die, I want to come back as Lenny Kravitz,” the band’s frontman, Ryan Tedder, told the crowd of amped-up fans, referring to last year’s headliner, before expressing his love for the Caribbean.
The group — who joined the likes of Sting and Rod Stewart as festival headliners — played their biggest hits “Stop and Stare,” “Chasing Stars,” “Apologize,” “Good Life” and more during the hour-long outdoor concert.
“To my friends in Nassau, I say ‘hello,’” Tedder crooned, changing the lyrics of the latter with a special local reference.
The 47-year-old Grammy winner also performed a medley of the hit songs he’s written for other artists, including Beyoncé’s “Halo,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love.”
Tedder drew laughs from the audience when he pointed out he and guitarist Drew Brown, whom he’s known since their teen years, accidentally wore the same shoes and pants on stage.
Also at Friday’s event was Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, who hosted a special multi-course dinner alongside alumni of his global kitchens the previous evening.
Crane Club chef Melissa Rodriguez joined chefs Andrea Calstier, Yohko Ogata and Helen Nguyen to present a five-course meal at Boulud’s namesake restaurant in the resort’s Rosewood hotel.
Boulud was fresh off his surprise appearance in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “La Bohème,” where he portrayed the chef and owner of the bustling Café Momus in Paris’s Latin Quarter.
Elsewhere in the resort, Oscar award-winning rapper Common drew a crowd to Jon Batiste’s Jazz Club, where he performed Thursday evening to kick off the festival.
The Culinary & Arts Festival is also home of the FUZE Art Expo, a colorful showcase of Caribbean artists and Caribbean-inspired art from around the world.
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