The Six Senses Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili holiday resorts on the Maldives have long been pioneers in their celebration of Slow Life and Slow Life Cooking. Both Maldivian resorts along with their new sister, Soneva Kiri in Thailand, have organic gardens, world class chefs and take enormous pride in offering the freshest of ingredients, sourced locally and cooked to perfection.
This year Soneva by Six Senses is launching The Slow Life Cooking ‘Thairi’. Starting with renowned chef, Atul Kochhar – the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star – chefs from some of the most famous restaurants in the world have been invited to the resorts, to cook for guests but also to judge the existing standard of cuisine on offer. Kochar will be showcasing his particular talents at the Soneva Gili resort between the 23 – 26 March making tapas for a sunset cocktail party and offering cooking classes for guests.
The Resident Sri Lankan chef, Sanjeeva Ranasinghe, will also challenge him as they compete to create the best zero carbon, Slow Life menu for guests, using local products, such as fish caught in the lagoon and vegetables grown in the resort’s own organic garden.
In April, Christine Manfield, a highly-regarded Australian chef, author and gastronomic traveler, will be visiting Soneva Gili and later in the year will see the turn of sushi chef (although she uses no fish) Tracey Griffith.
At the end of their stay, the chefs will be invited to award a ‘thairi’, the Maldivian word for star, and an independent panel will be notified with the result. A ‘thairi’ may not be forthcoming, there may be more than one, but the ‘thairi’s’ will be awarded following strict guidelines, with a rating system designed by a jury of independent chefs. To ensure complete objectivity and element of surprise, guests will also secretly be invited to cast their vote.
