Chef Review - Paul Bentley of Avago Cater Inc.

Sycamore Tree · June 22, 2010

My husband and I were married on May 8, 2010 at Hotel Milamores in Tulum, Q. Roo, Mexico. In May of 2009, we arrived in Tulum for our first scouting trip - seeking a wedding locale, photographer, etc. One look at Hotel Milamores was all it took - we were hooked. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. We trusted the hotel manager Pamela Gutierrez to hire a caterer. She chose Chef Paul Bentley. At the time, Paul was Executive Chef at Zamas. Currently he runs a catering company Avago Cater Inc. in Guadalajara. He continues to cater Hotel Milamores weddings. We met Paul at Zamas on our November 2009 scouting trip (there wasn't much to scout on this trip, just mostly an excuse for R'n'R). We sampled his Zamas menu and were impressed with his professionalism, customer service attitude and friendliness. Oh yea, we also loved his food. Over the months that followed, he prepared sample menus, discussed the ingredients, dietary concerns, etc. He planned our menu.

We were part of Paul's welcome back to Tulum party and we celebrated that evening with good people (including the mgmt and staff of Hotel Milamores), fine food and liquor. The following day we met with Paul to review the welcome dinner menu and the wedding reception menu. He offered to serve our guests a light lunch to hold them over until our reception dinner started. Additionally, he asked us to sample a Yucatan dish, (Pollo) Escabeche, which was carefully prepared by the resident Milamores Chef Philipe. The chicken was seasoned perfectly and tender. Escabeche can be prepared with other meats, fish. We added it to our welcome dinner menu. Paul also introduced us to a wonderful cocktail made of grapefruit juice or Squirt, grapefruit and orange slices, and tequila poured into a Mexican-style casserole dish. Insert straws and you have a scorpion bowl to share with your friends. The staff made a dozen of these the night my guests arrived. I think they were amused by our barracho friends.

The welcome dinner and reception meals were outstanding. On the wedding day Paul and his staff slow cooked a whole pig and served it topped with (pork frites). During the reception dinner I left my table and walked over to the kitchen to applaud Paul for the best pork Iâ€™ve had in my life. Our guests also dined on a beet salad, fish tacos and mole chicken wings. Paul makes a mean mole!

Do check him out on his company's Facebook page AVAGO caterINC | Facebook

Signed,

The Washburns