Comfort Food That Makes You Go MMM...

Join Aruba’s exclusive in-home dining experience. Enjoy the beautiful garden of a replica of a traditional Aruban cunucu home, where a team of local residents present a multi-course dining experience in a communal-table setting.

Starting in early 2020, The Secret Garden will be offering its vegan tasting menu twice a week, along with The Cunucu Table (non-vegan), with an emphasis on traditional local cuisine with a gourmet flair, twice a week. These dining experiences are ideal for the adventurous traveler who enjoys authentic immersion into the destinations they visit, as well as for the foodies out there who seek unique dining experiences.

 

Global Flavors Vegan Tasting Sample Menu

*Caribbean Pumpkin Soup with Crème Fraiche and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

*Fresh Locally Sourced Greens, Strawberries, and Roasted Pecans with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

*Apple-Dough Ravioli stuffed with Lemon-Basil Ricotta and Olive Tapenade

*Hungarian Meatballs

* West Indies Roasted Cashew Curry with Coconut Jasmine Rice

*Mango-Basil Sorbet

 

The Cunucu Table Sample Menu

Enjoy a multi-course tasting that includes next-level local cuisine and locally sourced ingredients.

*Welcome Cocktail/Mocktail: Rum Punch made with fresh juices

*Pumpkin Soup with Crème Fraiche and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

*Garden Salad with Fresh Local Produce and The Secret Garden’s Signature Herb & Lemon Vinaigrette

*House-Made Mango-Basil Sorbet Palate Cleanser

*Beef Short Rib Stoba with Funchi

*Fresh Local Catch with a Smoked Tomato Creole Sauce, Roasted Yambo (local okra), and Coconut Rice

* Pan Bolo with Toasted Pecans, topped with locally made Vanilla Gelato and a Ponche Crema Sauce

 

Local Craft-Sip-Dine Events

Once a month, The Secret Garden teams up with FLY Fit Studio’s owner and operator, Jen Coster, to host the local community for an evening of fellowship, crafting, sipping, and dining.

 

Private Events

The Secret Garden hosts private events for weddings, anniversaries, business events, company team-building events, birthdays, and more. The minimum is 12 guests, and menus can be tailored to suit your taste and budget. The Secret Garden can offer plated menus, as well as a casual smoked barbecue buffet from the smokers of Hollywood Smokehouse.

 

A Note from The Secret Garden Team:

Growing up in the Deep South, I was raised in a family where eating dinner together and talking and sharing over a home-cooked meal was a priority. My parents’ love for cooking and entertaining our friends and neighbors in our home was a distinct part of my childhood. With the passion for hospitality ingrained in my soul, my career path led me to a role as a catering and event planner, coordinating meals for two U.S. presidential campaigns and planning events for the PGA Tour, weddings big and small, and a variety of corporate and social events.

In 1999, I moved to Aruba and have called the One Happy Island my home for two decades, and even married a local boy, my husband, Michael Bislick. Together we opened Hollywood Smokehouse, the island’s first and only smokehouse, which today operates for catering, pop-ups, and special events.

My latest venture combines my passion for entertaining in my home, a love of gardening, and my comfort-food roots. The Secret Garden is located at my home—a replica of a traditional Aruban “cunucu” home. Our tropical garden is the setting for a magical in-home private dining experience at a communal table. Several dining experiences are offered, with an emphasis on comfort food that makes you go mmmm. Vegans can rejoice as well, as we’ve created several menus bursting with global flavors.

Joining me on this journey is Tony Dandrea, a chef with Venezuelan and Italian heritage. Tony prepares uniquely delicious dishes, and his artistic presentation brings our plates to life. Playing an equally important role as our event hostess is Tracey Schilders, an expat from Baltimore who has lived on the island for more than two decades. With a background in theater and hospitality, Tracey makes every occasion entertaining.

We look forward to welcoming you to the island’s only in-home chef’s table dining experience. From gourmet vegan tasting events to local feasts, we have a night in The Secret Garden just for you!

Cheers and we hope to welcome you soon,

Tina, Tony & Tracey