Senior Chef de cuisine and virtual sommelier join Six Senses Yao Noi (Thailand)
Senior Chef de Cuisine at The Dining Room and a virtual Sommelier are the latest top experts to join Six Senses Yao Noi, set in stunning Phang Nga Bay, Thailand. |
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Senior Chef de cuisine and virtual sommelier join Six Senses Yao Noi (Thailand)
Senior Chef de Cuisine at The Dining Room and a virtual Sommelier are the latest top experts to join Six Senses Yao Noi, set in stunning Phang Nga Bay, Thailand. |
Category: Asia Pacific - Thailand - Careers
- Appointments
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2014-01-27
Jim Driskell has been appointed to the role of Chef de Cuisine of The Dining Room, the resort’s organic European cuisine restaurant, which utilizes the wide range of organic vegetables and herbs grown in the resort’s own onsite gardens.
All fish and seafood comes from the waters surrounding the resort, with the local fisherman already bonding with Chef Jim to bring him his precise requirements. His passion for all things fresh and natural has been inspired by some of the legends in organic food of the USA with whom Jim has worked.
He spent several years at the iconic Primo restaurant in Rockland Maine, a three-generation farm-to-table restaurant with nearly five acres of farm on which pigs, chickens and ducks are raised alongside extensive vegetable gardens. This was one of the two restaurants at which he gained extensive knowledge of organic farming, composting and vegetable growing. Chef Jim’s exposure is not confined to the United States as he also worked in Japan at Hashimoto, a Kaiseki restaurant with menus changing with each season and highlighting textures, flavours and colours of that season. As a result Jim speaks reads and writes Japanese. He also worked in a leading sushi restaurant in Washington,D.C.
Among his other experiences, Jim worked at the exquisite Martin Pescador Lodge in an isolated and pristine area of Chile, where only organic local food is available; the nearest shop was a two-day walk.
Chef Jim brings a broad and unique range of experiences to The Dining Room, enhancing the commitment and sincerity of the resort’s organic sustainable local farm-to-table cuisine philosophy. Guests are invited to join the chef and culinary team each day and can hand pick produce for the evening menu. Mushrooms selected from inside the mushroom hut can be eaten seconds after they’re picked with a touch of olive oil, cracked pepper and sea salt - it simplydoes not get any fresher than this.
The resort also welcomes Virtual Sommelier Christian Maier. Christian currently heads the wine programme at Melbourne’s prestigious RACV Club overseeing a vast portfolio of exceptional wines. He will be advising the resort on labels and vintages. He will also be hosting signature wine events, the first of which is scheduled for February. It will include a fascinating wine game presented alongside Michelin-starred visiting Chef Jesper Koch from Denmark.
Originally from Alsace, Christian spent his formative years in Europe working in celebrated Michelin-starred restaurants in both France and the United Kingdom. He has spent the past 15 years living in Australia and working in several of Melbourne’s most celebrated restaurants as sommelier.
The list of awards Christian has directly been responsible for achieving is extensive. To list just a few, his cellar at the RACV Club has won Australian Wine cellar of the Year for the past five consecutive years and the Australian Best Restaurant Wine List by the acclaimed Age Good Food Guide.
Christian has an almost legendary love of Champagne, and in 2002 was crowned the Australian winner of the Champagne tasting competition, the “Vin de Champagne” award. He is on the panel of judges at the French Chamber of Commerce Victorian Wine Show ‘Concours des Vins du Victoria’, which is chaired by Bernard Burtschy of Grand Jury Européen and has judged at the Sydney Top 100 Wine Competition and regional wine shows.
General Manager Manish Puri said, “It is both a pleasure and privilege to welcome to our resort team Chef Jim and Virtual Sommelier Christian, two passionate and experienced professionals in their respective fields. The extensive backgrounds of both Jim and Christian will add a further dimension to our culinary team and enhance our ability to provide the unique guest food and beverage experiences.”
About Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas is a hotel and spa management company comprised of nine resorts and 28 spas under the brand names Six Senses, Evason and Six Senses Spa.
Set to double in size over the next three years, Six Senses operates resorts in far-flung locations featuring incredible natural beauty. Known for its unique and diverse design personality, each property is supported by a leadership commitment to community, sustainability and wellness.
Six Senses Spa offers a wide range of holistic wellness, rejuvenation and beauty treatments administered under the guidance of expert therapists. Six Senses Spa is also located in prestigious hotels and resorts around the globe.
Evason introduces a collection of unique resorts that follow the Six Senses philosophy of uncompromised responsibility to sustainability and to the community. Family friendly, these properties also provide a strong value focus while offering a vast array of guest services and personal attention.
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