Thalassa's new head chef brings Michelin standards to Cyprus
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Thalassa's new head chef brings Michelin standards to Cyprus
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Category: Europe - Cyprus - Careers
- Appointments
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-10-14
Cyprus’ leading luxury boutique hotel, Thalassa Boutique Hotel & Spa is delighted to announce the appointment of new head chef, Shuki Salem. Trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London, Shuki brings unique flair and world-class standards to Thalassa’s culinary team, with over eight years’ experience and head roles at famed restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Nahm and L’Etranger, voted readers’ favourite restaurant in London in The Good Food Guide 2009.
At Thalassa, Shuki infuses his culinary creations with character and style. His modern eclectic, yet naturally elegant dishes draw on his vast experience across a spectrum of global cuisine and flavour combinations, from modern European and classic French, to Thai and Japanese. Speaking of his art, Shuki says, “I don’t enjoy culinary boundaries. I like to use delicate culinary touches to give the dishes a twist. It’s all about the ingredients for me, and using these to create something special and refined for guests.” The head chef’s signature dish, served at Thalassa’s gourmet seafood grill, Psari, is tiger prawns wrapped in pancetta with paprika, garlic and lemon.
On graduating from national service in Israel, Shuki decided to pursue his passion for cooking and has never looked back. After gaining his stripes at Tel Aviv’s Mika and Blue restaurants, Shuki spent a year as chef de partie with Le Caprice Group, working in the busy kitchens of celebrity haunts, The Ivy and J. Sheekey. In 2003, Shuki moved to Michelin-starred Thai restaurant Nahm, at the Halkin Hotel, where he managed room service and catering functions, in addition to the daily running of the restaurant. In 2004, he joined renowned French restaurant L’Oranger, before taking the role of sous chef at Coq d’Argent, where he was responsible for staff training and development as well as assisting the running of the kitchen.
As head chef at award-winning L’Etranger in London, Shuki demonstrated his creative culinary and leadership skills, running a kitchen of 10 chefs, whilst designing and executing Franco-Japanese daily specials and set menus. In 2007, he took his expertise to Beauberry House, producing mouth-watering modern European masterpieces for the fine dining restaurant, planning food budgets and seasonal menus, and catering for high profile events. Before moving to Thalassa, Shuki also helped mastermind the launch of the new venue for the Almyra Hotel in Cyprus, creating a weekly canapé selection using innovative techniques and molecular concepts, and designing a spa cuisine menu to complement signature treatments.
At Thalassa, guests can enjoy Shuki’s take on traditional Cypriot and Mediterranean cuisine at Ambrosia restaurant and sublime seafood with a twist at Psari seafood grill.
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