Soneva Stars

Born and educated in England, Geoffrey Weill has lived in the United States since 1973. His career began with Thomas Cook and has been entirely devoted to positions and fields related to travel. From 1976 until 1984, he was Executive Director of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, in North America, and from 1984 until May 1995, Geoffrey directed the AJCongress International Travel Program, an outreach programme to 40 countries around the world, sponsored by one of America’s oldest human rights organizations. In 1995 he opened WEILL (Geoffrey Weill Associates), a company specialising in tourism and travel-related promotion and public relations. The company has won some 100 HSMAI public relations awards. In 2014, Geoffrey was honored with the HSMAI Lifetime Achievement Award. Geoffrey is a widely published travel writer and photographer and has visited more than 100 countries. He has lectured on travel and tourism at Oxford University, England, at New York University and at a variety of United States locations. He has co-chaired two conventions of the Society of American Travel Writers. He also served as a guest lecturer aboard RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and guest historian aboard the MS Silver Cloud. In 2021, the University of Wisconsin Press published his All Abroad: A Memoir of Travel and Obsession. Geoffrey will be at Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani to host Talker’s Tables and sign copies of his book.

Soneva Fushi: July 21 – 28, 2021 Soneva Jani: July 28 – August 4, 2021 Originally from Germany, Heiko Nieder completed his training as a chef at the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg. In 2003, he was awarded “Discovery of the Year” by Gault Millau for his culinary creations at the L’Orquivit in Bonn, which he ran for five years. In 2004, he was awarded one Michelin star, and in 2006 he garnered 17 Gault Millau points. Since its opening, he has been Chef Fine Dining at the Dolder Grand’s The Restaurant. In the first year alone, The Restaurant was awarded 17 Gault Millau points and one Michelin star. In November 2010, it received its second Michelin star, then in October 2012, it was awarded its 18th Gault Millau point, and Heiko was crowned “Most Improved Chef of the Year”. July 2013 saw him named “Hotel Chef of the Year” by Swiss magazine, Bilanz, as part of its annual hotel ratings. Gault Millau Germany presented him with the award for “Best German Chef Abroad” in November 2014, and he was crowned “Le Grand Chef du Guide Bleu” in the 2014/2015 Guide Bleu. In 2017, Nieder received the “Chef of the Year” award from Sonntagszeitung, then in October 2018 he received his 19th Gault Millau point, followed by the title “Gault Millau Chef of the Year 2019”.

Like a culinary Indiana Jones, Paco Morales recovers, studies and shapes a new epicurean language from the ruins of a prosperous past. He is a chef of history – a gastrochaeologist, so if you love history then the experience at Paco Morales’ restaurant Noor in the South of Spain is an absolute must. Noor, an illuminating restaurant hidden in the ancient heritage of Córdoba in Andalusia – once one of the brightest city lights of the modern world, the Rome of the time – has received two Michelin stars within just three years, a maximum of three soles (suns) from the most prestigious Spanish dining guide, Repsol, and just recently the restaurant of ancient tales blasted into The Best Chef Top 100, with a first new entry ranked as #29. What makes Noor (“light” in Arabic) interesting is Morales’ culinary history lesson in Andalusia’s Moorish heritage from the 10th to the 15th century, when Andalusia for more than 800 years was known as Al-Ándalus under Arabic rule. From the geometric, medina-like design, to dishes that seamlessly balance ancient flavours and modernist techniques, Noor celebrates the sensuality of Andalusia — the patterned tiles, the voluptuous curves, the notes of cinnamon, the stain of saffron. Today Paco Morales is one of the most prominent figures in Spanish gastronomy, with Ferran Adrià calling him “one of the most exciting chefs in the world.”

Born into a family of Mexican restaurateurs, Béatriz grew up in kitchens owned by her parents. She arrived in France when she was 18, joining the Paul Bocuse Institute in 1999. She immersed herself in French culture and language, crossing paths with Matthew Marcant, who she married and works alongside today. Thanks to her training and hard work, Béatriz took her first steps in the restaurant industry in 2000. This began at La Belle Otero, now the Carlton, in Cannes, before she joined the team of the famous Lyonnais chef, Pierre Orsi. Back in her homeland, she helped her parents open their third restaurant. But eager for discovery and adventure, she decided to return to Italy for a year. In 2002, she returned to Lucas Carton in Paris, quickly climbing the ladder before becoming Deputy Head of La Grande Cascade. Passionate and enterprising, in 2011 Béatriz opened her own restaurant, NEVA CUISINE, with her husband. The modern, delicious menu was a success, pushing the couple to open a second establishment, CORETTA. Located in Paris’ 17th arrondissement, this neobistrot offers gourmet dishes inspired by traditional French cuisine that has been personalised by Béatriz’s touch of acidity and sweet-salty flavours. At the end of 2017, Béatriz also took on the kitchen of a large-scale project, the 116-seat Le Rive Droite in the 16th arrondissement.