Vietnam's Nam Hai Appoints Ashish Deva Exec Chef

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. May 21, 2009

QUANG NAM, Vietnam, May 21, 2009 - More than 2,000 years after Vietnam established itself as a cultural crossroads between India and China - thus, Indochina - The Nam Hai is cultivating that heritage with the addition of fusion master Ashish Deva.

Deva, who grew up in India but is thoroughly versed in all types of cuisine via a well-exposed, 15-year cooking career, took command of the kitchen as executive chef at Vietnam's premier resort last month.

"With The Nam Hai, we're striving for an experience that celebrates our peculiar location at the most profound level," said Herbert Laubichler-Pichler, The Nam Hai's general manager. "You can see this in our architecture, in our landscape and now, with the addition of Ashish Deva, in our kitchen."

Indeed, the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site of Hoi An itself is renowned as a fusion environment. Founded as a Cham trading port more than 1,000 years ago, the city endures as a Southeast Asian trading port that looks today largely as it did 400 years ago.

In less than six weeks, Deva has played an integral role in restructuring the restaurant concepts at the resort's two gourmet-dining venues - The Restaurant and The Beach Restaurant - and developed new menus to go with each.

At The Restaurant, a distinct blend of Indian and contemporary cuisine takes center stage starting in July. Among the imaginative dishes to choose from are tandoori prawns with marinated watermelon cubes, mint chutney and chili oil; and chocolate-crusted foie gras au torchon with strawberry swipe, brioche and lotus seeds.

The Beach Restaurant, an elegant open-air space next to the main pool specializing in wood-fired pizzas and fresh salads, sushi and sashimi, bucks its lunch-only reputation by stepping into the dinner game, Vietnamese style. That means regional favorites - such as banh vac Hoi An (Hoi An style steamed shrimp dumplings) and ca mu nuong la chuoi (grouper in banana leaf with spice paste) - designed to share.

"Family style dining is a way of life here - and has been for centuries," said Deva. "We think that by giving guests a closer look at the eating habits across Vietnam, whilst delivering dishes in the spirit of the produce- and seafood-rich Central Coast, the experience of visiting this hotel and this country will be greatly enhanced."

The 35-year-old Deva has worked in some of the world's finest kitchens since breaking into the food industry in 1994. In fact, every stop has been affiliated with a 'Leading Hotels of the World' property.

His first stint was at The Leela-Mumbai, which was then a Kempinski-branded hotel. His previous posting was with The Chedi-Muscat, a GHM-managed property in Oman. In between, he engineered the menus at The Leela-Goa, set up the Indian restaurant at The Chedi-Milan and ran a promotion at The Legian-Bali. Like The Nam Hai, the latter two hotels are in the GHM portfolio.