At one of the Caribbean’s most celebrated and storied resorts, a culinary revolution is taking shape. Rosewood Little Dix Bay, one of the region’s “original” luxury resorts, is transforming its food and beverage operation with two key additions: noted Chef Marcel Driessen and F&B Director Stephane Duvacher. Driessen’s career spans 25 years and more than a half-dozen countries, including Lebanon, Seychelles, Jordan, Croatia and The Netherlands, while Duvacher has logged more than 22 years in Michelin-rated restaurants throughout France and at top hotels from Dubai to Oman to Kuwait. Together, the duo introduces a fresh and decidedly global culinary point-of-view to the British Virgin Islands.
“In our quest to retain our culinary dominance in the BVI, we’ve given Marcel and Stephane carte blanche to work their magic,” said Martein van Wagenberg, Managing Director. “Our goal is to continue to surprise our guests with strikingly innovative and original cuisine, often using organic ingredients and produce grown on property.” New Euro-Caribbean menu items are already garnering rave reviews. Selections include Duck Confit & Pecan Beurreck, served with Marinated Mango laced with Balsamic Essence; Anegada Lobster Ratatouille with Organic Tomato served with Chilled Herb Mousseline; and Pan-Fried Local Red Snapper with Maple Syrup-Soy Sauce and Leek Cannelloni. New menus, wine and rum tastings, and chef-led cooking demonstrations are among the culinary enhancements in the works.
Marcel Driessen joins Little Dix Bay from another legendary Caribbean property, Sandy Lane Hotel & Golf Resort in Barbados, where he was Executive Chef for three years. Inspired by his grandfather, an accomplished baker, he began his culinary career in the kitchen of a Michelin Two-Star-rated restaurant, La Cravache d’Or in Brussels. He served as Chef de Cuisine of Hotel Corona in The Hague, The Netherlands for four years before joining InterContinental Hotels as Chef de Cuisine of the Michelin Two-Star-rated restaurant La Rive at the InterContinental Amstel in Amsterdam and, later, as Executive Chef at Intercontinental properties in Miami, Jordan and Lebanon. He also opened the acclaimed Beachcomber Ste. Anne Resort in the Seychelles. Driessen’s talents were duly noted by local dignitaries in addition to hotel and restaurant guests, and he was also tapped for private catering for the Royal Dutch Embassy, the Royal Court of Jordan and the Prime Minister’s residence in Jordan, where high-ranked officials and heads of state were invited for VIP dinners. Driessen’s classical French training at such acclaimed restaurants at Lucas-Carton in Paris and the Michelin Three-Star-rated Restaurant Georges Blanc in Vonnas, paired with a voracious culinary curiosity, strikes an agile balance between tradition and innovation.
Well known in culinary circles, Stephane Duvacher joins Little Dix Bay as Food & Beverage Director. A dedicated manager and enthusiastic epicure, he was most recently Culinary and Food & Beverage Director of the five-star Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa in Dubai, where he oversaw nine restaurants, four bars and all aspects of catering and banquets. A chef by training, Duvacher has served as Executive Chef of Jebel Ali, Oasis Beach Hotel in Dubai and Baguio Country Club as well as the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Hotel in Muscat, Oman where he catered events for 19 heads of state and presidents. Duvacher began his career at a stellar line-up of restaurants in France including the Michelin One-Star-rated Restaurant L’Orée de la Fôret in Pelan le Grand, L’Auberge de L’Ecritoire in Chateauneuf, the famous Brasserie Au Pied de Cochon in Paris, and the Michelin One-Star-rated restaurant Le Beauharnais in Fontainbleau, once home to Napoleon Bonaparte. He opened the Grange Park Hotel in the United Kingdom in 1986.
Together, the pair is passionate about creating a distinctive culinary style at Little Dix Bay’s three restaurants, the fine-dining Sugar Mill, the open-air Pavilion, and the oceanside Beach Grill. Driessen’s and Duvacher’s vision takes in the resort’s special ambiance as well as its new cuisine, working to bring guests the best of the island wherever possible from locally produced ingredients through local recipes, innovative preparations, and reflective design elements. “We want guests to feel that they are in their own home, but with the possibility of new and exciting experiences every day,” Duvacher noted.
These “culinary experiences” rely on Driessen’s culinary curiosity and novel interpretation of island cuisine. With an ability to move seamlessly among international culinary traditions, capably executing both the traditional and highly original, he crafts menus that showcase a remarkable depth of knowledge and confidence. From contemporary vegetarian selections to updated classics, he demonstrates a passion for fresh ingredients, international influences and imaginative presentation. His insatiable interest in exploring new cooking techniques (sous-vide, designed to bring out flavors to their fullest while preserving moistness and texture, is a current favorite), new cookbooks and regional cuisines promises a culinary adventure for even the most discerning guest.
