Julie Mautner reports.
The Caribbean Bob and Melinda Blanchard have opened a sibling to their popular Anguilla restaurant Blanchard's. Called Zurra, the new spot resides in the 28,000-square-foot Clubhouse at Temenos Golf Club, also on Anguilla, where Melinda Blanchard will be exec chef. Temenos is the island's first 18-hole golf course and an integral component of the new 112 room St. Regis Temenos Villas resort, scheduled for completion in winter 2008.
Daniel Arratoon is new exec chef at the 35 suite Treasure Beach on Barbados, which reopened in November after renovation. The Australian born chef's last job was with Restaurant Associates in London. • Bruno Giordano is new exec chef at Le Sport on St. Lucia. He comes from El Encanto in Santa Barbara, California. • Michael Goodman, new exec chef at Cuisinart Resort on Anguilla, replaces Daniel Orr. Goodman comes from Napa restaurant at Jumeirah International's Madinat Jumeirah, a five-star in Dubai.
Europe At the new four-star 408 room Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre, the exec chef is Ulf Burbach, late of Mövenpick Hotel Prague. The f&b director is Eric van Piggelen, who worked for Centre Parks and Sun City Hotels in South Africa.
Barry Larsen, owner of Abstract at the Glenmoriston Town House hotel (Inverness, Scotland), opened a second Abstract, in Edinburgh, last month. Like the original, the new Abstract (with 60 seats and a kitchen table for eight) is modern French with an emphasis on Scottish produce. Chef Loic Lefebvre comes from Abstract in Inverness, where his former sous chef, Geoffrey Malmedy, has taken over day-to-day duties. Lefebvre remains the exec chef.
Henry and Katherine Cripps have opened The Greene Oak in Windsor, Berkshire, in the English village of Oakley Green. Head chef Daniel Faulkner's menu combines classic British cuisine, traditional pub food, and modern European dishes, emphasizing local, seasonal, and organic products. This is the Cripps' first restaurant.
Oliver Peyton, who operates the National Dining Rooms in London's National Gallery, has opened The National Café in the East Wing. The casual modern European restaurant has its own entrance on St. Martin's Lane and offers a waiter-service brasserie, a "grab and go" area, an espresso bar, and a private dining room. The National Café chef, Darren Locke, came over from The Wolseley in London.
The Middle East Starwood opened the 200 room Sheraton Aleppo in Syria last month. The exec chef is Michael Roehr, who was, most recently, exec chef of the Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel (St. Petersburg, Russia). The f&b director, Claus Treu, came over from the Sheraton Oran (Algeria).
Asia and Polynesia Bulgari Hotels and Resorts have opened their second property, the 59 villa Bulgari Bali, near the village of Pecatu on Bali's far southwestern tip. The 59 villas, which begin at $1,000 per night, all have plunge pools and patios, secluded tropical gardens, and high-tech amenities. Exec chef Andrew David Skinner came from the Oberoi Mauritius but worked previously on Bali at Amandari. The hotel is a joint venture between the Italian jeweler and Marriott International Luxury Group.
W Hotels opened their first "retreat & spa," the W Maldives, in September, on the private island of Fesdu, in the North Ari Atoll. W Maldives features 78 private villas, each with a plunge pool and sundeck. Exec chef Oscar Perez and f&b manager Sadettin Kaya oversee six restaurants and bars.
At the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, Sebastian Noshe has been promoted from senior chef de cuisine to exec sous chef. And Philippe Orrico is the new chef de cuisine at Pierre; he comes from Sketch, Pierre Gagnaire's joint venture in London. Other new appointments at the hotel include: Martin Cahill (oyster chef) and Norio Nomoto (sushi chef) in the Mandarin Grill & Bar, Ooi Soon Lok (chef de cuisine for Man Wah and Cantonese functions), and Eric Chee Chew Soong (chef de cuisine for Cafe Causette).
At the new five-star 369 room Millennium Hongqiao Shanghai, the company's first hotel in China, the chef is Reinhard Truchler and Michael Lim the f&b director. Truchler comes from the Holiday Inn Asiaworld (Taipei, Taiwan); Lim was with the Kunlun Hotel (Beijing). • At Accor's new 250 room Sofitel Phokeetra Krabi in Thailand, which launched last month, the chef is Murray Patterson, from the Sofitel Ambassador (Seoul, South Korea). • Philippe Agnese has joined the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok as exec pastry chef. He's been with Ritz-Carlton in Singapore and Bahrain. • Andreas Haugg is exec chef at the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, which opened last month. He comes from the just-reopened Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, where his exec sous chef, Conrado Tromp, replaces him. • Ubud Hanging Gardens on Bali has a new exec chef, Renaud Le Rasle. He comes from New York City's Russian Tea Room and six months on a luxury ship in the Indian Ocean to replace Frederic Martin.
Send your international restaurant and hotel f&b news to Julie Mautner at WhiskNews@aol.com
