Travels for the tummy

GOURMETS ARE in for a treat next week as seven celebrated chefs from France, Spain, Australia, Switzerland and Hong Kong jet into town to take part in the week-long World Gourmet Festival being hosted by Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel from September 7 to 13. 

Now in its 16th edition, the line-up includes Francesc Rovira and Francesc Gimeno Manduley from Spain, Jean-Francois Berard and Patrick Raingeard from France, Hirofumi Imamura of Hong Kong, Swiss wizard Pierre Crepaud and Australian Sean Connolly.

Rovira, who specialises in Catalan cuisine and is best known for his inclusion of mushrooms in all his dishes, learned how to cook from his mother, doyenne of the kitchen at the family-owned inn La Fonda in Gombren, a small village high in the Pyrenees. He and his sister finally took over and the restaurant, which is now known as La Fonda Xesc, was awarded a Michelin star in 2009.

For his part, Manduley from Bohemic Bistro in Barcelona, transports the diner back to his or her childhood. His restaurant plays on low-cost, high-concept miniature presentations that are deemed marvels of ingenuity.

Coming from a family passionate about hospitality and gastronomy, Berard had his first culinary exposure at his parent’s boutique hotel, Hostellerie Berard and Spa, located in hilltop village La Cadiere d’Azur in Provence. His father Rene, a master chef himself, instilled in him the beauty of cooking using only the finest ingredients sourced in their garden and the locality and he now does wonders in the kitchen alongside the elder Berard. 

Crepaud’s cuisine is mainly dictated by Mother Nature. A staunch supporter of local farmers, the chef at LeCrans Hotel & Spa in Crans-Montana, Switzerland selects the best vegetables and regional products as the basis for his recipes revealing dishes with playful tastes, colours and shapes. His cuisine is based on flavour and theatrical presentation. 

With his Cap Estel restaurant on the French Rivera receiving its Michelin star in 2013, Raingeard practices his cuisine instinctively in contemporary style and is a man of the soil. His five years of working with a Japanese chef gave him a taste for exotic savours and he is a staunch advocate of local produce. He and his team are proud that the restaurant uses some of the vegetables from its very own garden.

Connolly was also influenced by family – in this case his grandmother – and he brings to his cuisine a strong sense of generosity and imagination as well as a healthy respect for excellent produce. His restaurant in Adelaide, South Australia – the aptly named Sean’s Kitchen – is a New York-inspired Brasserie offering mouth-watering dishes with a focus on local produce.

Firmly committed to the idea that every dish should have its own seasoning, Imamura of Kazuo Okada Restaurant in Hong Kong searches the world over to source the perfect seasoning for his dishes. He also matches his creations with different dishware for an ideal presentation of the food across the seasons. One of his culinary philosophies is the belief that every dish should stimulate each of the five senses, even including sense of smell, texture of ingredients and the sounds while dining.

Each guest chef will host two evenings in one of the hotel’s restaurants. This year’s festival will also see the introduction of an exclusive sake tasting and pairing with Thai dishes event with sake master, John Keith Norum, an American who has worked with Miyasaka Brewing Company in Japan since 2005. Also a first to the festival is the high-tea event with tea pairing by world-class master tea-blenders from Mariage Freres France.

Bt600 per dinner ticket sold will be donated to Her Royal Highness Princess Somsavali’s Save A Child’s Life from Aids project under the auspices of the Thai Red Cross Society, which provides medicine for HIV-infected pregnant mothers.

 

For reservations, call (02) 126 8866 or |e-mail [email protected]. 

Visit www.WorldGourmetFestivalAsia.com for details.