MAIA - What is your Wine Sign?

MAIA appoints a new chef and launches a new wine experience for guests

MAIA Luxury Resort and Spa; the Seychelles’ all-villa resort and a member of Leading Small Hotels of the World was recently listed in Condé Nast Traveller’s 2010 Gold List of ‘Best Food Hotels’. Now with five Head Chefs on board and a new wine programme launching this month, to help guests discover their wine style, the team continue to develop and refine the MAIA experience.

Indoors or al fresco, villa privacy or in the hotel’s intimate restaurant Tec-Tec, MAIA offers a selection of spectacular settings in which to enjoy its array of outstanding culinary creations and at anytime - day or night. And, with such protégée chefs on board, menus as we know them have been discarded in favour of a more bespoke approach to dining. Guests can choose the location, time and cuisine to suit them.

Highlights include MAIA’s recently appointed Asian Head Chef, Khampan Pukdangpan who brings the total number of Head Chefs to five. Each Chef has a very different style:

• Fish and Seafood - George Billionis, Australian born, previously at One & Only Royal Mirage in Dubai

• Middle Eastern - Manhal Herch, Syrian born - previously based at the One & Only Royal Mirage in Dubai

• Créole – a native Seychellois, Jean-Paul Nourrice serves specialties such as Bat Curry. Guests can also accompany Jean-Paul to the local food markets in Victoria to get a taste of the local food scene in Mahé

• Asian - the newest recruit to the team Thai born Khampan Pukdangpan. Previous experience includes Palais Manaskar in Morocco and Halaveri Resort, Maldives

• French – for the French touch, Maia has recruited one of Paris’ best pastry chefs, Sebastian Bernis, previously at Fauchon, one of Paris’ most famous food shops

To take advantage of MAIA’s exceptional cuisine, the resort is offering a special Dine for Free promotion throughout 2010 where guests can enjoy one-night free and a complimentary dinner each night.


• Stay three consecutive nights on a Bed & Breakfast basis and receive the fourth night free (4=3 or alternatively, 8=6 or 12=9)


• Guests will also receive a complimentary dinner each on each night including the fourth night (excluding beverages) and unlimited diving throughout their stay. (Diving includes equipment hire and applies to introductory and exploration dives only. Private boat hire and dives can be organised at an additional cost.)


Package valid until 25 April 2010 and then from 10 May – 25 December inclusive

Discover your Wine Sign at MAIA

Also new for April 2010 is The Wine Sign® at MAIA. The result of a longstanding collaboration between La Winery founder Philippe Raoux and Frédéric Brochet, an oenologist, The Wine Sign® was created to encourage guests to discover their own wine tastes and the corresponding wines that suit them. This unique tasting was originally created in Bordeaux at La Winery which is just a few miles from Château d'Arsac, the home of Philippe Raoux.

MAIA is the first partner to offer the experience which initiates guests into the art of tasting. The personal consultation with a specifically trained sommelier includes a blind-tasting of six Grands crûs wines, each with clearly defined characters. Each participant records their reactions and experience by means of a simple electronic voting system, the votes are then analysed by The Wine Sign’s® exclusive software and the profile of each guests is outlined using the eight existing Wine Signs. Whether it’s "Gourmet", "Strong" or "Refined"... in all cases each participant receives a personalised cellar book featuring a selected list of wines that correspond to their tastes. The MAIA wine menu (which features over 280 wines) references the wines corresponding sign to help guests choose a wine specific to their taste. The wine session costs €250 per couple.