Top Macau chefs create personalised dishes with an interactive approach

With recent multibillion dollar resort openings and more in the pipeline, there’s certainly no shortage of upscale restaurants to choose from in Macau. However, a shift is occurring where the distant, stiff and pretentious manner often associated with fine dining is being replaced by more relaxed, intimate and personalised dining experiences where, in many cases, you can watch and interact with the chef as he prepares and cooks a meal to your own personal requirements.

“I think the context of fine dining is changing so much and the modern approach these days is to have it a bit more relaxed,” says David King, culinary director of The St. Regis Macao. “We’d like to have a more family-style gathering, intimate, and have them share dishes in a more informal style.”

Located on the first floor of The St. Regis Macao, The Manor Restaurant offers guests a variety of dining options in different settings all under the umbrella of fine dining. The Penthouse Kitchen is one of the options available and offers guests a private dining experience with a dedicated chef at the helm to tailor meals to the guests’ distinct preferences.

“We do private dinners, intimate tailor-made experiences in The Penhouse Kitchen,” King says. “Whenever we have to lay out something or cook something live for the guests – that’s where The Penthouse comes into play.”

Chef King and his team pride themselves on using only the highest quality prime ingredients with the emphasis being on straight forward food that’s delicious and not unduly complicated.

“A lot of places just look at trends, and try to base their food on trends and trickery,” King says. “We’re always trying to do something interesting and different but accessible as well. I think many places often forget that very simple premise of dining – it has to be a delicious experience, it has to be yummy, it has to be nice.”

Aside from the food itself, creating the best experience for the guests is something that King feels is largely to do with the service and the role that the chef can play in helping to facilitate the right atmosphere.

“I think everybody likes to see the chef – it’s also part of that modern context of dining where people actually want to have some modicum of control – a sense of being in control of their experience and what they’re doing. There’s nothing like talking directly to the chef – we often have guests who just want to see the chef and order directly from the chef and of course we accommodate that.”

Jean-Francois Nulli is the sous chef at French restaurant Privé, Sofitel Macau At Ponte 16. Chef Nulli describes the whole restaurant as “a chef’s table”, where the chef comes to the guests and explains the dishes.