Anantara Marks International Chefs Day with Culinary Stories from Vienna and Phuket

Chef Paul Gamauf and Chef Supakarn “Hong” Lienpanich use local traditions, memory and ingredients to connect guests with place at Anantara hotels in Austria and Thailand.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Anantara is marking International Chefs Day by spotlighting two chefs whose work ties dining closely to destination identity.
• At EDVARD in Vienna, Paul Gamauf reinterprets Austrian culinary traditions through memory, seasonality and classic preservation techniques.
• At Dara Cuisine in Phuket, Chef Hong builds dishes around southern Thai ingredients sourced with local fishermen, farmers and producers.
• The feature forms part of Anantara’s 25th anniversary storytelling around the people and places shaping guest experiences across the brand.

Anantara Hotels & Resorts is marking International Chefs Day by turning the spotlight on two chefs whose kitchens help travellers experience a destination through taste, memory and local tradition. The latest entry in the brand’s “People Who Inspire” series follows Paul Gamauf in Vienna and Chef Supakarn “Hong” Lienpanich in Phuket, showing how food can act as a living archive of place while deepening the guest experience.

The campaign, launched as part of Anantara’s 25th anniversary celebrations, pairs two very different culinary settings: the Michelin-starred EDVARD at Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna Hotel and Dara Cuisine at Anantara Layan Phuket Resort. Although the chefs work in distinct traditions and landscapes, both see cooking as a way to preserve culture rather than simply present a meal.

Vienna through memory and reinvention

At EDVARD, Gamauf approaches Austrian cuisine as something to be protected and reinterpreted in equal measure. Anantara says the Vienna-born chef draws inspiration from childhood memories of making apple strudel with his grandmother, translating that sense of familiarity into a refined tasting experience shaped by seasonality, technique and respect for heritage.

That philosophy is visible in the way he revisits classic dishes and methods, from molten Käsespätzle and apricot-filled Eismarillenknödel to older preservation practices such as pickling and fermentation. For guests dining in Vienna, the result is not only a meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant, but also an introduction to the city’s culinary identity through a modern lens.

Phuket flavours rooted in the Andaman

At Dara Cuisine Phuket, Chef Hong starts with the story behind each ingredient. Working with local fishermen, farmers and producers, she builds menus that remain closely connected to southern Thailand while inviting diners to see familiar flavours in new ways. The restaurant’s lagoon setting and observatory deck reinforce that sense of discovery, pairing Thai cuisine with a touch of theatrical stargazing.

Anantara highlights Chef Hong’s signature Rabob Suriya Jakawan dessert as an example of that approach. While the presentation nods to the cosmos, the dish remains grounded in ingredients and knowledge from Phuket and the surrounding Andaman region. In that way, Dara turns dinner into a destination experience that links land, sea and local expertise.

A broader travel story told through food

By bringing Gamauf and Chef Hong together for International Chefs Day, Anantara frames food as one of the clearest ways travellers can engage with local culture. One chef channels Vienna’s comfort food and culinary memory into contemporary fine dining; the other uses southern Thai produce to celebrate place through bold, story-driven cooking.

For a hotel brand built around destination-led travel, the message is straightforward: memorable hospitality is often rooted in the people who interpret a place for guests. More details on the series and the brand’s anniversary programme are available on anantara.com.