2th December 2015 – Villa Zolitude Resort & Spa won the title of “Asia’s Top Villas Resort” at the NOW Travel Asia Awards 2015 Gala Ceremony in Bangkok. 

NOW Travel Asia hosted the 2015 NOW Travel Asia Awards Gala Ceremony in recognition of leading travel businesses in Asia. Mrs. Srisuda Wanapinyosak Deputy Governor for International Marketing (Asia and the South Pacific) of Tourism Authority of Thailand, honourly presided the 2015 NOW Travel Asia Awards at Intercontinental Bangkok, which this marked the third successive year of the award since it was established in 2012.
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NOW Travel Asia magazine started organising its annual awards, totalling 15 categories of travel businesses, in 2015. The awards survey is conducted through  www.nowtravelasiaawards.com website with a record of 365,566 online readers participating in the 2015 edition.



 
 
 

Hi fellow Phuket Foodie,

This event promises you a feast of contemporary tastes from Chef Scott Flaxman. Chef Scott Flaxman joins the Villa Zolitude team after a career that has so far spanned over 3 continents. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Scott studied Hotel Management and Catering in England before returning to Zimbabwe to open his own catering company.

Returning to Europe Chef Scott joined The Admirable Crichton in London, which at the time held the Royal Standard for Prince Charles.

This saw him catering to the most celebrated events and parties for high-end clientele. Chef Scott then ventured into the exclusive Private Chef industry, a specialized field when you can be asked for anything at anytime and have to be ready and prepared to fulfill even the smallest of requests.

In this role Scott was regularly cooking for celebrities, Heads of State, politicians and numerous well-known musicians. After working in England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, and Morocco, Scott chose to spread his culinary wings in Asia. Arriving in Thailand he
was Executive Chef for Watermark Restaurant in Phuket being named in Thailand’s Best Restaurants guide in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and being voted as one of the top Chefs in Phuket by Prestige Magazine.

Chef Scott was a Private Chef at a property in The Maldives before returning to Thailand followed by 18 months at Sireeampan in Chiang Mai. Chef Scott has returned to Phuket and hung up his travelling shoes, for now... 

When            Thursday 3rd September 2015

Time             7pm for Aperitif and canapés in the Guest Reception. 
                      Event concludes @ 10.30pm. Guests are of course welcome 
                      to continue into the later hours and purchase drinks from the bar.

Where           Villa Zolitude www.villazolitude.com
                      Google Map reference Google Map: 7.866886, 98.330863
                      Call Khun Kung on 0848514211 for Directions.
                      
                      Parking is at the entrance of Villa Zolitude and you will be transported up to the 
                      venue. We can arrange a van from Rawai and a van from Surin if guests prefer to 
                      avoid driving. Guests can pay the van driver direct.

Cost              THB 1,950 ++ Including the welcome drink and the paired cocktails described on 
                      the menu.

                      THB 1,200 Excluding alcoholic drinks. Order water soft drinks and juices from 
                      the bar. Pay the bar personnel direct.

RSVP            [email protected] or call me on 0918238903

Welcome drinks on arrival served at the Guest Reception Center
…

Canapés to include: Spinach and Parmesan beignets, cherry duck confit on rosti,
Royal Project smoked trout pate on cheese sable.
(Bloody Mary’s Water)
…

“Sea”
Lobster-mascarpone crepe, ginger-carrot emulsion, micro green salad, carrot dust.
(Grilled Peach Bellini)
…

“Earth”
Warm lettuce soup, crispy seaweed, roasted kale.
(Herb Mulled White Wine)
…

“Amuse”
Oyster and Gewürztraminer shooter, wasabi, mint.
…

“Farm”
Moroccan grilled lamb chops, saffron-pine nut cous cous, roasted root vegetables, 
dried apricot jus.
(Bombay Sapphire Orange Blossom)
…

“Orchard”
Gluten free orange polenta cake, mandarin confit, vanilla bean cream, 
Saville orange swizzle stick.
(Vanilla Bean Hooligan Juice)
…

“Mountains”
Hand made Chinese fortune cookies.
(Irish coffee)
…..

Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Scott Flaxman never dreamed that he would one day travel the world as a chef, pampering the palates of celebrities, politicians, superstars and even the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles.

Now in his early 40s, Flaxman was first exposed to cooking at the tender age of five _ not at all surprising when your family happens to be in the restaurant business. These days he is the executive chef at Villa Zolitude Resort & Spa, Phuket - a rainforest retreat with 30 private pool villas nestled on lush hillside offering panoramic views of Chalong Bay.

Soon after graduating in hotel management and catering from a college in England, Flaxman flew home to Zimbabwe and opened his own catering company.

Later, the talented young man returned to Europe to acquire more experience in the hotel industry.

He got the chance to travel around Europe as part of a team that did the catering for parties and other events hosted by high-end clients. He has also cooked for a string of internationally acclaimed entertainers, the likes of Bryan Adams and English house-music band M People.

Despite the success he's achieved at a relatively young age, Flaxman still comes across as a rather modest, self-effacing individual.

"I'm very lucky," he said. "Because in my childhood back there, I thought that when you were born in Africa, then you stay in Africa."

But the adage doesn't apply to everyone born on that continent, obviously.

"[Today] I have a house in Phuket. Although I come from Africa, my home town is Phuket [where his family includes three adopted children].

"I can't choose where I was born, but I can choose where I want to live, where I want to die. And I will die in Thailand. This is my home."

So what motivated you to come here in the first place?

It started during a movie-premiere party in London for The Beach [which was filmed in Thailand] where I was part of the culinary team. That stirred in me a yearning to visit Thailand. Leonardo [DiCaprio] was also present at the event.

After doing that party, I just knew I had to go to Thailand. It was so inspiring.

After that, I got together a group of 10 chef friends from various countries to visit Phuket for two weeks at the same time every year [after that] for holidays.

And then it got to a stage that I never wanted to go back home [to Europe]. So one day I packed my bags, not knowing what I would be doing, and just came to Thailand.

What did you do then?

When I first moved to Thailand, in 2004, I worked at Watermark Restaurant in Phuket, then I went to Koh Samui. Afterwards I decided to move to Singapore [as an instructor for Sodexo to teach chefs about hygiene, safety in the kitchen, Western cooking techniques and how they can be applied in Asia] and followed that up with an assignment to work in the Maldives as a private chef, before returning to Thailand.

What's your work philosophy?

What inspires me is to teach people to open their minds to whatever is out there. I also enjoy the 'wow factor' when I present my dishes to guests and they say 'wow!'. I get a lot of pleasure from people saying 'it's fantastic' or 'the dish has a wonderful flavour'. That makes me very happy.

Cooking a well-made dish comes down to basic cooking techniques. First thing is the smell, then the visuals, then the taste. All of your senses have to be ignited to create a fantastic dish.

For example, at the moment our signature dessert is banana pizza. The inspiration is from banana roti in Thailand. The dessert has a pizza base with sliced banana and chocolate on top and then it's baked until the chocolate melts. It's a crispy pizza. And on top, instead of using cheese, we use roasted macadamia nuts. I guarantee if you order it once, you will order it again!

Is there any African dish that you'd recommend trying?

Piri-piri chicken, which is marinated roasted chicken. It originally came from Mozambique. Piri-piri is the name for a very small type of chilli, commonly known as African bird's-eye chilli. For me and my family, whenever we have a barbecue, we'll always have piri-piri chicken. The taste is spicy, herby and lemony all in one. My version of piri-piri chicken is the authentic taste from Africa, as I grew up there. It is served with potatoes and salad.

Do you have a particular working style?

In Asia and Thailand, you have to be diplomatic. If you are kind and caring, you can get anything from everybody. If you shout, scream and show you're angry by throwing pots and pans at your subordinates, you won't get anywhere.

I also like to interact with guests as it's important that they be able to see you and know that they can talk to you. There is much more to being a chef than cooking.

What are your plans for the future?

I'd like to learn more about royal Thai cooking. Although I know most of the basic Thai cooking techniques, I want to take it a step further by learning traditional royal Thai cuisine.

I'd also like to work with my partner and have a four- or five-room boutique hotel. I could take care of the restaurant and my partner could take care of the rooms and make it totally upscale.


Credit: Karnjana Karnjanatawe, Travel Writer - Bangkok Post