“The Faisaliah Rosewood in Riyadh wanted to offer its guests a new and exciting chance to try out different cuisines from around the globe from famous Michelin star chefs,” said Diane Daudin-Clavaud, public relations consultant at the Rosewood Hotel group in Riyadh. “Each year, we organize the summit with different chefs and different cuisines so our guests can explore the variety of fine dining cuisine at our restaurants.”

“We aim to introduce people to different cuisines and to educate the palate. Saudi Arabia doesn’t offer many good culinary events, so we wanted to take the initiative to offer luxury events to our guests,” said Daudin-Clavaud.

The ground chefs included Chef Michel Portos (France), Chef Carlos Hannon (Mexico), Chef Nino Di Costanzo (Italy) and French Chef Nicholas Bouin (who works in the US).

Chef Michel Portos, master of French fusion, created cuisines with a special touch from Asia, the Mediterranean and Morocco. The chef is celebrated for his perfect proportions of taste and masterful use of common ingredients. Portos holds two Michelin stars at restaurant Le Saint-James in Bouliac, France.

Chef Carlos Hannon, who is a rising star at the Rosewood San Miguel Allende in Mexico, explores the heritage of his grandmother’s Mexican cooking in his cuisine while using new techniques.

The Italian maestro of color and flavor is Chef Nino Di Costanzo. His cuisine, with its signature explosions of tastes and hues, draws inspiration from modern artists. He was crowned Relais Gourmand’s Artist Chef in 2011 and holds two Michelin stars at restaurant Il Moisaico in Ischia, Italy.

Finally, comes French Chef Nicholas Bouin, with his sweet innovations on the grand French pastry. The chef’s creations tantalize the eye as much as the palate. He has worked at Michelin star restaurants in Switzerland, France and Las Vegas and is now resident chef at the Mansion Restaurant in Turtle Creek, Dallas, US.

At the opening ceremony, Chef Michel prepared a three course French meal. An hour later, Chef Nino held a seminar to teach his audience all about spaghetti. Later that day, Chef Carlos prepared an avant-garde Mexican dinner at The Globe restaurant, which was fully booked that night.

The following days, the chefs took turns in cooking up a storm for the guests that flocked the hotel’s restaurants. They also presented seminars about dishes and cooking techniques in which the cooks each excelled in, such as macarons, barbecued desserts and tapas.

Mexican cuisine is stereotyped as casual dining and containing a lot of spices. Chef Carlos said that Mexican cuisine is adaptable to every country and every restaurant style. “Many people from outside Mexico think that our food is spicy and fattening. It is my greatest challenge to show people that this is not true. In fact, this cuisine has many concepts and different approaches,” he said. “I came to Riyadh to educate people about Mexican food and the basics of making a successful Mexican dish.”

“The secret of shifting the Mexican cuisine from casual dining to fine dining is that the chef should be proud of his culture and his techniques. He should also be a risk taker, willing to twist and turn different recipes to present a traditional dish with a twist of his own,” added Carlos.

There are three main pasta dishes in Italy and if you know how to master them, it’s easy to make any type of pasta, said Chef Nino. “There is gnocchi, the pasta with potato, which is a typical dish from south Italy. Then, there is spaghetti, and finally, there is tortellini,” he said. “The essential ingredient in any Italian dish is love. Cook with love and perfection is guaranteed,” he added.

Chef Nino prepared for the summit guests the same menu he used when he won his first Michelin star. “Italian cuisine is based on local products. We have 20 different regions that each produce 20 different specialties,” he said.

Chef Nicholas’ mission is to introduce people to the authentic French pastry. “Many people can bake and make sweets. My mission is to show them how the French do it. Our style is simple and delicious,” he said. “I work at the Rosewood Hotel in Dallas now, and there, everybody loves cheesecake, so I try to be creative and mix the American with the French. If I got the chance to work in Saudi Arabia, I would love to create dishes using local products such as dates, cardamom and taheena.”