Karolina Kurkova Celebrates Birthday at New Invasive Species Pop-Up, Prey

Leave it to Karolina Kurkova to hit the most unique new restaurant in town to celebrate her 32nd birthday. The rooftop eatery features invasive species plants and animals on its menu, by James Beard-nominated Chef Bun Lai. Prey had its grand opening timed with the start of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and will be open through April 30, after which the pop-up will leave the rooftop space.

The concept works perfectly with 1 Hotel & Homes eco-conscious ethos, as removing these plants and animals from their non-native environment not only fills customer’s bellies, but is good for the environment. That means mugwort-served as a sushi roll, and locally invasive lion fish are on the menu.

PREY transforms consumption in a manner that helps restore and rehabilitate human and planetary health. As the name of the restaurant indicates, Prey recognizes the interconnectedness of predators and prey in the food chain as well as the changes that have taken place in ecosystem from pollution, over-harvesting of wild animals and overfishing.

The supermodel chose the newly-opened hotspot to celebrate her birthday with a close cadre of friends and family including husband Archie Drury, mother Eva Kurkova and father Josef Kurka, Craig Robins, Jackie Soffer, Kinga Lampert. Kurkova recently gave birth to her second son, Noah, just two months ago, but looked svelte and energetic wearing a black dress, velour jacket and sexy over-the-knee suede boots.

The small table allowed for plenty of personal attention from Chef Bun Lai, who posed with her and a lion fish, the invasive Asian species that got a grip on South Florida’s reefs from irresponsible aquarium owners dumping them in the ocean. The chef likes to spread awareness of these issues with his delicious new kind of cuisine. Although not everything on the menu is totally exotic – there is also lots of sustainable seafood dishes and organically farmed produce that bring a new meaning to conscious consumption.