the good life | lifestyle |
The Gourmet Season
Food and wine again united epicures and chefs from different nationalities at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. Gavin Nazareth speaks with the chefs that gave their time and talents for a good cause
It was open season for gastronomes in Bangkok last month as they gathered at the 13th World Gourmet Festival at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. An annual event at the hotel, the fest offers foodies an opportunity not only to attend workshops and demonstrations, but to also sample a variety of flavours, textures and foods plated by chefs from around the world. “This year’s event was a bit bigger than last year,” says Reto Moser, Director of Food & Beverage at the hotel. “We still had eight chefs, but we also had a dinner based around cheese with cheese affineur Jean-Francois Anthony, a wine masterclass with Jeannie Cho Lee, and a hands-on happening with tea mixologist Robert Schinkel. The core featuring eight chefs from around the world remained the same, but the idea was to make it slightly more diverse by adding something new and exciting.” The festival ran from September 3-9 and as always, in addition to the proceeds from the daily auctions for accommodation vouchers at various Four Season properties around the world as well as airline tickets and other items, 500 baht from every dinner ticket sold was donated to HRH Princess Soamsawali’s ‘Save A Child’s Life From Aids’ project under the auspices of the Thai Red Cross Society. This year saw the return of top American chef Michael Mina. Says Moser: “We had him here about five or six years ago, when he had just started. He is now one of the most famous chefs in the United States. When he came here the first time, he was this young shooting star and now he’s made his name.” Here the eight chefs tell us what they brought to the table at the festival.... 158 – Prestige – october 2012
october 2012 – Prestige – 159