Thirteen chefs from Baros Maldives have won the highest total of medals and awards at the Food and Hospitality Asia Maldives (FHAM) – International Culinary Challenge and Exhibition 2017 held in the capital, Male’, in August. The event is held annually for island chefs to demonstrate their skills before a panel of international judges. A total of 67 resorts in the Maldives represented by 564 competitors took part.
Ibrahim Nathif won two top awards, trophies for “Most Outstanding Chef in Maldives” and “Best Maldivian Chef” as well as five gold medals. Nathif, 32, has worked at Baros for 13 years and currently cooks in the resort’s fine dining Lighthouse Restaurant. As a result of his success he has been selected to represent the Maldives at the Malaysian Culinary Challenge in February 2018.
Another top award was won by K. Y. M. Gunasekara who emerged as the “Best Young Chef.” He is 24 and has worked at Baros for three years.
The record haul of medals comprises five gold, 12 silver and eight bronzes. The categories in which the chefs won reflect the multi-cuisine choices presented in the resort’s three restaurants, and special occasion dining. These included hot cooking of meat, seafood and poultry, biriyani, plated desserts, breads and pastries, Maldivian dish and wedding cake.
More than 40 chefs work at Baros Maldives in its three gourmet-standard restaurants as well as catering for off-island dining on a sandbank, lagoon deck or local sailboat (dhoni) cruises. Also available is In Villa Meal Service in each of the resort’s 75 elegant overwater and beachside villas. Baros Maldives is a private bijou tropical island only 25 minutes by resort speedboat from the Maldives International Airport.
