A whole bluefin tuna became the entire menu this weekend at Illume (Website), the Japanese-inspired rooftop restaurant and bar at JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa (Website).
The two-night dinner, called “A Taste of Blue,” ran Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, from 6 p.m. to midnight. Each dish was built from the same fish, with a zero-waste approach. The experience began on Friday, October 9, when Chef Vinh broke down the whole bluefin in the resort lobby for guests.
The Bluefin Kinilaw was the most striking plate of the night. The raw tuna was shaped into a rose, a delicate presentation that matched the clean, bright flavor of the fish. Kinilaw is a traditional raw seafood dish and method native to the Philippines that uses vinegar and acidic fruit juices to work fresh proteins without traditional heat cooking, and the Illume team used yuzu in theirs.
The grilled tuna kama was definitely the standout. The kama is the collar of the tuna, a cut that rarely gets the same attention as the loin (not a dirty joke, just saying). Grilled here, it was so tender it ate like ossobuco, rich and deeply savory, and fall-apart-in-your-mouthy.
The tuna trio sushi platter showed how different one fish can taste from cut to cut and preparation to preparation. That range was the point of the evening. Rather than serve a single prized cut, the kitchen showed what a whole bluefin can do, running from fatty to leaner cuts.
