Soneva has announced a unique partnership with the Michelin Guide for 20 dinner events which will be hosted at its resorts in the Maldives.

The dinners, which run from August 2018 until mid 2019, are part of Soneva’s Festival of Colour, a celebration of Soneva’s diverse array of visiting experts and designed to offer unique guest experiences.

Throughout the festival, some of the world’s most celebrated and decorated chefs, all of whom have come from Michelin starred restaurants, will be hosting highly exclusive dinner events at Soneva properties, each for a maximum of eight resort guests at a time.

It is the first time that the Michelin Guide has done any kind of event in the Maldives. The partnership is also designed to appeal to the international foodie scene and cement Soneva’s reputation as an epicurean destination.

“This partnership is an extraordinary opportunity for Soneva guests to celebrate culinary excellence in an outstanding environment. This collaboration is totally in line with Michelin’s desire to offer travellers unique fine dining experiences all over the world,” Alexandre Taisne, Michelin Group Food and Beverage Director, was quoted in a statement, as saying.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Soneva and the Michelin Guide will be jointly promoting the following chef events, most of which feature chefs from restaurants worldwide with two or three Michelin stars:

1. Kiko Moya, from two starred Spanish restaurant L’Escaletta, cooked at Soneva Fushi between August 26-31, 2018
2. Gert de Mangeleer, from three starred Belgium restaurant Hertog Jan, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from October 7-12, 2018
3. Bruno Oger, from two starred French restaurant La Villa Archange, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from October 15-21, 2018
4. Yoann Conte, from two starred French restaurant Bord du Lac, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from November 5-12, 2018
5. Pere Planaguma, from two starred Spanish restaurant Les Cols who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from November 25 to December 02, 2018
6. Tim Raue, from two starred German Restaurant Tim Raue, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from December 5 t0 14, 2018
7. Ronan Kevarrec, from two starred French restaurant La Table de Plaisance, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani from December 22 to January 04, 2019
8. Tom Aikens, from two starred UK restaurant Toms Kitchen, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from February 14 to 17, 2019
9. Guillaume Bracaval, from two starred French restaurant Michel Troisgros, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from March 4 to 9, 2019
10. Maxime Meilleur, from three starred French restaurant La Bouitte, who will be cooking at Soneva Fushi from October 6 – 11, 2019

The remaining chef events are to be announced soon.

More than 30 chefs are confirmed to visit Soneva properties in 2018 and 2019, most of which have originated from restaurants that have received Michelin stars.

“Gastronomy is now one of the most important factors when deciding where to stay, especially in the luxury travel segment when ‘good food’ is no longer enough. We focus on creating rare, lasting experiences for guests and part of this is welcoming these incredible chefs to create their renowned dishes using our organic and locally sourced ingredients. We hope that our guests will experience a life changing meal when they stay with us, and we are delighted to have this opportunity to partner with the MICHELIN Guide,” Sonu Shivdasani, Soneva’s CEO and Co-Creative Director, said.

In addition to the chefs, Soneva will be welcoming explorers, free-divers, astronauts, astronomers, authors, wellness experts, wine producers, sake experts, and other people who will all be offering guest activities.

Soneva, a world-leading luxury resort operator, runs two resorts in the Maldives, Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani.

Established in 1995, Soneva Fushi is the original Soneva. The No News, No Shoes blueprint for all desert island barefoot luxury hideaways is located within the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Maldives. Soneva Fushi inspires the imagination with 65 spacious beachfront villas, ranging in size from one to nine bedrooms, hidden amongst dense foliage.

The iconic resort has bagged several international awards for eco-friendly tourism and green initiatives, including the 2017 Green Hotelier Award for the Asia Pacific region and the Sustainable Hotel Award by the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) as well as a spot in the Gold List compiled by Condé Nast Traveler China as the Best Hotel in the Maldives and amongst the best resorts in the world in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2017.

Opened in December 2016, Soneva Jani is Soneva’s newest property and its second resort in the Maldives.

Soneva Jani encompasses a collection of 24 overwater villas and one island villa set in a 5.6 kilometre private lagoon located in the northern Noonu atoll. The resort spans five islands surrounded by pure white beaches, covered in rich tropical vegetation, offering the ultimate in privacy and luxury.

Each of the resort’s multilevel water villas has its own private pool and a retractable roof that allows guests to sleep beneath the stars. Many villas also have slides that transport guests directly from the top level into the lagoon below. Other hotel highlights include a spa, an observatory — home to the largest telescope in the Indian Ocean — and an outdoor cinema.

Since its opening, Soneva Jani has created a lot of buzz amongst luxury travellers with its exciting features such as the retractable roofs and the water slides. It has been named the Best Over-the-Top Luxury hotel of the year by Jetsetter.com, the best new resort in the world by CNN, and the Leading Luxury Hotel/Resort in South Asia and Leading Luxury Hotel/Resort in Maldives.