You’ve been in the food industry for over 30 years, but tell us some memories of when you first started out cooking...
I first discovered my love of cooking when working as an auditor in an international hotel chain in Mexico City. I got to witness all the controlled chaos in the kitchens during that time and it was then that I decided to follow my passion and try to make my culinary style known globally.

Was there a pivotal moment when the F&B world came calling?
After moving into the hospitality world, I went and completed studies in Culinary Arts at City College in San Francisco, and a course of Hospitality Management at Cornell University. My career then took me to work in various executive positions around the world.

You’ve lived and worked in Japan, France, America, Qatar and Egypt – to name just a few countries! How do you think your travels have informed how you run your restaurants?
Food is like any other art and the more you are exposed to it, the better you understand and enjoy it. So being exposed to different cultures, ingredients and people, and being able to communicate with locals, has helped me build my culinary repertoire, and has shaped my way of cooking and how I present different cuisines to different people.

What have been some of your favourite countries to work and cook in?
Every place that I’ve been has given me an array of unique culinary experiences, however I’d say Japan is the ‘Harvard of hospitality’ due to its seasonality, the respect shown to ingredients and the contemporary approach to cooking. The restaurant scene in the United States today is so diverse and has a huge availability of ingredients, an enriched heritage, and an interesting seasonality from East to West.

As a seasoned traveller, what are some of your observations about the food industry in the Middle East?
I’ve been quite surprised to encounter a very diversified culinary food scene in this part of the world, and I enjoy working with the local growers and manufacturers, and understanding the heritage of the region.

How do you apply your cultural learnings into your cooking in your role at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers?
I apply my past experiences through providing training and advising my team of young chefs; sharing with them cooking techniques for something that I describe as ‘an encounter between two worlds and two cultures’; and in creating a dialogue of simplicity between cooking and the chefs.

What’s your overall vision as Exec Chef at the hotel?
Someone once told me that I am like a conductor of an orchestra ensuring that each part of the culinary team plays their respective roles, to come together in a harmonious way to create gastronomic experiences that are delivered with innovation, passion and quality.

Do you incorporate the region in your kitchens or menus at all?
Well, I’ve learned that the region has incredible resources like fish farms, cheese farms, hydroponic farms. In fact, we have our own hydroponic farm at Conrad Abu Dhabi. It’s extremely important to work with the community, outsourcing local ingredients and spices, and even using Emirati cooking techniques that have been taught to us by Chef Khulood, who is an authority on Emirati cuisine.

The restaurant scene in Abu Dhabi is booming and Michelin awarded its first stars late last year. Is this a pivotal moment for the capital and its culinary future?
I believe having a Michelin Guide and the San Pellegrino 50 Best Guide is a great indication of the development of the gastronomy scene in Abu Dhabi. It puts us on an international platform to the world, helps attract more top hospitality talents and brands, and it challenges us to develop and deliver ever more appealing offerings to our guests.

THE GRILLING...

First dish you ‘mastered’ cooking: Tournedos Rossini [French steak]
Cooking motto: It’s all about the details
The culinary ‘masters’ you’ve learned most from: Spanish chef Ferran Adrià
Ingredients you could never live without: Nothing specific, as cooking is a music to my ears
Favourite dish to cook: Pancakes, as they bring me memories from my childhood
Three famous people you’d like to cook for: My twin sister, my wife, and my son, they are the most famous three people in my life
Best restaurant in the world: Pierre Gagnaire at Hôtel Balzac, Paris
Favourite city for food: Tokyo
Last meal: Rösti and raclette – they remind me of my time in Switzerland
Greatest food indulgence: Chirashi Sushi
Strangest thing you’ve eaten: Balut, a fertilized bird egg (usually a duck) – my Vietnamese Sous Chef introduced me to it in San Francisco
Most memorable meal: French Laundry in Napa Valley – Chef Thomas Keller has revolutionised American cooking
Favourite cooking show: Tsujin “Iron Chef”, because I worked with the Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto
Treasured cookbook: My own book Molecular Gastronomy, Scientific Cuisine Demystified