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Culinary Excellence

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For the second year in a row, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace hosted the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, and this year’s winner was Odette, a contemporary French fine dining restaurant in Singapore, headed by the talented Chef Julien Royer.
 
“The idea of this restaurant when we opened it was to provide great fine cuisine and very genuine hospitality,” commented Chef Julien at the press conference following the awards ceremony on March 26.  “ \This restaurant is named after my grandmother from my mum’s side. She’s the one who fed us so well as a kid, and she’s the one who showed me how much pleasure and emotion and love you can give to people through food and cuisine and hospitality. So this is my tribute to her.”
 
The 36-year-old arrived in Singapore in 2007 and admits that being in Asia has strongly influenced his craft.
 
“It’s been an amazing journey of discovery and I think my cuisine has evolved a lot since I arrived. I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from Asia, and Singapore is really a crossroads in terms of culture, nationalities and cuisine, so my cooking is getting more and more influenced by that. Singapore is an amazing place, and it tells me to be very humble when it comes to cooking.”
 
And after ten years in the city, he clearly feels at home there.
 
“Singapore has been my home for so many years and it really has a special place in my heart. It really is a special place as a dining destination. This little island has so much to offer when it comes to food, so much quality, so much diversity… people are really a bit cuckoo about food in Singapore!” he laughs.  “As a chef I love that, because people are just crazy about food.  It’s a small city so eating is the number one activity for many Singaporeans.”
 
At the press conference, Chef Julien also announced his exciting upcoming project, set to open very soon. 
 
“I am going to open a casual French dining restaurant located in Central Hong Kong in June, called Louise. I’ve always wanted the opportunity to explore the possibility of casual cuisine. It’s going to be a place where you can hang out several times a week with simple, comfortable and easy French cuisine.”
 
Coming in second place at this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants was the winner for the last four years running, Gaggan in Bangkok, followed in third place by Den in Tokyo.  Macau had two entries on the list, Jade Dragon at City of Dreams at Number 27, and Wing Lei Palace at Wynn Palace at Number 36. 
 
Also recognized on the night was Chef Garima Arora, who won the Elit Vodka Asia’s Best Female Chef 2019 Award for her work at her Indian-inspired restaurant in Bangkok, Gaa, which opened just two years ago. 
 
An influential group of more than 300 leaders in the restaurant industry across Asia cast their votes for this year’s awards.  As official venue partner for the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace also hosted the #50BestTalks forums, and The Chef’s Feast, which invited some of Macau’s most celebrated culinary artists – Anthony Sousa Tam of ROOT; Florita Alves of La Famiglia; Raymond Vong of Henri’s Galley and Eileen Stow of Lord Stow’s Bakery – to showcase authentic Macanese and Portuguese dishes. 
 
Next year, the Awards will move to new host city, Singapore.
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