JOALI Maldives welcomes award-winning Chef Eunji Lee from Lyseé

22 July, 2024

JOALI BEING, the first and only art-immersive resort in the Maldives, welcomes pastry chef Eunji Lee to the island, sharing her edible art with guests from 3rd to 7th September 2024. Bringing a taste of her New York City dessert gallery Lyseé to the Maldives, Chef Eunji will elevate the culinary experience at JOALI Maldives with an intimate pastry workshop as well as a custom dessert menu for guests to enjoy.

Born in South Korea, Chef Eunji fulfilled a lifelong dream of studying pastry arts when she moved to France in 2006. Following pastry school, she spent three years in Ze Kitchen Galerie and then trained under Alain Ducasse and Cedric Grolet at Le Meurice for four years. In 2016, she became the Executive Pastry Chef of Jungsik, the two Michelin-star Korean restaurant in New York City, before opening her own pastry boutique, Lysée in 2022 in the Flatiron District of New York City. Inspired by her love of pastry as edible art, Lysée is named for chef Lee’s sweet museum, derived from the French word Musée. Chef Eunji was named one of La Liste’s Pastry Talents of 2023, Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2023 and a 2024 James Beard Award Semi-finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef.

While visiting, Chef Eunji will share her edible art with guests through an intimate workshop in JOALI Maldives ‘Her Kitchen’ on 7th September, sharing how to make the iconic French dessert: the éclair. Inspired by the islands, guests will learn to make a local fruit compote and vanilla cream as well as the fine art of piping which makes each éclair unique. Providing a luxurious professional kitchen setting, Her Kitchen allows guests to discover the joys of cooking and creating alongside the world’s most talented chefs. During her week as visiting chef, Chef Eunji will bring her love of art in the form of desserts to the art-immersive island with a menu of three desserts for guests to enjoy in the evenings. The menu will include Lysée cake, mango tart, and a local fruit cake.

Providing travellers with exceptional culinary experiences throughout the year, JOALI Maldives works with gastronomy experts from all over the world to host a rotation of renowned chefs and culinary experts, each sharing their own special expertise, creations and styles. In addition to Her Kitchen, JOAI Maldives features five thoughtfully curated culinary outlets; Vandhoo, Saoke, Bellinis, TUH’U, and Mura Bar; offering a wide selection of flavours to suit every palate from exotic Japanese-Peruvian cuisine to delightful Italian spreads. Furthermore, the island offers destination dining in unique, joyful spaces such as the Manta Ray Treehouse, Chef’s Garden, or a private sandbank, for a memorable meal with a tailor-made menu.

While delighting in the culinary excellence of Chef Eunji at JOALI Maldives, guests will enjoy the luxuries of the 73-villa island, surrounded by spectacular sea life, inspiring artwork, destination programming, and more. With a selection of beach or overwater villas offering one, two, three and four-bedroom options, guests will have private pools, indulgent amenities, bicycles for each guest, dedicated butlers known as “Jadugars” (the Maldivian word for “magician”), and more.

About resort: JOALI BEING invites guests to reconnect with themselves and with the beauty of nature. Based on the belief that understanding is the key to creating and sustaining wellbeing, the island’s Learning Centre offers a series of educational workshops and experiential classes with wellbeing experts, culinary maestros, and herbalists. This distinctive wellbeing retreat is home to a total of 68 exclusive guest villas with pools, consisting of 33 beach villas and 35 water villas. With 13 categories to choose from, guests can opt for one-, two-, three- or four-bedroom villas and residences. JOALI BEING features unique transformational spaces that allow guests to immerse in elemental therapies and healing experiences. Nature is at the centre of life at JOALI BEING, with the retreat being completely committed to nature immersive and responsible travel – the pathway to true “weightlessness”.

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