Lunch with the Cartades

Chester Francis-Jackson, Gleaner Writer

Bon vivant Robert Cartade and his wife, the lovely Carrole Issa-Cartade, are regarded as staples on high society's list of fab people. Their invitations are prized and coveted, as unlike others who extend invitations for dinner only to have it catered, Robert Cartade, sometimes ably assisted by his doting wife, is as at home in the kitchen as a celebrated chef.

Beloved by friends and colleagues for his generous spirit and easy manner, Cartade has served as the honorary consul of Belgium to Jamaica and is currently the honorary consul of the Netherlands. But he is better known as one of the island's leading real estate developers, his projects well known across Jamaica. They include Sea Palms condominiums near Ocho Rios; St Mary Country Club, near Tower Isle; Mango Walk Country Club in Montego Bay; Orange Bay Country Club in Negril; or, more recently, Long Mountain Country Club near Beverly Hills in St Andrew.

Interestingly, Cartade is not a builder by profession but was schooled in the art of hospitality and worked as a hotelier before the career change to housing developer, a very successful one at that, his developments earning him rave reviews from satisfied purchasers.

New York-born socialite

Carrole Issa-Cartade is the first daughter of the late pioneering hotelier Abe Issa (dubbed the father of Jamaica's modern tourism) and his beautiful wife, Lorraine Shaouy Issa. She was a New York-born socialite of Lebanese descent; a very sought-after high-fashion model who went on to own a fashion design house before retiring as supporting wife and co-heiress to the fortune that her father bequeathed his offspring.

Two Sundays ago, the Cartades opened up their home in the Golden Triangle and hosted some very special friends to a luncheon that was quite the outing!

The fabulous estate is an oasis in the heart of the city, surrounded by compact housing developments and offices. It's a truly lush estate boasting expansive lawns, towering fruit and ornamental trees and a beautiful garden. With its Tudor-inspired architecture, the house is nothing short of being a work of art and filled with marvellous collections of art, heirlooms and collectibles that make the discerning drool. It results in a most imposing but comforting style.

Lunch began with a cocktail prelude during which guests took libations and exchanged felicitations at the pool bar and lounge before repairing to the specially decorated marquee decorated in festive colours for the occasion with a lavishly laid-out dining table boasting placement cards and all.

High style was the order of the day, and luvs, it was dripping like hot magma!

Dears, the fare was a feast boasting oven-roasted stuffed turkey; a succulent stovetop honey glazed ham; giant shrimps, in a rich curry sauce; rice and gungo peas; white basmati rice; monarch salad; tomato and herb salad; grape leaves; braised string beans; tabooli; home-grown avocado; and to top it off there was an absolutely awesome chocolate cake topped with Häagen-Dazs ice cream. It was a culinary symphony that ended with the men taking Cuban cigars poolside, but luvs, the fare was a masterpiece, matched only by the banter that permeated the afternoon into evening and night. The event ended closer to midnight, but what a fabulous outing it was!

Dears, it was a very intimate do, with among those guesting: Robert MacMillan; the charmingly lovely May Lawrence-Evans; Nicholas Stephenson; the lovely Pauline Edie; Andrea and Pat Oberli; Paul Barbar and the lovely Kemesha Walters; Jermaine Deans and the gorgeous Novlet Green; Andrew Girod; and the lovely Paula Duncan; plus a number of others.

My daahlings, to say lunch was a success would be the understatement of the season, as the evening meandered way into the night with an endless accompaniment of fine wine, the exchange of presents and toasting the Yuletide season.