Tourism & Hospitality | Wednesday 27 May, 2015 3:35 pm |

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has added two new star chefs to its growing IHG Culinary Panel; an initiative that sees renowned chefs develop an array of signature dishes for guests dining in IHG’s hotels across Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA).

The latest Culinary Ambassadors will introduce a range of signature dishes that IHG guests can enjoy. Chef Vikas Khanna’s restaurant, Junoon in New York City, has been awarded with a coveted Michelin star for four years in a row and serves a range of authentic and inventive fine dining Indian recipes. Chef Takagi Kazuo is famed for his two Michelin star restaurant in Osaka and will supply seasonal Kyo-style Japanese cuisine to the programme.

The seven IHG Culinary Ambassadors on the panel are all award-winning chefs and represent a diverse range of cuisines:
Indian by Vikas Khanna
Japanese by Takagi Kazuo
Italian by Theo Randall
Thai by Ian Kittichai
Chinese by Sam Leong
Modern Australian by Ross Lusted
Bakery and Pastry by Dean Brettschneider

Each Culinary Ambassador has created 20 recipes ranging from appetisers to main courses and desserts. Guests can enjoy a selection of these dishes in select restaurants at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels and resorts in the region.

Chef Vikas has made culinary waves the world over for his award winning cuisine and critically acclaimed and widely awarded cook books on Indian cuisine. He will soon be launching his 21st book Utsav – A Culinary Epic at Cannes Film Festival- the first Chef to launch a cookbook at Cannes. He will be adding heat and spice to the IHG Culinary Panel recipes with dishes including his signature 7-Spice Lamb Shank, made with a medley of spices, in a burgundy-hued curry that coats the slow-braised meat and his Tellicherry Duck Breast, a classic Indian duck dish spiced with long pippali peppercorns from southern India and balanced with a creamy coconut-milk sauce.

Speaking about his new role as an IHG Culinary Ambassador, Chef Vikas commented: “Food and dining is constantly evolving and it’s important to keep pushing the bar at being more innovative and creative yet building the essence of fine dining and luxury. The dishes that I want people to enjoy are often contemporary reinventions of classic Indian dishes, and being able to share these more widely through the IHG Culinary Panel is a fantastic way to get people even more excited by the exotic Indian cuisine beyond the clichéd and standard.”

Chef Takagi’s Kyo style cooking, which has its roots in the Kyoto prefecture of Japan, is recognised for its seasonal dishes that appeal to all the senses such as his signature Japanese Pepper Beef with Foie Gras Dengaku, a beef sirloin with pan-fried foie gras, topped with Japanese pepper and miso paste and his Potato Salad, made with steamed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, shrimps and edible flowers.

Alan Watts, Chief Operating Officer, Asia, Middle East and Africa, IHG said: “With the addition of Chef Vikas and Chef Takagi our IHG Culinary Panel represents seven celebrated chefs, a myriad of exceptional cuisines and an opportunity to discover even more authentic flavours and tastes. We are constantly evolving our culinary proposition for guests, continuing to raise the bar and bolster our hotels’ reputation as world class dining destinations.

“Our philosophy is to work with partners that represent the best of food and beverage in order to offer new options and programmes that encourage our guests to explore and enjoy new culinary experiences, which includes our Bar150 mixology platform with Pernod Ricard as well as our new Penfolds partnership to expand exclusive wine options at InterContinental hotels and resorts.”

The company currently operates more than 800 restaurants and bars in AMEA with more than 250 hotels open across six brands in the region: InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites. A further 142 hotels and resorts will open in the next three to five years, adding more than 200 new restaurants and bars to IHG's range of F&B.