Soneva Stars

A master fitness trainer, Jonathan Owen is a multi-faceted coach and consultant with more than 20 years of experience. A lifelong athlete, he has amassed a diverse skillset during his career and is passionate about guiding, inspiring and educating others to achieve optimum health and reach their ultimate potential. Working with clients from all walks of life, Jonathan’s intuitive coaching is intentional, attentive and motivational, building a strong connection with his clients to help expand their well-being practices. His focus is to inspire them to gain or regain control of their life through effective mindset, nutrition, movement and recovery. His passion lies in designing programmes and courses that incorporate nature, as well as helping his clients move more efficiently, breaking through pre-conceived boundaries, and enabling them to enjoy life to the fullest.

Roger has been a key figure in the wellness sector for more than three decades. Named in Tatler’s ‘Best of the Best’ guide as ‘one of the top 8 therapists worth travelling around the globe for’, he conducts therapies, seminars and workshops around the world in energy work, spiritual healing, profound emotional recovery and growth. Roger’s unique approach combines science, medicine, Eastern wellness philosophies, psychotherapeutics and spirituality – working with you to create a whole-person, grounded and integrative pathway to wellbeing, health and a joyful existence. Roger is returning to Soneva Fushi for the first-ever SOUL Festival, taking place from September 29 – October 8, 2023, to help guests explore wellness in all its forms – from personal to planetary.  

Born in Canada, raised in Chicago and now based in Dubai, Kelvin Cheung is a multi-award-winning Chinese Canadian chef who grew up in the kitchen – spending the better part of his childhood training for his life of travelling the world and cooking in kitchens in unfamiliar places. Having worked his way up through the ranks within various restaurants in the US and Canada, Kelvin began his public chef life in India in 2012 as Executive Chef at Ellipsis Mumbai. Three years later in 2015, he moved into the role of Corporate Chef and F&B Director for both Aallia Hospitality and Bastian Hospitality, leading day-to-day operations of Bandra’s popular gastro-pub One Street and the seafood-forward, vegetarian-friendly, Bastian. He is also credited with conceptualising and launching Whole and then Some, a takeaway kitchen focusing on customised meals that include a lot of goodness and then some fun. Kelvin joined New Delhi’s White Panda Hospitality in 2019 as Executive Chef and F&B Director. Here, he developed the restaurant concept Kiko-Ba, paying homage to his father’s legacy and taking patrons on a sweet, and savoury journey back to his roots. Along with Kiko-Ba, Cheung designed the food programme for Dadel, White Panda Hospitality’s concept cocktail bar in Vasant Vihar.    In June 2022, Kelvin opened his first UAE project, Jun’s, in conjunction with Three Layer Hospitality. Rooted in his Chinese heritage, North American upbringing and French training paired with the freshest ingredients from local farms, Jun’s takes diners on an immersive culinary journey through Kelvin’s Chinese upbringing and life across the world from North America to India. In less than a year of operation, Jun’s has been awarded a number of high-profile accolades including Michelin Guide 2023, ranking number 44 on Middle East North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants, as well as being awarded one Toque by Gault & Millau.  Best known for melding techniques and traditions to create diverse yet distinct cuisine, as well as for his advocacy for wellness – for his employees, diners and the planet, Kelvin is one of the region’s pioneers and proponents of Third Culture Food. Kelvin firmly believes in preserving nature’s bounty for future generations and that “if there’s any chance of my son growing up enjoying seafood like I have, we [must] commit to sustainable seafood and seasonal products.”

During her 15-year career, Hortensia has collaborated with the UN, Olympics Sports Federations and several private clinics. She has a Master’s in Osteopathy and degrees in Sports Education and Physiotherapy. Originally focused on a traditional osteopathic approach to treating sports injuries, Hortensia’s methodology evolved to reflect evidence that stress, emotions and unchanneled trauma have a direct impact on the body. She works closely with you to get to the root of your concerns, using a unique, multi-pronged approach that combines traditional osteopathy with her deep knowledge of the body’s biodynamic, skeletal, muscular and craniosacral systems. Hortensia Corredoira is returning to Soneva Fushi for the first-ever SOUL Festival, taking place from September 29 – October 8, 2023, to help guests explore wellness in all its forms – from personal to planetary.

Considered one of the world’s top facialists, Katrina Valente is a leading wellness and anti-ageing specialist who has been at the forefront of holistic beauty for more than thirty years. Katrina is devoted to helping others love the skin they are in and supports whole-person care using her expertise in colour therapy, crystal healing, aromatherapy, reflexology, energy work, tarot and coaching. Katrina’s unique methodology combines her extensive experience both as a holistic coach and a leading international expert in rejuvenation and anti-ageing aesthetics. With the knowledge that healthy ageing is not a singular approach but rather an integration of many different aspects of one’s daily life, Katrina helps you know more about who you are and how you can achieve inner peace to achieve outer beauty. Accredited as one of the Worlds Top Facialists and anti-ageing experts, Katrina offers her expertise and unique skillset in skin analysis, anti-ageing facials, bodywork and emotional healing to help guests of Soneva find their balance and achieve inner peace.  

Paweennuch Soisongsee, also known as Khun Noom, is a highly experienced healer who has dedicated over 20 years to practising different modalities across Asia, Europe, Australia and North America. Committed to “setting man free” through the transformative power of Reiki and sound healing, her classes are known for their powerful awakening and transformational effects and have been sought after by people from all over the world. Her ultimate goal is to help people heal from their physical, mental, and spiritual suffering, while also assisting them in achieving a state of awareness where they can tap into their inner truth.

Nina Metayer is the darling of Parisian patisserie. A fan of the city’s famed Café Pouchkine since its inception, she was chosen by Andrey Dellos as the group’s Creative Dessert Manager in the spring of 2017 and is now Creative Pastry Director. Originally from Mexico, chef Nina discovered her vocation as a pâtissière while studying in France at the age of 16. On her return to France after graduating high school, she obtained her professional qualifications in baking in La Rochelle. A stint in Australia followed, working at well-renowned bakeries and restaurants in Melbourne, Dunsborough, Darwin and Port Douglas, before she returned to France. She then joined the Ferrandi culinary school and shortly after became a member of Camille Lesecq’s brigade at Le Meurice as a commis and then demi-chef de Partie. Chef Amandine Chaignot entrusted her with her first second-in-command role at Raphaël before appointing her to head pastry chef. In 2015, Metayer joined Michelin-starred chef Jean-François Piège as head pastry chef for the opening of his restaurant in Paris, which was awarded two Michelin stars just six months after opening. With her famous chocolate-buckwheat creation in the running for the best chocolate dessert of the year in the Lebey Guide 2016, Nina was also voted Pastry Chef of the Year 2016 by her peers in Le Chef magazine, and named Pâtissier of the Year 2017 by the Gault & Millau Guide.

Immersed in wellness for more than three decades, Eduardo is a formal chiropractor, therapeutic and beauty masseur, acupuncturist and physical trainer who treats his clients from a holistic, multifaceted standpoint. As a hands-on therapist, he specialises in musculoskeletal pain prevention and relief, approaching acute and chronic pain conditions from a multifaceted toolbox, combining his signature soft tissue work with chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture and cupping to achieve remarkable healing results. He also specialises in a unique anti-ageing facial treatment, which provides a prolonged face, neck and décolleté lift without surgical beauty procedures. While at Soneva Soul, Eduardo will be offering pain relief and spinal release massage therapies, sports massage and cupping therapy, Speed Deep and sculpturing face deep tissue massage treatments, and his signature personal training sessions.

A world-renowned expert in holistic wellness, Alla Svirinskaya is a medically trained, fifth-generation energy healer and bestselling author. For decades, she has gained recognition around the world due to the extraordinary power of her healing work, overcoming cynicism to bring her energy-care methods into the mainstream. Renowned for her high success rate, she was the first healer to be featured simultaneously on the covers of The Times and Times 2, becoming widely known as a “super-guru of London”, resulting in a month-long waiting list. Alla has also acted as a senior consultant to leading spas around the world and has written three international bestsellers on wellbeing. The foreword to her first book Energy Secrets was written by The Duchess of York, and translated into more than 16 languages. Her books reached number one New Releases on Amazon USA and became number one bestsellers on Amazon UK. In 2023, Alla was nominated for ‘MBS Personality of the Year’ for her outstanding work in recent times promoting holistic living and the Mind, Body and Spirit field. She is also the founder of a highly-acclaimed brunch club for women, “Wellbeing Conversations A La Carte” at Claridge’s, and counts numerous celebrity and royal clients among the thousands she has helped. “Alla is a Russian energy healer who is the talk of three coasts – Hollywood, New York and London.” Vogue “Highly regarded with a waiting list for months.” The Sunday Telegraph “Revered practice… Alla engenders universal praise from her clients.” The Daily Mail

Born in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1977, Jakob Mielcke is a self-taught chef who has travelled the world working with culinary masters, such as Pierre Gagnaire, both in his restaurants in London and in the infamous three-Michelin-starred one in Paris. In 2002, he returned to Denmark as the head chef at Jan Hurtigkarl & Co., and later opened Mielcke & Hurtigkarl together with Jan Hurtigkarl in the Royal Garden Society, where he now explores his creative vision. Since its opening in 2008, Chef Jakob has won praise for his characteristic contemporary food and has become the recipient of numerous awards in and outside of Denmark. A darling among food critics, he originally trained at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris and later at Lecture Room & Library, Sketch in London, before settling in his native Denmark. There, he established a unique, multicultural and creative playground in a hidden garden in central Copenhagen, where he continues to explore his creative vision.

Dr Becky Smethurst is an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford and star of astronomy-themed YouTube channel, ‘Dr Becky’. Her current research is trying to answer the question ‘How do supermassive black holes grow?’. On her YouTube channel, Becky tackles everything, from unsolved mysteries to weird objects found in space or general space news, with such enthusiasm that her videos have gained over 44 million views (and counting!). Her latest public science book A Brief History of Black Holes: And why nearly everything you know about them is wrong was released in September 2022 and reached #27 on the Amazon worldwide book charts. An avid lover of the night sky and travelling the world, Becky believes that the night sky becomes even more beautiful when we understand what it is we’re looking at.

Graeme Le Saux is a former England international footballer who played most of his career as a left-back, though his football pace and skill enabled him to move into a left-sided midfield role when required. Graeme made his England debut in a 1994 friendly against Denmark and went on to represent his country 36 times. The highlight of his England career was representing his country in the 1998 football World Cup. Graeme started his career at St Paul’s and moved to Chelsea football club in 1987. In 1993 he switched to Blackburn Rovers where he won the 1995 Premier League title with Blackburn. In August 1997 Graeme became the most expensive defender in English football when he returned to Chelsea football club in a GBP 5 million deal. Graeme remained there for six seasons before moving to Southampton football club. Graeme played at St. Mary’s for two seasons announcing his retirement in May 2005 following Southampton’s relegation. Since retiring from football, Graeme is popular with the media working across national and international outlets including NBC, Sky and the BBC. A respected and clear-thinking individual, he frequently undertakes project work with the FA, UEFA, FIFA and the Premier League.