Since March 2019, Stephane Gortina has led the teams at the iconic The Legian Seminyak, Bali’s restaurants and bars, including The Restaurant, The Pool Bar and The Ocean Champagne Bar. Stephane began his culinary career in France, his native country, and has since worked in various Michelin-starred restaurants including, Moulin de l’Abbaye in Brantôme and Restaurant Michel Chabran in Pont-de-l’Isère. He then moved on to join one of the most celebrated chefs in the world, Chef Alain Ducasse, with whom he worked at the renowned Le Louis XV at Hôtel de Paris in Monaco and later moved to Alain Ducasse’s restaurants in Japan, Russia, UK, Qatar and Mauritius, where he gained valuable resort experience at the renowned Le Saint Géran.
Most recently, Gortina has worked as Executive Chef at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Rech by Alain Ducasse in the Intercontinental Hong Kong, where he worked for the five years prior to moving to The Legian Seminyak. One of the finest hotels in Indonesia, The Legian Seminyak, Bali is world-renowned for its exceptional culinary offerings. Arguably the best ocean-front dining destination in Bali, The Restaurant showcases contemporary cuisine with a twist of Asian flavours and focuses on using local, organic and sustainable ingredients. The Pool Bar and The Ocean Champagne Bar offer light dishes, refreshing cocktails and a wide selection of fine Champagne throughout the day. The hotel is part of LHM – the new luxury hospitality and lifestyle company presenting the best of Indonesia and offering extraordinary experiences around the Indonesian Archipelago.
What is your culinary philosophy?
To always use the best produce available and combine them with French technique – good cooking, good seasoning, and having just the right amount of ingredients. In other words – keeping it simple is key.
What is your greatest inspiration and how do you incorporate this into your cooking?
My greatest inspiration is the different cultures and ingredients that I have learned throughout the years of my career. That’s where my philosophy comes in; combining the best local ingredients with my modern French techniques.
If you could take a plane to any restaurant in the world, where would you go?
I would like to take a plane back to my parents’ home in Nice, France as my mother makes the best homemade artichoke barigoule and rabbit stew with olives.
Who is your culinary hero and why?
My mentor Alain Ducasse. He taught me everything I needed to know in cooking: from how to cook, to work in the kitchen, how to share my work with the customer, how to communicate my work and how to teach my team to deliver the best for the customer.
- 1 Michelin star for Rech by Alain Ducasse | Michelin Guide Hong Kong 2018
The Legian Bali & The Club at The Legian Bali
Jalan Kayu Aya, Seminyak Beach,
Bali 80361
Indonesia
Tel: (+62) 361 730622
Web: lhm-hotels.com/legian-bali