Pleasures for the palate

THE ANNUAL World Gourmet Festival – now in its 14th edition – returns to Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok tomorrow with eight chefs from seven countries cooking up a storm. The event, which continues through next Sunday, features line-up of acclaimed chefs, winemakers and food experts from across the globe, all gathering under one roof for a week-long celebration.

Both the Four Seasons Resorts in Chiang Mai and Koh Samui are joining the action, with each hosting a one-night dinner with one of the participating chefs. Jerome Bonnet of Restaurant Le Daniel in Paris will present his interpretation of traditional French food, paired with wines from French winemaker Pascal Jolivet in Bangkok tomorrow and Tuesday, before leaving for Chiang Mai on Friday. Meanwhile, Miguel Laffan of L’AND vineyard restaurant will create a dinner of modern Portuguese flavours in Bangkok on Wednesday and Thursday, before landing in Koh Samui on September 9.

In addition to the highlighted chef dinners, the lobby will play |host to cooking demonstrations |in the Gaggenau show kitchen by |two of the visiting chefs each |day. Sunday brunch will also feature live cooking stations and the choice of where to dine is yours: Spice Market, Madison, Aqua or the lobby lounge. 

Heir of tea company Dilmah, Dilhan C Fernando, will showcase the new collection of fine Sri Lankan teas, hand-selected by Dilmah founder Merrill J Fernando, in the Private Reserve Afternoon Tea on Friday and Saturday. 

Once again, the festival will be supporting Her Royal Highness Princess Somsavali's Save A Child's Life from Aids Project under the auspices of the Thai Red Cross Society. Bt600 from the price of every dinner ticket, as well as proceeds from the live auction, will be donated to this charity. 

 

MEET THE CHEFS

Paco Perez, Miramar Restaurant, Llanca, Spain

Perez was just 12 years old when he began working at his family-owned tapas bar, learning traditional cuisine. A firm fan of the creativity expressed by Ferran Adria at the Bulli, he and his wife Montse Serra created the Miramar gastronomic restaurant together in the town of Llanca. They transformed the traditional restaurant into the avant-garde gastronomic experience it is today, recognised by the Michelin Guide with a 2 star rating. Since December 2010 he has headed up the management of The Mirror Restaurant.

 

Markus Arnold, MA Pop-Up Restaurants, Bern, Switzerland

At 31, Arnold is already one of Switzerland’s most eminent chefs. His fine food philosophy has already earned him 17 Gault-Millau points and a well-merited Michelin Star. In 2012 the prestigious Gault-Millau gourmet guide named him “Achiever of the Year” in German-language Switzerland. 

 

Jerome Bonnet, Restaurant Le Daniel, Paris, France

Bonnet’s cuisine focuses on the very best products available, and every day he sets out to discover new farmers from whom he can source the finest new ingredients. Working with local experts, he is able to create a simple yet sophisticated cuisine that focuses on traditional recipes, but with a twist that make them very much his own.

 

Roger van Damme, Het Gebaar, Antwerp, Belgium

Known as the “godfather of molecular pastry”, van Damme has been starring in his own TV shows at Njam TV since 2010. In 2011, Het Gebaar was rewarded with its first Michelin star. More TV shows followed and van Damme went on to launched Njam! Magazine. His books “Desserts” and “Bakken” reached the top of the best-sellers list after just one week.

Hirohisa Koyama, Aoyagi, Tokyo, Japan

Koyama’s philosophy is simple – to combine the traditional and the modern to create a cuisine that his guests will love. His cuisine uses traditional techniques to deliver “Modern Classic” dishes that please both the palate and the eye, featuring only the finest ingredients in season, and always ensuring that the original flavours shine through

 

Miguel Laffan, L’AND, Alentejo, Portugal

Laffan’s Mediterranean cuisine is also inspired by Luso-Asian and Middle Eastern dishes, resulting in a cuisine that is rich yet full of fresh flavours, reminiscent of the culinary experiences from distant lands. He believes that perfection is achieved through detailed research and sheer determination. 

 

Vito Mollica, Il Palagio, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, Florence, Italy

Inspired as a young boy by the local specialities prepared by his mother, Mollica has spent his career seeking to preserve the culinary ecology of his home nation by supporting small producers, old-style markets and local varieties. He bases his kitchen philosophy on “knowing the man behind the produce” and personally scouring the markets and Tuscan countryside for independent producers who share his passion for quality. 

 

David Rathgeber, Restaurant L'Assiette, Paris, France

Originally from Auvergne, Rathgeber loves to play with |new interpretations of classic recipes, taking care that they don’t lose their original essence, and |creating new “Rathgeber versions” of dishes such as pot au feu, |pieds paquet, and chou farci. Dining at L’Assiette is a fun experience, and he says that he prefers to cook from the heart for the customers, rather than having them choose for themselves.

 

EATING TO LIVE

>>Get more details at www.WorldGourmetFestivalBangkok.com or call (02) 126 8866.