Cora Cora Maldives to welcome Chef Chet Sharma from the multi-award-winning BiBi restaurant in Mayfair, London as a special guest chef during the 2023/2024 Festive Season, showcasing his signature dishes at two events for resort guests to savour. This is his first collaboration in the destination and a highlight for Cora Cora Maldives’ festive season.
The first event is on 29th December 2023 where Chef Chet will present a Master Class of his outstanding skills in which guests can participate and taste his specially created cuisine. On the 30th of December Cora Cora Maldives will showcase a special BBQ skewer during the Braai BBQ cook-out with General Manager Justin Swart, the perfect opportunity to sample a feast of outdoor cooking. In the evening Chef Chet will offer a Special Set Menu inspired by the Raa Atoll which Cora Cora calls home and will include a range of diverse dishes from Maldivian cuisine.
During his stay, Chef Chet will also gather ideas and influences from Maldivian culture and the culinary arts to create a “taste of Cora Cora Maldives” when he returns to BiBi restaurant in London’s Mayfair with a special dedicated Cora Cora Maldives dish, available from January to April 2024.
This is only the second collaboration by Chef Chet after he was invited to the Constance Prince Maurice Hotel in Mauritius, where he showcased his talent at a dinner in February this year at the Barachois restaurant. Dishes included Indian snacks such as Crab Pao with caviar, Raw Scallop with Nimbu Pani (Scallop ceviche with Indian Lemonade), Dahi Aubergine (Eggplant with yoghurt, cumin, fennel seed, and curry leaves), Lamb Shank Raan Kebab (Lamb shank with Kashmiri red chili, mustard oil, ginger and fenugreek, and Rhubarb and Ginger shrikhand (Rhubarb with ginger, cardamon, saffron and cream).
Chef Chet’s culinary experience, coupled with his academic and scientific interests, has made for an impressive and expansive career in hospitality. During his university studies, which ultimately led to a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Oxford, he worked part-time at several of London’s leading Michelin-starred restaurants, including Benares and Locanda Locatelli.
After discovering his passion for hospitality, he worked at two Michelin-starred restaurants, Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain, Simon Rogan’s Umbel Restaurant Group in the UK, two-starred Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall, and The Ledbury, which held two stars from 2010-2021 when it lost them due to the Covid pandemic. In 2017, Chet moved to become Group Development Chef at JKS Restaurants – the group with which he eventually opened BiBi in September 2021.
