Tuesday, February 11, 7:00 P.M.
Members $85, guests $110

Tuscany can tout Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Raphael. Catalonia can claim Gaudí, Dali, and Miró. They both have centuries of culinary tradition. And like the world's jet-setters and celebutantes, they meet at T. Cook's at the Royal Palms. There, chef Derek Morgan, who joined T. Cook's in May 2000 and was promoted to executive chef just eight months later, has crafted a menu of rustic, delightful Mediterranean dishes from Barcelona and Tuscany.

Physically, the idyllic resort is set amid nine acres of citrus groves and cactus gardens, but in some ways it's neither in Italy nor Spain nor even Phoenix. As Phoenix Magazine's Nikki Buchanan wrote, T. Cook's at the Royal Palms offers "different-time, different-place enchantment." The 2001 Zagat Survey echoed her sentiment, deeming Morgan's food "out-of-this-world."

His Mediterranean dishes suit the romantic atmosphere at T. Cook's to a T and have won the restaurant numerous accolades, including Best Hotel Restaurant worldwide from the exclusive Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, and consistent four-star ratings from the Mobil Travel Guide. But Morgan hasn't let it go to his head. He stays grounded in solid culinary technique, making dishes "marked by primo ingredients, vibrant flavors and a touch of imagination," according to Howard Seftel of The Arizona Republic, who added, "Chef Morgan has the skill to go beyond the standards without going beyond the bounds of good sense."

A graduate of the School of Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Atlanta, Morgan began his culinary career at Villa Christina restaurant in the same city, where he worked his way up the line. His first resort experience came at the deluxe Ranch on Camelback Mountain. He liked it so well that when the opportunity arose, he signed on at a nearby resort, Royal Palms.

As he puts it, the food, not the presentation, should be "the WOW." And to help him WOW his guests, he's got pastry chef Pierino Jermonti to help. The Italian-born Jermonti learned to bake traditional Italian breads—focaccia, peasant loaves—from his father, and he learned a passion for food from his grandmother. Today he is responsible for all of the breads, pastries, and desserts, which Phoenix Magazine noted were "beautifully presented," "outrageously rich," and "irresistible."