The Datai Langkawi’s successful run of The Chef Series which – due to border restrictions – pivoted towards a line-up of luminaries from the Malaysian food scene last year– returns this year with an eclectic international cast of chefs with the exception of Malaysia’s own Darren Teoh of Dewakan. The common denominator among them – all chefs can lay claim to having earned and are current holders of Michelin stars at the fine dine establishments which they run.
The Dining Room of The Datai Langkawi will play host to The Chef Series 2023, nestling among 10 million-year-old rainforests and backgrounded by rock formations dating back to the Cambrian period, some 500 million years ago. Here, at this gastronomic promontory commanding endless views of The Andaman and with a perpetual soundtrack of whispering trees and birdsong, guests will be able to savour culinary excellence by some of the world’s foremost proponents. The mix of cuisine on display encompasses haute cuisine from France, contemporary Indian from Singapore, modern eclectic from the UK, new wave cuisine from Malaysia and classic European from the Netherlands. Each chef will offer specially crafted menus featuring organic produce cultivated in The Datai Langkawi’s zero-waste Permaculture Garden, illustrating their shared passion for utilising high quality locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. Meanwhile, diners may also opt to pair meals with the resort’s well-stocked cellar of over 450 labels which has been recognised annually with the Wine Spectator award since it re-opened in 2018 following a year-long renovation.
The Chef Series kicks off in December 2022 with Chef Tom Aikens who – at the age of 26 – made his own piece of history being the youngest British chef to helm a two Michelin-starred establishment. As owner and head chef of Muse located in the fashionable Belgravia neighbourhood of London, Aikens’ menu is popularly referenced as a ‘nostalgia-based concept menu’. Its signatures include steak tartare, spiced foie gras with Sauternes and a roasted lobster tail with apple. Aikens’ culinary ventures has also seen him make landfall in Tokyo with The Jade Room + Garden Terrace, Tom’s by Tom Aikens in Jakarta and three more restaurants in Abu Dhabi.
February then sees Arnaud Faye – executive chef and Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) of La Chèvre d’Or, a five-star deluxe hotel in Èze on the French Riviera. Here, he oversees the hotel’s trio of restaurants which includes the two Michelin-starred La Chèvre d’Or. Faye’s cuisine takes after the spectacular terroir which the hotel inhabits, from the azure Mediterranean to the rocky valleys and hills of Mercantour. The chef credits the virtues of knowledge, precision, discipline and pursuit of perfection through the tutelage of chefs such as Antoine Westermann, Patrick Henriroux and Michel Roth. Through the development of his culinary career, he has held the Executive Chef role at the Auberge du Jeu de Paume in Chantilly, owned by His Highness the Prince Aga Khan. In 2013, The Auberge du Jeu de Paume was awarded The Best Restaurant in Europe by the Grand Prix Villegiature, and obtained two Michelin stars consecutively in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
April of 2023 will see Chef Darren Teoh of the newly anointed one Michelin-star Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur in action at The Datai Langkawi. Dewakan, which was one of only four restaurants to earn a star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Malaysia 2023, has been perennially adjudged as one of the most innovative restaurants in the country, famed for sourcing indigenous ingredients and interpreting it through a menu that is at once adventurous and inquisitive.
A returning Malaysia is set to light up June 2023 at The Datai Langkawi with Chef Mano Thevar who hails from Penang. The chef, who owns the two Michelin-starred Thevar in Singapore, reinterprets traditional Indian flavours and heritage through classical French techniques and Japanese produce. Spices, flavours and ingredients of an 8,000-year-old food tradition are given a fine-dining application, with Thevar’s own classical French training bringing new ways of exploration and realisation of Indian cuisine.
In the second half of the 2023, The Datai Langkawi welcomes Chef Lars van Galen who is owner and head chef of one Michelin-starred ‘t Lansink in The Netherlands. In his own words, he describes his cuisine which relies on attention to detail, as dishes where “colours and flavours jump out at you from the plate.” Through an emphasis on quality local produce and ‘cooking with the seasons’ his dishes are imbued with flavour, while character, warmth and craftsmanship round up his exacting philosophy to creating world-class dining experiences.
To polish off the year, The Datai Langkawi will once again host the iconic father-son duo of Michel and Sébastien Bras, who last made an appearance to cook the dinner at The Datai Langkawi’s glittering re-opening event in December 2018. Five years on, the duo are back with their terroir-inflected menu which has helped its Le Suquet restaurant hold three Michelin-stars across 18 years. Collectively, the duo have found fame where they ventured, at the eponymous Bras, in Laguiole, France; Toya in Hokkaido, Japan; and La Halle aux Grains at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, which recently opened to much fanfare. Centred on nature as the essence of their culinary creativity, the Bras duo have championed the use of indigenous vegetables, sustainable and ethical producers and conservation of tradition to create exceptionally balanced cuisine.
Further information for The Chef Series 2023 can be found on The Datai Langkawi’s website, via email reservations@dataihotels.com or by calling +6049500500.
