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Born in Switzerland, raised in the Seychelles, working in the Middle East... Chef Christopher Pierre is by definition a man of varied tastes, writes Shilpa Chandran.
Chef Christopher, 27, from Umm Al Hassam, comes to the island's Camelot Restaurant in Adliya with over 10 years of experience.
He said: "I was 16 when I started cooking in an old kitchen at home in the Seychelles where I lived with my grandmother.
"The kitchen had drum sieves hanging by the door, spices and herbs drying on the roof top, orange peel, dried meat and fish hanging on a wire waiting to be stewed or curried.
"I was brought up on yam, sweet potatoes, fish, and plantains - food we used to have every single day!
"And thanks to my grandmother I grew so fond of food and loved cooking with her. Her fish pie is my favourite!"
Chef Christopher's experience began in 1996 when he worked for six months as assistant chef at restaurant Chez Plume. He later moved to another restaurant before joining the food and beverage department at the Constance LŽmuria Resort in the Seychelles.
Two years later, Chef Christopher moved to the Banyan Tree Spa and Resort in the Seychelles and remained with the company which brought him to Bahrain in 2006 when he joined Banyan Tree Al Areen as chef de partie. He had a short stint in Dubai before coming back to Bahrain to join Camelot five months ago.
Chef Christopher has worked with various renowned chefs and has gained expertise in French, Cajun, Thai, Asian, Arabic and fusion cuisine alongside Creole.
He said: "I think 'fusion and global' such as including Asian flavours married to amazing seafood, classic melt-in-your-mouth Wagyu steaks with exotic mushrooms and luxurious buttery potatoes, creamy goats' milk fetta paired with figs steeped in aniseed myrtle syrup and so on.
"I feel the most important elements in a kitchen are respect for your ingredients and passion to resurrect tomorrow if you fail today."
Over the years, Chef Christopher has had the opportunity to prepare meals for various celebrities and also conduct cooking classes for stars including Leonardo di Caprio, Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys when they stayed in the Seychelles.
As well as an ambition to visit Japan, in the future Chef Christopher hopes to open a restaurant back home in the Seychelles and to one day settle in Switzerland.
But his biggest dream remains in completing a book he began when he was going through turbulent times while living in the Seychelles.
He hopes and dreams that one day his own little boy, also called Christopher, will publish it. Here he shares one of his innovative recipes with GulfWeekly readers.
