Hotel & Tours Group

The Pavilions, Phuket, is offering gourmands in Asia a rare opportunity to sample a specially-created menu from Michel Portos, Chef and Director of the renowned Saint-James Hotel in Bordeaux.

The Pavilions, a member of Relais & Châteaux, will welcome Michel Portos from Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 October, 2010. During his exclusive three-day visit to The Pavilions, the acclaimed chef will invite guests on an epicurean journey of unexpected flavors and tantalizing dishes.

Each evening from 28 to 30 October, the award-winning connoisseur will prepare a unique gourmet dinner for The Pavilions' guests and Phuket residents. Visitors will also have a chance to learn from the Michelin-honored master chef when Michel conducts a cooking class on Friday, 29 October from 12 noon.

A native of Marseilles in southern France, Michel honed his craft in local restaurants before launching his Côté Théâtre restaurant in Perpignan in 1998. Despite its modest size, Côté Théâtre earned praise from critics and local gourmands. Three years after opening, Michel's talent and culinary creativity was rewarded with the highest honor. In 2001, he received his first Michelin star.

A year later, Michel was approached to become Chef and Director of Bordeaux's celebrated Saint-James Hotel. Audaciously creative, Michel overhauled the menu, introducing exotic flavors and dispensing with traditional dishes. “[Traditional] cooking is done very well by local artisans,” he explained. “A gastronomic restaurant must be creative.”

Once again Michel's epicurean boldness and imaginative menu were rewarded and in 2009 he earned his second Michelin star.

Borrowing from Asian and Mediterranean influences, Michel's cuisine aims to surprise and excite with its delicately proportioned tastes and deft use of herbs and spices. Michel interprets acid flavors with masterful dexterity, blending citrus fruits and vinegars to introduce a zesty element to the balance.

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