23rd World Gourmet Festival Brings New Culinary Frontiers with Seventeen Michelin Stars

The 23^rd edition of the World Gourmet Festival is returning to one of Bangkok’s most exclusive addresses with a star-studded line-up of chefs.  From 19^th to 24^th September 2023, twelve acclaimed chefs from Spain, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Bahrain, and Thailand will gather under one roof at Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel for a weeklong celebration of outstanding cuisine and superb wines.  And in a first for Bangkok’s longest-running international culinary spectacular, some of the visiting chefs will travel to Phuket and Koh Samui to present their extraordinary gastronomy to gourmands.

With seventeen Michelin stars and a string of critically acclaimed accolades between them, confirmed to participate in the 23^rd World Gourmet Festival are:

• Thomas Bühner: chef patron, Germany (3 Michelin stars)
• Jordi Artal: Cinc Sentits in Barcelona, Spain (2 Michelin stars)
• Kiko Moya Redrado: Restaurant L’Escaleta in Alicante, Spain (2 Michelin stars)
• Toshiharu Sunayama: Les Tonnelles in Kanazawa, Japan (2 Michelin stars)
• Jimmy Lim: JL Studio in Taichung City, Taiwan (2 Michelin stars)
• Daniele Lippi: Acquolina in Rome, Italy (2 Michelin stars)
• Enrico Marmo: Balzi Rossi in Ventimiglia, Italy (1 Michelin star)
• Theodor Falser: Johannesstube in Nova Levante, Italy (1 Michelin star)
• Barry Quek: Whey, Hong Kong (1 Michelin star)
• Arne Riehn: IGNIV in Bangkok, Thailand (1 Michelin star)
• Tala Bashmi: Fusions by Tala in Manama, Bahrain (Middle East & North Africa’s Best Female Chef Award 2022)
• Phol Tantasathien: celebrity chef, Thailand

During the Festival, the visiting chefs will each host up to two dinners in the hotel’s award-winning Biscotti, Café Wolseley, Spice Market, Shintaro, and Guilty restaurants, while Bangkok favourite Arne Riehn and Bangkok’s own food presenter, restaurateur, author, TV producer and star Phol Tantasathien will present delectable afternoon tea sessions in the Lobby Lounge.

Following on from the triumph of the first-ever gala dinner event at the commencement of last year’s Festival, five of the chefs will present diners with a taste of things to come when each prepares one course of a five-course menu in Anantara Siam’s ballroom, including Enrico Marmo, Theodor Falser, Barry Quek, Jimmy Lim, and Arne Riehn.  The Constellation of The Stars Gala Dinner event takes place on 19^th September and seats are available at THB 9,500++ including wine pairings.

At Guilty, Barry Quek will pay homage to his Singaporean roots and introduce diners to modern European cuisine reimagined with Singaporean influences and a focus on local and seasonal ingredients, on 20^th and 21^st September.  Jordi Artal from Barcelona’s Cinc Sentits, meaning five senses, will expertly demonstrate his culinary philosophy to stimulate diners’ five taste sensations of sweetness, bitterness, sourness, saltiness, and umami that earned him two Michelin stars, on 22^nd and 23^rd September.

At Café Wolseley, Theodor Falser’s menu features gourmet Italian cuisine that honours nature by using wild herbs and vegetables to create the traditional tastes of Italy, on 20^th and 21^st September.  Kiko Moya Redrado, one of the key representatives of the gastronomic avant-garde on the south-east coast of Spain, will offer gourmet travellers dishes full of delicacy, skill and, above all, traditional Mediterranean flavours, on 22^nd and 23^rd September.

At Spice Market, Singaporean chef Jimmy Lim pays tribute to his roots with original creations that strike a fine balance of flavours and dishes that are complex, sophisticated, and understated with an element of surprise, on 20^th and 21^st September.  Bahrain-born and Swiss-trained Tala Bashmi, who was named the winner of the first Middle East and North Africa’s Best Female Chef Award in 2022, will showcase her culinary expertise in reinventing her country’s cuisine on 22^nd and 23^rd September.

At Shintaro, Toshiharu Sunayama, who is feted for his seasonal vegetable-focussed, farm-to-table menu, will feature some of Japan’s most sophisticated French dishes on 22^nd and 23^rd September.

At Biscotti, Gambero Rosso 2023 Restaurant Guide’s Tradizione Futura awardee, Enrico Marmo, will serve a traditional Italian menu reinterpreted with a skilful touch of modernity on 20^th and 21^st September.  Italian culinary trickster Daniele Lippi invites diners to look beyond appearances with what he calls a party game that borders on surrealism and where nothing is what it seems, on 22^nd and 23^rd September.  On 24^th September, the father of modern German gastronomy, Thomas Bühner, will close the 23^rd World Gourmet Festival with a menu inspired by modern, three-dimensional aromatic cuisine.

As has become a tradition in recent years, the exclusive fringe events will return, including the hugely popular World Gourmet Brunch, on Sunday, 24^th September.  In another first for the annual Festival, two Michelin-starred chefs Jordi Artal, Kiko Moya Redrado, Toshiharu Sunayama, and Daniele Lippi will prepare dishes from their World Gourmet Festival repertoire during the Brunch event.

The 23^rd World Gourmet Festival will also see a nightly takeover of Aqua Bar from 19^th to 24^th September by celebrated mixologists from the World’s 50 Best Bars and Asia’s 50 Best Bars, including Andrew Ho from China, Saan Dhakal from Hong Kong, and Thai mixology star Ronnaporn Kanivichaporn.

Designed to appeal to both aspiring chefs and professionals alike, Arne Riehn will present a cooking class in the Lobby Lounge on 20^th and 21^st September, and Phol Tantasathien on 22^nd and 23^rd September.  The cooking classes offer a unique opportunity to learn new techniques and to sample specially prepared dishes by the chefs.

Bringing new culinary frontiers to the World Gourmet Festival, on Saturday, 23^rd September Enrico Marmo will present a dinner at Age at Anantara Layan Phuket Resort, and Theodor Falser will travel to Tree Tops Signature Dining at Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort

The 23^rd World Gourmet Festival is a proud supporter of Foundation for the Welfare of Rajavithi-Girls’ Home Under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali that provides quality education, medical care, and life skills training.  A portion of each dinner ticket sold and proceeds from the auctions, which take place throughout the festival, will be donated to the Foundation.

Reservations for the 23^rd World Gourmet Festival at Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel are essential and can be made by visiting www.worldgourmetfestival.asia, where detailed information and prices of all the events are available, or contact Anantara Siam on email wgf.asia@anantara.com or telephone +66 2 126 8866.

Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel’s 23^rd World Gourmet Festival is sponsored by UOB, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Indorama Ventures PCL.,Turkish Airlines, and CHEFS’ by Lise Timmer.  The official media partners are Prestige Thailand and HELLO! Thailand.