‘I knew that I wanted to be chef since I was 15-years-old’

When did you begin as a chef?
I knew that I wanted to be chef since I was 15-years-old.

Why did you become a chef?
My father taught me how to cook when I was a child, he was not a professional chef but it was his hobby and also my grandfather’s. I did my three years apprenticeship in a hotel in Switzerland and took my exam to become a Commis Chef.
If you were not a chef, what would you have been?
Something to do with electronics or photography.
What is your speciality?
I enjoy cooking anything but if I have to choose then it would have to be Mediterranean cooking, Italian and Spanish.
What ingredients are important to you?
The correct combination of fresh herbs.
What are you most proud of in your career?
I opened two hotels from scratch. The Crowne Plaza Beirut and the Sol Elite in Indonesia. The Sol Elite was in the middle of nowhere and it was quite an accomplishment considering I had to find all the staff, train them all myself and get the hotel up and running, it was a huge operation.
Have you worked anywhere else in the Middle East?
I was a chef in two other five-star hotels in Bahrain in 1993-1995 and I have also worked in the UAE.
What keeps you motivated when you go to the kitchen every day?
I like to prepare good food and I am always looking for new ideas, new recipes.
If you could eat only one more meal, what would it be and with whom?
I would eat typical Swiss food, on a beach in Sri Lanka with my wife and kids.