"I put my heart, personal experiences, and nostalgia into it. I'm really looking forward to hosting the dinner Tuesday night. I'm so excited."
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) unveiled the Masters Champions Dinner menu on the 18th (local time) through a video call with overseas media including Golf Week and The Guardian. This year's Masters will be held for four days starting April 9 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters Champions Dinner is an event where the previous year's winner hosts a banquet for past champions. It is one of the Masters traditions that began with Ben Hogan in 1952 and is held on Tuesday evening of Masters week. This year it falls on April 7.
McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam as only the sixth player in history by winning last year's Masters. The dinner's appetizers include bacon-wrapped dates, grilled elk sliders, fried shrimp, and flatbread with peaches and ricotta cheese. "My mother makes excellent bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese, so I included that as one of the appetizers," McIlroy said. "I wanted to use local ingredients, so I prepared flatbread with Georgia peaches and ricotta."
The first course is a yellowfin tuna dish that McIlroy and his wife Erica love. It is also on the menu at a New York restaurant McIlroy frequents. The dish features thinly sliced foie gras and yellowfin tuna carpaccio served on a French baguette.
