Restaurant Weeks begins today. Forty-five restaurants are participating in the annual event, which is now in its fifth year. Bermuda-inspired dishes, mystery reviewers and the People’s Choice Award all add to the fun of the three-week dine-around. Last year’s top chef Enworth Davis spoke with Lifestyle about what’s on offer at Muse.

Q: Are you worried about defending your title?

A: I’m not worried about it at all. [The award is] called “People’s Choice”, for a reason; people are responding according to their impression. There’s always a chance that someone else comes out the winner — I appreciate the process. I’m just happy to be part of something that celebrates what I do, practising the culinary arts. I’m okay with sharing the experience with other people.

Q: What was the basis for your menu this year?

A: The menu, this year, I approached with the theme of foraging in Bermuda. I wanted it to be another pride piece for Bermudians and also an educational piece for Bermudians and practising culinarians. It’s often said that there’s only codfish and potatoes and fish chowder here. But French cuisine isn’t exclusively all “French”. There were things that sailors brought back which, over time, became part of the French culture. Bermuda is no different. There are lots of things that are grown wild here and not utilised; many because people don’t even know they are there.

Q: Such as what?

A: Gooseberries grow in the wild everywhere; there are natal plums, often called Chinese plums — some people still believe they’re poisonous but when they’re ripe they’re perfectly fine. Prickly pears are not utilised a lot. There’s bay grapes, wild fennel, loquats and Surinam cherries and spinach — there’s lots growing wild at Daniel’s Head, Spittal Pond.

Q: Was the menu difficult to come up with?

A: I’m always cooking in my head. I can say it took a long time [but I] pretty much just put what was already in my head on paper so it was not hard for me to come up with the ideas. I’m always inspired.

It’s really a matter of fitting what’s in my head to meet all the criteria so it really didn’t take that long but I had to put thought into it to make sure it was original and truly reflective of what was being asked.

Q: Mystery reviewers will weigh in on dishes for the first time. Nervous about that?

A: Not worried about it. I’m sure they will be true to my menu. As long as the reviews are fair, I just hope that what they experience is what’s reflected. It comes down to what their objective is — a firm and fair assessment of their experience.