A decade of Roast, Red and Rendezvous

Hyatt Regency Saipan provided the classy setting, Triple J Wholesale brought the mouth-watering Certified Angus Beef, while Pacific Trading Co. came bringing bottles of wine.

A decade of partnership between the three companies came together last Friday for the annual Red, Roast and Rendezvous at the Island Sundowner—a night of great food and good wine in a beach-side setting.

“The whole concept was about kicking back with great food, great drink, your feet in the sand and enjoying the night,” said Ty Pauling, Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Food & Beverage director.

He said the event responds to the question that popped up in his mind when he first came to Saipan: “Are sit-down dinners what people really want to do? Do they really want to put on jackets and long pants and go to a sit-down dinner and enjoy six-course meal or do they want great food and drinks in an environment that they are accustomed to?”

“I think…it’s all about being around friends, family and enjoying the food, drink, conversations and we can do that through the Island Sundowner,” he added.

Gabrielle Colombo, Hyatt Regency Saipan’s executive chef, said the annual Red, Roast and Rendezvous event has over the years always featured the best dishes.

“We are celebrating a decade of good food, fine wine, and beautiful sunsets so it [is[ special. The food the will be served are the best ones…like the traditional French cuisine beef Wellington, we have a local station featuring chicken kelaguen and we have Japanese, Italian dishes that features the different specialties of our chefs,” he added.

According Jay Santos of Triple J, a decade of partnership among the three companies has been remarkably swift.

“We’ve been fortunate that our friends at the Hyatt and PTC are kind enough for us to throw great parties here and showcase good wines. This year we…went all-out,” he said. “This is our last year and only because we’ve done it for the last 10 years and it’s time to come up with new ideas for promotions.”

He loves the idea, however, of coming up with an event that will still feature Angus beef and red wine “because there are a lot of people on island that love really good food and wine and we want to keep that going. …This has always been an event for people to just enjoy good meat and wine and very affordable.”

The selection of wines served were from the Murphy Goode Winery, said Pacific Trading Co. general manager Charles V. Cepeda. “We started with Kendell Jackson family throughout the years and Murphy Goode is one of the Kendell Jackson family… Before the start of every year, the three companies meet and sit down with the chef and talk about which wine will work and which one we want to do.”

“We are going to continue to partner up with Hyatt and probably change the theme a little and include other products that PTC carry, which includes spirits. For the past 10 years, we try to make wine an everyday social event because wine is not just about luxury. We are really looking at diversifying the wine business here on Saipan because we got the beach, climate and weather that is perfect for barbecues and that is the kind of what we do with the Sundowner because wine goes great with everything and any kind of food,” he added.

The 10th year of Red, Roast and Rendezvous was well-received, said Hyatt Regency Saipan events assistant manager Kovanni Cabrera. “We have prepared for this event with a hundred seats for our guests and we also have standing cocktail tables for whoever who wants to lounge, relax and enjoy a glass of wine.”