Hosted for 13 years, the Annual World Gourmet Festival is turning into one of Bangkok’s culinary highlights thanks to the Four Seasons Hotel. The last edition just ended up last week…
BANGKOK- In its 13th year of existence, the Annual World Gourmet Festival is now turning into a major event every September. For seven days, eight celebrity chefs gather in Bangkok to propose exceptional dining experiences. Many people join and register for those dinners a few months in advance especially as the proceeds of the tickets sold for dinners will be donated to the Thai Red Cross Society to support the project of HRH Princess Soamsawali “Save A Child’s Life from AIDS”.
“It is a very important event to us more in terms as it brings of course good publicity for the festival and for our hotel. We do not really make money for this event as we invite all the chefs to our hotel and will supply all the ingredients requested, flying them if necessary from all across the globe. But we feel so happy to contribute raising funds for a good cause,” indicates Annabelle Daokaew, Public Relations Manager of the Four Seasons Bangkok.
This year, the festival took place from September 3 to 9, 2012 with eight chefs coming from six countries: Shiqin Chen, La Rei, Il Boscareto, Piedmont, Italy; Diego Irrera, 1884 Restaurante, Mendoza, Argentina; Galvin Lim, Les Amis, Singapore; Igor Macchia, La Credenza, Piedmont, Italy; Michael Mina, MICHAEL MINA, San Francisco, USA; Víctor Quintillà Imbernón, Lluerna, Barcelona, Spain; Masa Shimakawa, ONYX, Los Angeles, USA and Frédéric Vardon, LE 39V, Paris, France. They were joined by Master of Wine Jeannie Cho Lee, Eleveur de FromageJean-Francois Antony, and mixologist and ambassador for Dilmah Tea, Robert Schinkel. “We have an extensive connections network working with other hotels and restaurants to ask chefs across the globe to participate. We generally keep always alternatives open as some chefs are forced to cancel their trip at the last minute, due to emergencies. But we always succeed to attract top chefs for every edition,” adds Mrs. Daokaew.
During the festival, Four Seasons proposes special packages which includes accommodations, the access to the Executive Club as well as a featured World Gourmet Festival dinner for two persons per night booked. “As we have this year excellent occupancy, many guests only booked a dinner experience with us”, says Annabelle Daokaew.
This year, both Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui became part of the World Gourmet action, each hosting a one-night-only dinner with one of the participating chefs. In Chiang Mai, Chef Masa Shimakawa cooked on Thursday, September 6, while Michael Mina brings his signature modern American cuisine to Koh Samui September 10. World Gourmet Stay Packages were also available at both properties.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
