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Gastronomic Delights at Soneva Fushi

City Guides
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03 Feb 2021
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6 min read

Soneva has unveiled its 2021 Soneva Stars Programme, whcih includes an exciting array of diverse offerings at all of its properties around the globe. Some of the most notable are the guest chefs who will visit Soneva Fushi in the Maldives to cook up a feast for guests, including famed Michelin-starred chefs such as Tom Aikens and Esben Holmboe Bang. 

From February through November 2021, iconic Maldivian resort Soneva Fushi will welcome some of the world’s top culinary minds as guest chefs to cook for their lucky holidaymakers as part of the 2021 Soneva Stars Programme. Chefs include the likes of Tom s, Esben Holmboe Bang, Cédric Vongerichten, John Burton-Race and Alberto Faccani.

Each chef will bring their unique, stellar culinary prowess to the Soneva Fushi kitchens, providing guests with a truly unforgettable dining experience in one of the most stunning settings in the archipelago. Each chef’s guest appearance will last between 1 and 3 weeks, here is the full schedule:

Tom Aikens | 6-20 February 2021
Soneva Fushi & Jani

Tom Aikens is one of the UK’s most acclaimed and inspirational British chefs. With a father working in the wine industry and a childhood mostly spent gardening and cooking with his mother, Tom put food and the use of the finest ingredients at the centre of his life from a very early age.

His remarkable career took him to David Cavalier’s in Battersea, Pierre Koffman’s La Tante Claire, Joel Robuchon in Paris, Gerard Boyere’s in Riems and Pied-à-Terre to name a few. It was at the latter that Tom became the youngest British chef ever to be awarded two Michelin stars, aged just 26. Tom remained at Pied-à-Terre for five years, then going on to open his immensely successful eponymous restaurant, Tom Aikens (2003-2014), which was awarded 2 Michelin stars in 2009.

Tom has written three books; Cooking (2006), Fish (2008), and Easy (2011), and has made several appearances on television, reaching the final banquet of 2013’s Great British Menu on BBC2 in aid of Comic Relief, and is a regular guest on Great British Menu and Great British Bake Off’s The Extra Slice.

Tom is dedicated to serving only the highest quality, ethically sourced ingredients and continually supports The Environmental Justice Foundation to raise awareness of illegal ‘pirate’ fishing and diminishing fish stocks. He also works closely with various charities including: the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Campaign, Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign and School Food Matters, where he teaches young children basic cooking skills.

Esben Holmboe Bang | 19 February – 1 March 2021 
Soneva Fushi

Esben Holmboe Bang (36) is head chef and co-owner of Norway’s ground-breaking three Michelin-starred Restaurant Maaemo. He was born and raised in Copenhagen, but has spent most of his culinary career in Oslo.

The Norwegian terroir is a relatively unknown treasure of the international culinary world, but it is something that Esben is passionate about exploring. Esben’s cuisine is focused on creating an experience around the clean, bright flavours of Norway, using entirely organic, bio dynamic, or wild produce.

It’ s a bold style of cooking that has won the young chef a legion of fans and a listing as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Chefs in the World and Elite Traveler Magazine’s ‘2016 Young Chef of the Year.’

Cédric Vongerichten | 25 March – 4 April 2021
Soneva Fushi & Jani

Cédric Vongerichten is the executive chef and owner of Wayan, a new, modern French-Indonesian restaurant in New York City. Originally born in Bangkok, Thailand, Cédric moved to New York at a young age, where he spent his early years learning from his father, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, in kitchens around New York City and the world. At the age of 17, Cédric embarked on his first apprenticeship in the Bahamas and from there moved on to work in kitchens around the globe, including London’s Berkeley Hotel, Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental and El Bulli in Barcelona.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Cédric Vongerichten was recognized by Zagat as one of the top 30 chefs under 30 and has worked in some of the most celebrated kitchens in the world. After stints at Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental and El Bulli in Barcelona, he is now Chef de Cuisine at the renowned Perry St. in New York City. Opening Vong Kitchen + Le Burger in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018 with his wife Ochi, the duo currently own and operate Wayan, meaning “first born” in Balinese, their first independent restaurant in downtown Manhattan.

Alberto Faccani | 30 March – 13 April 2021
Soneva Fushi & Jani

Italian chef Alberto Faccani has been passionate about the restaurant industry since he was a small child. Named by prestigious Italian food and wine guide, Identità Golose, as one of the ‘100 chefs who have changed Italian cuisine in the last 10 years’, his dynamic style of cuisine is self-taught, blending styles, forms and traditions. After working at the Michelin-starred La Frasca and Enotecca Pinchiorri restaurants, aged just 27, he decided to open his own restaurant, Magnolia, in 2003. Within just 18 months, it had received its first Michelin star, and today has two Michelin stars to its name.

In 2005, Faccani joined the Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe group, before starring on the popular Italian TV show, La Prova del Cuoco, between 2008 and 2010. Passionate about preserving and enhancing regional culinary traditions, he is a member of the Chef to Chef Emilia Romagna Association, and also runs a cookery school in partnership with KitchenAid.

Chef Dylan & Chef Bo | 1-10 April 2021
Soneva Fushi & Soneva Jani

Bo.lan is founded on the belief that the best Thai restaurants should be found in Thailand. With that in mind the two chefs Duangporn Songvisava (Bo) and Dylan Jones started Bo.lan. The name Bo.lan comes from Chef Duangporn’s nickname Bo and the second half of Dylan’s name Lan. It is also a play on the Thai word for vintage or ancient.

Chef Bo has always had a passion and desire to create exceptional Thai food. This has amplified over the years since opening Bo.lan with Chef Dylan Jones. Chef Dylan Jones, never bound by convention, left the sleepy town of Canberra for the food rich city of Melbourne. Here he completed his apprenticeship and first fell in love with Asian flavours. From early on, the pair received rave reviews from local and international press alike.

Mark Lundgaard | 17 July – 10 August 2021
Soneva Fushi

The Chef and Director at Kong Hans Kælder Restaurant, located in the oldest building in Copenhagen. In Mark’s universe, food is not a gift sent down from heaven. In order to understand the taste and the composition of a dish, it is essential to respect its origin and understand the craftsmanship in its preparation. With a distinctive mix of classic French cuisine and new Nordic kitchen, Mark creates dishes that define palatability at its best.

John Burton-Race | 1-14 August 2021
Soneva Fushi & Jani

John Burton-Race, a successful Michelin Star chef, television personality and restaurateur was born in Singapore to a British diplomat father and spent his formative years travelling the globe, experiencing a multitude of cuisines. His earliest memories of cooking involved watching and helping the family Chef, which is where he discovered both his innate talent and profound passion for food and cooking. He came up through the ranks of kitchen life, learning and honing his craft for many years.

In 1986 he fulfilled his lifelong dream of opening his own restaurant, L’Ortolan in Berkshire where he achieved his own two Michelin Stars and then went on to mirror this achievement in 2000 at JBR Restaurant at the Landmark Hotel.

John moved to France for a year to relearn and discover ingredients and his love of cooking after many years in the fast lane. It was time to take a step back and reconnect with a slower pace of life, Channel 4 jumped at the opportunity of a TV show, based around his sabbatical which inspired the hugely successful television show “French Leave” which made John a household name. After a year of living and breathing all things French and much inspired by all he had seen and learnt, John moved to Devon in 2004 and opened “The New Angel” in Dartmouth, which was awarded a Michelin Star in 2005 and retained it until his departure in 2010.

Michael Wignall | 20-30 October 2021
Soneva Fushi

Michael Wignall’s experience of freshly cooked and multi-cultural cuisine started at a young age, traveling extensively from the Far East, to the United States and across Europe. Although exposed to a variety of international gastronomy, aspiring to be a top chef was not Michael’s first passion. As a teen, Michael had a promising career as a professional BMX biker, however, his parents encouraged him to attend catering college. After three years, Michael moved to Spain to experience front of house, authentic cooking and the cuisine the country had to offer.

Michael’s professional career started at Broughton Park in the UK under Paul Heathcote. Since then Michael has headed several restaurants earning them Michelin stars, including the Angel Hetton.

Michael produces incredibly complex, technical accomplished dishes. His attention to detail and dedication to the pursuit of perfection in flavour, texture and appearance knows no bounds. He has a passion for traveling the world to find new inspirations and ideas to pair with locally sourced, British produce.

Asma Khan | 30 October – 7 November 2021
Soneva Fushi & Jani

Asma Khan moved to Cambridge from Calcutta in 1991 to join her academic husband. She is Rajput on her father’s side and Bengali on her mother’s. After studying law, Asma went on to do a PhD in Law at King’s College London. Cooking was her passion and she began her food career in 2012 as a supper club in her home. In 2015, she opened a pop-up in a Soho pub and Darjeeling Express restaurant opened its doors in June 2017.

A year later, her cookbook “Asma’s Indian Kitchen” was published by Pavilion in October 2018. The book was the winner in the U.K. category for food publishing in Indian cuisine in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Asma’s Indian Kitchen was also shortlisted for best debut cookbook in the Fortnum & Mason 2019 awards. Asma is the first British chef to feature in Netflix’s Chef’s Table. The series’ sixth season, which includes Asma’s episode, was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Documentary section.

The Evening Standard listed Asma in The Progress 1000 as one of London’s most influential people 2019. In June 2019 Business Insider named her number 1 on their list of “100 Coolest People in Food and Drink”. Asma has been included in the eighth edition of the GG2 Power List –profiling Britain’s 101 most influential Asians. Her restaurant Darjeeling Express has been listed in the Michelin Guide 2019 and 2020. In addition, Michelin highly recommended Darjeeling Express in their 2020 top 10 Indian restaurants in England & Ireland. Asma is married and has two boys.

–

To find out more, visit Soneva Fushi’s website.

Images © respective owners, see captions.

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