This July, founder of ‘New Russian Cuisine’ food movement Konstantin Ivlev will treat Amilla Maldives guests to his experimental, reinterpretations of undeservedly forgotten traditional ingredients, plucked from Russia’s vast expanses and reinvented as modern, outward-looking dishes packed with flavour. The award-winning Russian culinary innovator and TV chef will take residency at Amilla’s signature overwater restaurant, Feeling Koi, between 17 to 27 July to host three spectacular evenings of gastronomic delights.

One of Russia’s most acclaimed chefs, Ivlev has worked at some of Moscow’s most prestigious restaurants, earning them two and three Michelin stars along the way. He is founder of the Ivlev Group – creator of Café Siren, E11even and Culture Park, amongst others, and has appeared on popular culinary TV shows such as ‘Ask the Chef’, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and the ‘Na Knives’ project, for which he won the prestigious Taffy television award in 2019.

His impressive repertoire also includes concept chief of the Capital Business Group, part of the French gastronomy guild Chaine des Rotissers and heading the Federation of Professional Chefs and Confectioners of Russia.  In 2004, Ivlev published his first bookMy Cooking Philosophy, followed by Kitchen for Real Men (2011), and Cooking at Home in 2013. Part of a new generation of chefs spearheading a movement in Russian gastronomy to valorise local production, Ivlev uses traditional ingredients and modern techniques to push boundaries and change perceptions of the country’s cuisine.

Exclusively for Amilla Maldives’ guests, Ivlev will be showcasing prime examples of New Russian Cuisine through a curated five-course menu over three nights at Amilla’s signature overwater restaurant, Feeling Koi. Dishes will celebrate Russian delicacies, such as birch sap sauce and lecho, alongside the resort’s fresh, nutritional island-grown produce, like cucumber noodles.

The residency will underpin Amilla’s pioneering new garden-to-table philosophy where overlooked ingredients are showcased alongside the homemade, homegrown and homebrewed, to bring personality and vigour to the resort’s menus. Guests will also have the opportunity to attend a culinary masterclass by the eminent chef, during which he will share the secrets of ‘New Russian Cuisine’. The immersive experience comes hot on the heels of Amilla Maldives’ recent successful Easter pop-up with award-winning Sri Lankan restaurant brand Ministry of Crab.