Citi’s Taste of Tennis has become one of the premier off-the-court events to kick off the BNP Paribas Open, and this year they brought out the star power. Venus Williams and Richard Blais turned mixologists, serving up rum-based cocktails with Blais’s signature liquid nitrogen twist to the enthusiastic crowds. “They clearly don’t have a match tomorrow, Blais said as the two of them laughed along with the crowd.
The affair brought together some of the biggest stars in tennis and in the local restaurant industry and provided five-star cuisine for the few hundred paying guests in attendance at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa. Similar events take place in Miami, Washington, D.C. and New York prior to the country’s four largest tennis tournaments. The BNP Paribas Open kicked off Monday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and runs until March 17. A portion of proceeds raised at Citi Taste of Tennis benefit the United Way of the Desert.
Williams was one of a handful of players in attendance at this year’s Citi Taste of Tennis. Among those joining her were fellow Americans John Isner, Amanda Anisimova, Danielle Collins, Taylor Fritz and Sam Querrey. Others included Stan Wawrinka, Genie Bouchard and Gael Monfils. Patrick Mouratoglou, who coaches 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, also attended, and the Frenchman was among one of the more noticeable and popular guests.
A total of 23 teams of chefs made small bite-sized dishes for the crowd to sample. Blais, the host chef, made a dish that consisted of salmon toast, Pico de Gallo and a mango yolk. Other chefs, such as Herve Glin of Counter Reformation in Palm Springs, made a popular bite of marinated smoked salmon with salmon roe on a sweet potato dill waffle. Among the many other dishes, Chef Alvaro Barreras of the Hyatt Regency made a braised short rib taco with a zucchini blossom and kale chip. Multiple chefs provided cocktails and desserts, including carrot cake biscotti, hand-crafted toffee milkshakes and fresh berries and shortcake and white chocolate sabayon, dark chocolate and citrus chantilly.
Many of the players said they came because of the chance to try different cuisines from several accomplished chefs. Bouchard, who has attended this event for years, says she’s a foodie and enjoys coming back each year to check out what surprises the chefs will provide. “It’s a lot of fun to come back,” Bouchard said. “I think there’s so many desserts, and they’re exquisite, so I mean there isn’t any reason anybody wouldn’t want to come back.”
The event also included a disc jockey and a dance floor, and fans and players mingled together on the dance floor and relaxed throughout the evening. Mouratoglou said that these events are attractive to players because it allows them to unwind on a World Tour that can often be unrelenting. “Because when they’re playing tournaments,” he said, “they’re not relaxed.”
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