Dr. Rick Fienberg is an astronomer and science communicator who grew up in California and now lives in New Hampshire, where he observes and photographs the sky from his backyard observatory. He studied physics at Rice University and earned his doctorate in astronomy at Harvard University. He then spent 22 years at Sky & Telescope magazine, including 8 as Editor in Chief, followed by 12 years as Press Officer of the American Astronomical Society. The International Astronomical Union named asteroid 9983 Rickfienberg in his honor, and NASA awarded him its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for his work promoting eye safety for the August 2017 U.S. solar eclipse. Rick has been a guide on astronomy-themed expeditions for more than three decades and has visited both the North and South Poles. During his visit, Dr. Rick Fienberg will be hosting after-dinner stargazing sessions, along with talks about astronomy throughout the day. He will be at Soneva Fushi from December 10-18, 2021 and Soneva Jani from from December 18-26, 2021.

Chefs Judy Joo and Esther Choi will conduct a spectacular four-hands dinner at Soneva Kiri on January 12, 13 and 14, 2023. Their dishes will showcase their amazing talent and rich Korean heritage. Chef Judy Joo In 2003, following an engineering degree at Columbia University and a career on Wall Street, Judy Joo decided it was time for a change. Realising that her passion was in cooking, she enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in New York, and received her Grand Diplome in Pastry Arts before becoming a test kitchen and editorial assistant at SAVEUR magazine. Excited about the thriving UK food scene, Judy moved to London in 2007, and joined Restaurant Gordon Ramsay as a pastry chef. For the following few years, she also worked throughout other Gordon Ramsay restaurants including Maze, under Jason Atherton, Claridge’s, Pétrus, and Boxwood Café as a chef and pastry chef. Judy also staged around the world at restaurants including 3 Michelin-starred The French Laundry in Yountville, California; Heston Blumenthal’s 3 Michelin-starred The Fat Duck in Bray; as well as Bangkok’s 1 Michelin-starred Nahm restaurant. In 2011, Judy became a regular face on TV, starring in Iron Chef UK and securing herself the title ‘Iron Chef UK’, becoming the only female Iron Chef in the UK and the second female Iron Chef worldwide. Off the back of her success in the UK show, Judy became a resident judge on Iron Chef America. Her expertise in Korean cooking led to her own shows: Judy Joo’s Return to Korea and two seasons of Korean Food Made Simple. Since then she published her debut cookbook, Korean Food Made Simple and has made regular appearances on numerous programs in the USA including The Today Show, Wendy Williams, The Talk, and various Food Network shows, and in the UK she has popped up on Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch,  James Martin’s Saturday Morning and ITV’s Cooking with the Stars. Having settled in the UK, London was the obvious choice for Judy’s first restaurant as Chef Patron, and she opened the doors to her modern Korean restaurant Jinjuu – meaning ‘pearl’ — in 2014. Judy’s cooking is focused on the flavours of her childhood – raised in a Korean-American family in New Jersey, her back porch was lined with her mother’s clay pots, filled with fermenting kimchi, gochujang and doenjang. The house’s garage had racks of drying seaweed, and a Korean barbecue grill tucked in the corner. Judy and her sister were often drafted in to help fold row upon row of dumplings. Her multicultural heritage and training is evident in her dishes today: from ‘disco fries’ influenced by New Jersey highway diners, and topped with spicy cabbage kimchi, to classic French pastries that incorporate traditional Korean ingredients. In 2019, Judy left Jinjuu after five years in order to start a new chapter, which included the launch of her new cookbook, Korean Soul Food in October 2019, and has since launched her latest restaurant, Seoul Bird, in Westfield and Canary Wharf specialising in the Korean fried chicken for which Judy is known. Chef Esther Choi Chef Esther Choi, owner and founder of New York City’s mŏkbar and partner of Ms. Yoo, is an influential female chef driven by her Korean roots. With a personal passion for introducing New Yorkers to the flavors of Korean culture, Chef Esther’s cooking combines traditional and modern influences with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Inspired by the old-aged techniques of her Korean grandmother’s cooking, Chef Esther believes that food is the ultimate expression of a country’s culture. From its history and social customs to its language, geography, and arts, Chef Esther seeks to offer guests an understanding and appreciation of Korean foods. Chef Esther received formal training at New York’s institute of culinary education and has worked across the kitchens of ilili, La Esquina, and the Food Network. Esther has received numerous awards for her culinary pursuits and was named “New York City’s Culinary Rock star” in Zagat’s 30 under 30.

Entrepreneur and top chef Tim Raue is one of Germany’s best-known chefs. And with good reason, because the Berliner, born in 1974, has redefined German top gastronomy and made a name for himself internationally as one of the few German chefs. For example, Tim Raue’s restaurant has not only been awarded two Michelin stars and 19.5 Gault&Millau points, as well as the title of Restaurant of the Year 2019 by Feinschmecker, but it has also occupied a permanent place on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list since 2016 – currently ranked 31st in 2021. In addition, Tim Raue is the only German chef to date to whom the world-renowned series Chef’s Table on Netflix has dedicated its own episode, and you can also watch him on MagentaTV in his own series HERR RAUE REIST! SO SCHMECKT DIE WELT on his gastronomic discovery tour around the globe. Tim Raue has also established a firm place for himself on German television: He regularly appears in front of the camera on the hit VOX show Kitchen Impossible and is a jury member on the SAT1 programme The Taste. In the past 15 years, Raue has also published four books – including the autobiography «Ich weiß, was Hunger ist“ and the cookbook «My Way“. In addition to his work as a star chef, Tim Raue is also active as an entrepreneur. For this activity, he was named „Restaurateur of the Year 2014“ by the renowned gourmet guide Gault&Millau. Raue himself says: «With the TIM RAUE restaurant, I have fulfilled a lifelong dream – but my other projects mean culinary freedom for me and the opportunity to fully live out my many ideas with the help of my chefs.“ He already operated restaurants in Dubai and a Michelin starred Pop-up in Switzerland. In his role as culinary consultant, he, therefore, oversees now the Brasserie Colette Tim Raue in Munich, Constance and Berlin as well as Villa Kellermann in Potsdam. In 2016, he also created the Asian restaurant concept HANAMI by Tim Raue on TUI Mein Schiff 5, which has since opened on three other ships in the fleet.