TASTEMASTERS CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIMED CHEFS AND UNIQUE DINING CONCEPTS

Chef Nicholas Isnard

Born in the south of France, Michelin-starred chef Nicolas Isnard began his gastronomic adventure by cooking side-by-side with his Italian grandmother. He cultivated his own culinary sensibilities in a decade of cooking across France, from Matignon to Dijon. L’auberge de la Charme, the restaurant he co-owns in France, earned a Michelin star in 2009, within a year of opening. Today, he continues to explore a food philosophy and create novel flavor combinations with provincial and local produce.

Chef Andrea Monesi

Not yet of age, he worked with the large kitchen in Meina, a stone's throw from the lake, at Matteo Vigotti's Novecento restaurant, where he worked for a season, brilliantly tackling the pastry challenge. He then attended the Masters in Cooking at the University of Pollenzo, in the Cuneo area, where he got to know all the starred Piedmontese chefs. Marta Grassi, from the Tantris restaurant in Novara, Michelin Star since 1999. 20 seats in the dining room and a small and neat kitchen, where Andrea had the opportunity to learn a lot collaborating in full harmony with the Chef, for over a year and a half. In 2013 Andrea arrives at the Locanda di Orta. For five years he worked as a Sous Chef alongside with Chef Fabrizio Tesse, with whom, with tenacity and determination, at the end of 2014 (Guide 2015) he won the first Michelin Star. In January 2018 he moves to the helm, as Chef of the Locanda di Orta.

Chef Liu Wai-Yeung

Coming all the way from the Michelin-starred Shang Palace at Kowloon Shangri- La, Hong Kong, Chef Liu Wai-Yeung will take its Cantonese cuisine master skills to the capital of the UAE. The Hong Kong restaurant currently holds one Michelin star and was awarded as a Michelin two-starred restaurant in the editions of the Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau from 2012 to 2018.

Chef Matteo Rizzo

1984, Verona, Italy. Matteo Rizzo and his passion for the culinary art were born in the kitchen of Il Desco, his father’s restaurant, one Michelin Star since 1985. The University in Foreign Languages was not for him, he decided to “use” his cooking and catering knowledge, learnt at Il Desco during summertime and weekends, and leave his country in order to discover new experiences in refined dining. He worked in Rome, London, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, growing up professionally and tasting realities which appeared to be different from the ones he was used to. After a series of experiences abroad, Matteo returned home, ready to take the reigns of the family restaurant, thus guaranteeing a continuation of the business, a rite of passage and a transfer of responsibility passed to him by his father. “Over the years I have become more and more interested in cooking, research and high-quality food. I was already feeling a familiarity with this job, which had come from my parents of course, but the important adventures I had in my life awoke and boosted my self-confidence”. Today Matteo successfully leads Il Desco, with determination and young inventive and representing the new generation of such a place of culinary worship.

Chef Paolo Cappuccio

Bornin Naples and of Neapolitan temperament, with a resolute smile and determined expression,egocentric and also a bit mad, chef Paolo Cappuccio – together with his seven-strong crew, some of whom have been with him for over 15 years (starting with the sous-chef Marco Marras and the pastry chef Mariano Dileo) – has pursued his vocation from age 14, experimenting and constantly proving himself. He has attended and still attends today, professional courses and schools that keep him in touch with the most important developments on the international gastronomic scene and internationally acclaimed chefs “because one never cease to discover and learn”. Paolo Cappuccio’s philosophy, inspired by Alain Ducasse, Paul Bocuse and Gualtiero Marchesi, follows a clear line. “Italian cuisine’s present and future are to be found within its traditions, which need to be innovated, creating contrasts and playing with cold and warm, whilst nevertheless respecting our traditions, our culture and our history. These are the intangible ingredients of my recipes but they are just as important and indeed capable of delivering an alchemy that no raw materials can alone provide.”

Chef Dennis-Puchert

Chef Claude Taffarello

Chef Julia Komp

Julia Komp won her first Michelin star at the age of 28, within just six months of taking over as head chef at Schloss Loersfeld in Kerpen. This made her, in 2016, the youngest female chef in Germany to helm a Michelin-starred restaurant. She has travelled through 19 countries in seven months, on a food cultural exchange of sorts. At the age of 14, Chef Julia signed up for her first internship at local one-starred Zur Tant and found her groove. From there, she continued training at La Société and (the now-defunct) La Poêle d’Or before coming to the 15th century Schloss Loersfeld in Kerpen, just west of Cologne. Chef Julia is excited to bring her uniquely Nordic takes on Indian and Arabic food to the Abu Dhabi Food Festival. She is also known for her mastery over avant-garde cuisine, Chef Julia believes in the harmony between taste and visual details, elevating these to a perfectly balanced sensory dining experience. She is fond of modern cooking techniques but only uses these when they uplift a dish.

Chef Jean Christophe Novelli

Jean-Christophe is an award winning, multi-Michelin Starred chef. He is a TV favourite and a published author. Jean Christophe began his career at the tender age of fourteen as a baker in his home town of Arras, Northern France before becoming Private Head Chef to Elie de Rothschild. He has worked in several well-known establishments including The Chewton Glen but his life changed completely when he was invited by Keith Floyd to take charge of ‘The Maltsters’ as the Chef Patron, leading to his move to the Gordonton Mill in Hampshire where he won his first Michelin star after only one year. Later Jean Christophe was offered the position of head chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Park lane with another Michelin star immediately! In 1996 Jean Christophe began the foundations for mini empire of 7 establishments. Across UK, France and South Africa. The first of which was his award winning Masion Novelli in Clarkenwell Green. Followed shortly after by a second venture in Mayfair in which he gained another Michellin Star. In 2005 Jean Christophe opened The Novelli Cookery School at the 14th Century Crouchmoor Farm in Hertfordshire with his wife Michelle. The Academy, once voted one of the top 25 cookery schools in the world attracting food lovers from across the globe. His passion for passing on his wealth of culinary knowledge to others is legendary. He has catered for Heads of State, Royalty such as Princess Anne, Hollywood actors, Rock Stars and highly recognised names around the world including his mum!