Elise Maclay, Connecticut Magazine`s restaurant critic, called him “a rising star known for intensely flavorful, artistically presented spa cuisine.”
She said his slice of Amaretto milk cake, with only 8 grams of fat and 238 calories, was “sinfully sensuous, wildly sybaritic.” She added, “Spartan dieters will think they`ve died and gone to heaven.”
“He creates reductions, infusions and vegetable purees as a substitute for roux-thickened sauces; he uses edible flowers, roasted forest mushrooms, toasted pine nuts and shavings of black truffle to supply more flavor and satisfaction than butter or gravy.”
She concluded, “Kensington`s new chef is a treasure, and the new cuisine constitutes a great leap forward into a deliciously healthy future. Other restaurants: Please copy what Kensington`s is doing.”
Hartford Courant Food Editor Linda Giuca praised his techniques of creating “maximum flavor with minimum calories” and applauded his “ready access to fresh, locally grown and harvested produce and seafood.”
She noted that he puts to work “his background in physiology, anatomy and nutrition to work in the kitchen.”
Joan Gordon, restaurant reviewer for The Norwich Bulletin, said, “The food is hearty, flavorful, exquisitely presented, and still spa food.”
Claudia Van Ness, a Hartford Courant diet columnist, said at Kensington`s, “You can consume few calories and still feel you`re eating gourmet food.”
Elissa Bass, food editor of The (New London) Day, wrote, “Since his arrival, Chong-Jimenez has created a dinner menu at the inn`s Kensington`s restaurant that can meet the requirements of both the serious spa-goer and the serious gourmand.”
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