We are greeted by Vongerichten and a fascinating man named Allen Brown, personal fisherman to the superchef. Both are standing beside a table that holds the day's fresh catch. There are so many fish here, it looks like Seattle's Pike Place Market. I spy conch, red parrot fish, turbot, hog snapper, four types of grouper (including Nassau grouper, the most popular fish on the island), Bahamian lobster, and a huge spider crab, as well as a few unidentifiable saltwater species.

Brown explains that he has hand-caught everything we see by using a spear. It is a two-man affair, requiring one to spear the fish (100 feet below the surface, mind you) and one to keep an eye out for sharks. (I guess I've never really thought about where my fish comes from, but that's some crazy stuff right there.) Vongerichten credits Brown with 70 percent of what he does. "Without the product, we are nothing," he says. James Bond has nothing on Allen Brown.

Brown then demonstrates a Bahamian tradition I could have done without as an appetizer. He first challenges any of us to remove the pistol, a slimy portion of the digestive system of the conch that is wedged quite firmly inside its shell. "For a million dollars, you can't get it out," he cackles. A few try, but it doesn't budge. Brown then pokes a small hole to relieve the pressure inside the conch and pulls the pistol right out … and into his mouth.

We all gasp in horror as he explains the locals believe the pistol to be a walloping aphrodisiac. "You'll be in trouble tonight," says Vongerichten. "No, she'll be in trouble," counters Brown.

WE AWAIT THE FIRST COURSE like rabid parents at a Christmas department-store sale.