DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – On Saturday 4th May and Sunday 5th May, the first in a series of world-class culinary collaborations will take place with Christophe Devoille, Executive Pastry Chef of Atlantis The Royal, and Natsuko Shoji, of Japan’s lauded restaurant été. Set in the lobby of one of The World’s 50 Best Hotels, this elevated luxury afternoon tea experience at The Royal Tearoom will showcase a selection of reimagined savoury delicacies and pastries, exclusively for two days.
Titled “The Taste of Summer”, the duo’s collaborative efforts will bring forth their respective culinary approaches, paying homage to seasonality and world-class produce with pieces of edible art. With Shoji’s été being a one-table haute-cuisine experience, and Devoille being bestowed several accolades, including Gault&Millau UAE’s Pastry Chef of the Year after 12 months of The Royal Tearoom opening, guests are in for an exquisite treat.
Each afternoon, diners will be invited to embark upon an immersive journey, where every savoury item will be brought to life through the lens of Shoji and each pastry item beautifully crafted by Devoille. Priced at AED 650 for two, guests will be encouraged to start with the irresistible caviar mille-feuille, followed by roasted dried aged beef tartare with sakura petals, black truffle finger sandwiches, caramelised corn tart with date sauce as well as smoked salmon and salsa sauce. Accompanying these will be beautifully handcrafted pastries influenced by in-season fruit such as feuillets de cerises, apricot tart with fresh almonds, a raspberry tartlet using locally produced Sidr honey, an indulgent rhubarb pastry featuring poached, iced and crunchy rhubarb and an After Eight dessert with a twist featuring mint and dark chocolate. To conclude the experience, guests will be served the fleur de meringue with wild strawberries and consommé to cleanse the palate.
A darling of both the fashion and culinary cognoscenti and crowned Asia’s Best Female Chef at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022 awards, Natsuko Shoji is known for her showstopping pastry dishes that draw inspiration from haute couture. After spending her formative years training under Hiroyasu Kawate of Florilège (ranked No.27 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023), at the age of 24, Shoji opened her first cake laboratory in Tokyo in 2014.
For the past seven years, Shoji has operated one of Tokyo’s most difficult-to-book restaurants, alongside a thriving luxury cake business. In 2019, she relocated her pocket-sized, single-table Shibuya eatery and pastry shop, été, to a new home, expanding into a six-seat, exclusive, “intimate and indulgent” restaurant that serves an intricate 10-course menu of savoury courses and her signature desserts.
Over almost a decade, Shoji has made a splash with her grand cakes garnished with Japan’s most prized fruit – from Nagano grapes to Miyazaki mangos—inspired by iconic designs from various fashion houses like Chloe and Chanel. Now with many accolades to her name, including ranking no.29 in the Best Chef 2023 Awards, and No.90 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023, Shoji is regarded as one of the most accomplished chefs in Asia and a trailblazer for women in the industry.
Devoille is the celebrated pastry chef behind the patisserie of the world’s most ultra-luxury experiential resort, Atlantis The Royal. Born in Strasbourg, the German inflected city of France’s eastern borders, Devoille has a deep appreciation for his country’s produce, exploring wide-ranging ingredients in his desserts. Devoille cut his teeth at the Michelin star New York institution La Côte Basque, helmed by Jean-Jacques Rachou, before spending more than a decade at the side of chef Alain Ducasse, as the corporate pastry chef for the Alain Ducasse Enterprise heading up the dessert team for 27 outlets worldwide. Following four years on the pre-opening team as Executive Pasty Chef of Wynn Palace, one of the largest resorts in Macao, China, Devoille moved across the pond to head up the pastry kitchen of London’s celebrity haunt and private members club, Annabel’s, before deciding to go it alone, travelling the world as a pastry chef consultant, opening Amazónico in London and Dubai, launching Pavlova in Miami, and developing a chocolate bonbons and macarons menu for Saudi chocolatier, Aani & Dani.
Today, Devoille leads a team of 12 bakers, two Arabic chefs, and 50 pastry colleagues to oversee Atlantis The Royal’s extensive pastry offering. This includes The Royal Tearoom with Christophe Devoille’s all-day pastry counter and signature afternoon tea experience, breakfast at Gastronomy featuring over eight kinds of croissants, danish and brioches, 30 different types of bread for the resort’s 17 restaurants, as well as a vast selection of handcrafted desserts, waffles, popsicles, ice creams and sorbets for the resort’s signature restaurants.
Christophe Devoille x Natsuko Shoji will take place on Saturday 4th May and Sunday 5th May from 2pm –5pm. The menu is priced at AED 650 for two. Early reservations are highly recommended.
