Five chefs, 10 plates.

It was a gastronomic heaven like no other as Solaire Resort Entertainment City, in celebration of its 10th year as the leading integrated resort in the country, gave a preview of its culinary coup — a star-studded culinary and beverage spectacle that will set records in the Philippine gastronomy scene.

Ongoing until 19 March, chefs of Michelin-star excellence together with world renowned spirits and wine experts create once-in-a-lifetime experiences throughout five of Solaire’s signature restaurants.

Bespoke dinners
The first and only event of its kind, this gastronomic constellation awaits guests as these five restaurants each host a Michelin-star chef to offer a curated list of specialties that will enchant every palate. Spirits and beverage experts complement each creation with bespoke concoctions and exceptional wines.

“To mark Solaire’s 10 years, we wanted to do something bigger and more ambitious than what we have done in the past,” says Bastian Breuer, vice president for food and beverage. “As we close the last decade and enter a new one, it’s only fitting that we commemorate the celebration by giving our guests an irresistible experience that no other property or restaurant in the country has ever done before.
This marks the beginning of more trailblazing events for food and beverage here at Solaire.”

Culinary legend Enrico Bartolini is the most highly decorated Italian Michelin-star chef. His flagship address, Milan, is home to his namesake restaurant located in MUDEC, the Museum of Cultures, and is where the cuisine and style for each of his restaurants are crafted. The star-spangled chef will conquer the kitchen of Finestra Italian Steakhouse with a seven-course dinner highlighting his philosophy “Contemporary Classics.” Together with Enrico Bartolini, award-winning bar expert Salvatore Calabrese or known as “The Maestro” will also offer his inimitable flair and beverage genius with “Cocktails with the Maestro” featuring his modern cocktail classics that have become icons, as well as the first and only Filipino who is a certified master sommelier, Luis de Santos.

De Santos’ skills and work have inspired a movement that catapulted his concoctions to global eminence, including the renowned Breakfast Martini. His current endeavors are more entrepreneurial, providing consultancy services for a range of brands and enterprises from his frequent location The Donovan Bar in the Brown’s Hotel in London.

East meets West at Yakumi as another Michelin-star chef helms the restaurant for an eight-course dinner. With roots from Japan and Germany, Tohru Nakamura — the man behind two Michelin
-star restaurant Schreiberei in Munich — brings over his distinct style centered on marrying European culinary hallmarks with purposeful Japanese principles. His dishes are bright, unique and whimsical both aesthetically and in taste. To bring out the deeper flavors of Tohru’s menu, Sake Samurai Akihiro Igarashi will lend his expertise with curated complementary sake variants from the Kagamiyama Sake Brewery which carries a legacy that dates to 1875.

Famed Demon Chef Alvin Leung will bring the innovative food engineering that garnered him his Michelin star status to Red Lantern. Known for his two Michelin-star restaurant Bo Innovation and “X-Treme Chinese” style of cooking, Leung pushes the boundaries of Chinese fare through his bold and unconventional dish concepts while highlighting fusion cuisine and his flair for molecular engineering.
While Leung stuns with his innovations, master sommelier Elyse Lambert prepares a thoughtfully selected list of wines to create a fuller and more hypnotic dining event.

Renowned chef Rene Frank and owner of two Michelin-star dessert restaurant CODA in Berlin will showcase dishes inspired by desserts at Oasis Garden Cafe. The World’s Best Pastry Chef of 2022 lives by a philosophy anchored on innovation and progressive experimentation, revealing a different side of desserts — that it is more than just the final course and can be a meal on its own. His reputation as one the best is lauded for his ability to bridge and blend the unique flavors of each of his ingredients into astounding works that are both enigmatic and unconventional. This extends to the beverages he creates wherein he unravels the potentials of handcrafted liquids such as kefir and kombucha to complement and bring out unusual flavors, exciting textures and exhilarating aromas of his dishes — all pleasantly sweet with a hint of umami, and never sugary.

Portugal-native Rui Silvestre reins Waterside with his sensory inceptions made by mastered French techniques and preference for unconventional tastes. Every dish he plates at his Michelin-star restaurant, Vistas, is teeming with richness that evokes the senses. His emphasis on keeping the authenticity of flavors, combining the finest local ingredients with his way of cooking to produce a gastronomic celebration that can only exist in Portugal. Accentuating his dishes is a hand-picked wine collection by Eanglebert Guina, one of the Philippines’ Best Sommeliers and represented the country at the 2018 World Best Sommelier competition.

More notable names
Dalmore’s master distiller Gregg Glass and whisky expert and author of The Whisky Bible Jim Murray will share the art surrounding the distilled spirit. Cocktails and libations are stronger with international bar masters Antonio Lai, Hong Kong’s number one mixologist and Edriane Lim of The Bar at 15 Stamford. Girl power reigns supreme with Remy Martin and Remy Cointreau brand ambassador Kate Osmillo and Bleeding Heart and Don Papa brand ambassador Audrey Gustilo. Gerald Damasco, one of the country’s best sommeliers and representative to The Best Sommelier of Asia & Oceania 2018, puts a strong cap to Solaire’s beverage experts.

“Our mission has always been to give our guests the most unforgettable experiences in every way possible,” says Michael Dinges, Solaire’s vice president for Culinary. “Over the last decade, we’ve hosted events that were the first in the country and in the industry. For our 10th year, we’re pulling out all of the stops to present the biggest gathering of stars in the Philippine culinary scene with five Michelin-star chefs creating their creative geniuses for the local gourmands, here in Solaire.”

For details, email [email protected].