Eddie’s Kitchen at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge

As you first step foot on Isla Parida – the home of Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge -- sand between your toes, water splashing your ankles, you may be a bit distracted. It’s been a while since breakfast and your tummy will likely  be growling.

This will be the last time you feel that way – until about 5 days after you get home

Chef Eddie (Eduardo Antonio Arrue Anguizola) and his crew start the trip off with a lunch of fresh catch of the day, in a presentation as good, if not better than what you’ll find at any five-star restaurant. That’s just the teaser.

The food frenzy begins each morning with an American breakfast, eggs made your way, scrambled, sunny side up, over easy – one egg, two or three eggs, more if you desire. It’s all accompanied with bacon or sausage, fruit and Eddie’s fresh homemade bread. That’s right, each morning we get bread that is started the night before and baked as early as 3 am so it’s ready for our 6:15 am breakfast call. Butter, peanut butter and jelly are waiting for a good smear but the bread is almost like cake and good on its own.

Lunch on the boat consists of sandwiches made with, that’s right, Eddie’s fresh baked bread or wraps.

Tuna steaks or lobster from the night before become tuna fish or lobster wraps with sautéed veggies. You can’t find a wrap like this back at home. Other days you may get a ham and cheese sandwich but I’m told it ruins the ones you’ll get in the delis at home. Cut up fruit, chips and granola bars are always on hand, “just in case” you get hungry from fighting giant fish.

Take a quick shower upon returning from an amazing time on the water, and by the time you towel off, appetizers, enough for dinner, are laid out in the dining room or out on the outside, covered dining table. Eddie doesn’t understand that appetizers are supposed to be a tasting, a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

While we are grazing on the delicious spread, Chef Eddie is back in the kitchen or at the grill preparing a fish and meat dinner (if you are lucky, lasagna as well) veggies, potatoes and salad with homemade dressing.

Chef Eddie makes sure that everyone has a full plate and has everything they need and then tells you to make sure you keep room for dessert. He won’t take no for an answer and even if that wasn’t the case it would still be kind of hard to say no -- every last bite is lip smacking good.

Chef Eddie’s food is something we continue to talk about once we leave the island but the real spice on the island is Eddie himself. His personality is full of flavor and his “flavorful” personality is evident in his food.

Side note: If you have food allergies, or if you are gluten-free, diabetic, don’t eat carbs or have other dietary needs please don’t make this the reason you stay home. Eddie is ultra-accommodating as long as he knows beforehand.

For me he keeps the butter and sauces off the fish, meats and veggies. For lunches I get lettuce wraps with the same fillings as everyone else gets in that amazing bread. This time I got amazing salads on the boat, topped with leftover fish and he even made me dressing and had it covered and wrapped up so nothing spilled or made a mess while on the boat.    

One thing Eddie doesn’t understand is portion size. When I ask for a sliver of dessert somehow I end up with a larger-than-regular-sized portion.

And I’ll admit it…I cheated with the bread. A half piece with breakfast every day. I assumed at some point during the day I worked off the calories. Anyway, it’s a well-known fact that calories “don’t count” on vacation. Even if they did, it was worth the extra cardio when I got home.

To check out the man himself in action, watch the video below: