PROFILE
FOUR SEASONS BENGALARU
CHEF STEPHANE CALVET ’ S
‘ ADDICTION ’: FIND THE BEST LOCAL FOOD — WHEREVER IT IS .
Contributed by JEANETTE HURT
THE EXPLORER STEPHANE CALVET
When Stephane Calvet
W was the executive chef at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai , he used to spend his days off traversing northern Thailand on his Kawasaki Versys 650cc .
“ He would drive into these places where there aren ’ t roads to reach these little , tiny villages , and he spoke a little Thai so he was able to connect with these farmers and producers ,” says Rohan Ogale , director of F & B for the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai . “ Occasionally , he would cross ( country ) borders accidentally , but he established a lot of relationships with these farmers , and he tracked down some very unique products like these giant river prawns .”
Calvet , who was born in Perpignan , France , amid the Pyrenees , journeyed from France to Sweden , to Japan , China and Vietnam before joining Four Seasons . “ I ’ m a very curious person ,” Calvet says . “ I was used to working in big cities , and like everybody else , I would go to the market to talk to the local vendors and create my menus . But once I came to Chiang Mai , this disappeared . The city was smaller , so instead I went directly to the producers , discovering one curiosity to another to another , and it became an addiction . I was always coming back to the hotel , always loaded on the back of my bike ( with ) what farmers gave me to plant in my garden .”
Calvet ’ s curiosity most recently transplanted him from Thailand to India , where he is the executive chef of the new Four
TAKING
IT PERSONALLY
52 hotelsmag . com April 2019