Chef Stephane Duvacher believes in food. Passionately.
He grew up in Saint Malo, a fishing port in Brittany, northern France, where, at age ten, he transformed his first catch-of-the-day into a savory soup de poisson and fell in love with the art of cooking. "For me, as a chef and food lover, respect for food is respect for life, for who we are, and for what we do," he said. "I don't like to 'play' with food Ñ rather, I let food 'be itself' by allowing the flavour of the ingredients to mature and mingle in simple, natural harmony." Duvacher received his basic training in France, then accepted various assignments all across the globe, including the Philippines, the Carribean, Oman, Kuwait and England, refining his culinary skills. He joins the Jebel Ali Hotel & Golf Resort after a three-year assignment as executive chef at the sister-resort Oasis Beach Hotel, where he succeeded in bringing to local fame the new Singapora and Oregano restaurants. In his new post as executive chef of the Jebel Ali Hotel & Golf Resort, Chef Duvacher will direct the culinary creations of eight restaurants. He's set to delight diners with Italian dishes at the La Traviata Restaurant, Asian-fusion cooking at the White Orchid, American sizzlers at the Shooters Restaurant, Mediterranean at the La Fontana, and a sampling of around-the-world specialties at the Club Joumana Sports CafŽ, the Deli, the Ibn Majid Coffee House and the Palmito Garden. "There is no perfect recipe," he says. "But perfection in cooking is achieved every time the dining plate comes back to the kitchen empty, while the diners, having enjoyed the contents, smile. Good cooking makes people happy, and the smile keeps my passion alive."