A good kitchen doesn’t need a shared language, as shown at the inaugural Spanish Pantry Festival at Regent Phu Quoc. By Eris Choo
It is always a joy to watch chefs from different backgrounds working in sync in the kitchen, each bringing their own instincts and flair, yet working toward the same result.
That was the spirit running through the Spanish Pantry Festival at Regent Phu Quoc in June, where a roster of leading Spanish chefs spent several days cooking alongside the resort’s own culinary team across a series of tapas nights, masterclasses, and exquisite dinners — building toward a six-hands finale that paired two-Michelin-starred chefs Javier Olleros (Culler de Pau in O Grove, Galicia) and Benito Gómez (Restaurante Bardal in Ronda, Andalusia) with Chef de Cuisine Andy Huynh of Oku, the hotel’s signature Japanese-French restaurant.
The language barrier was strikingly absent. “Many of the chefs, they don’t speak any English,” said festival organiser Chef Ager Urigüen, who specialises in tapas and Basque-inspired cuisine (formerly of Txokoa, Berlin, Germany and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Basque Country). “But there is the will to make it work… sometimes it is as simple as a smile.”
We caught a glimpse of this synergy at the festival’s preview dinner, as Chefs Olleros, Gómez, Urigüen, and paella specialist Chef David Montero of Arrocería Ricepaella in Valencia showcased the distinct facets of regional Spanish cuisine.
Olleros’s Galician roots showed in his use of fresh vegetables and seafood, most notably in local leeks served in a Gallego broth, while Gómez’s carabineros curados—cured red prawns in a basil escabeche—carried the Moorish influence that runs through Andalusian cooking.
Urigüen’s Iberian pork presa, carpaccio-thin and served with pickles, made for the perfect savoury bite before Montero closed the mains with a hearty traditional Valenciana paella. The meal was matched by excellent Spanish wines, including a 2018 Vega Sicilia “Pintia” and a rare 1920 Alvear PX Solera, curated by wine journalist, author, and sommelier Alejandro Paadín. He hails from A Coruna, Galicia and is an international wine judge for prestigious competitions including the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and Vinalies Internationales.
Recreating an authentic Spanish experience at the southern tip of Vietnam came with its own challenges. Olleros flew in with over 100kg of ingredients from Spain, but plenty still had to be sourced locally.
Gómez saw it less as a limitation than a different set of rules: a local prawn was never going to taste like a Spanish prawn, which is why it was important for the chefs to work out what could be substituted and what needed refining.
Throughout the week, guests were treated to events such as a jamón carving masterclass, which saw Paadín walking through the cuts and heritage of Spain’s cured hams. The Art of Tapas night at the resort’s Ocean Club featured meats, cheeses, and shareable plates of chilled salmorejo, escalivada with sardines and almonds, gambas al ajillo, a seafood-heavy arroz del señoret, grilled Iberian pork pluma with green mojo sauce, and a whole Ibérico Jamon carved tableside.
The six-hands dinner at Oku perfectly highlighted the chefs deep respect for their ingredients and craft, despite the differences in their approaches and locality. Olleros and Gomez each designed two courses while Hyunh designed three, before reviewing the entire sequence together to make sure all the dishes flowed well throughout the night and read as a cohesive whole.
The meal opened with a single macaroon-shaped mushroom bite by Olleros, followed by trout in aspic under smoked crème fraîche and citrus caviar. A Galician-style scallop in paprika sauce came next, before Huynh presented his own take of a fermented gazpacho scented with shiso, topped with Japanese blue shrimp — a showcase of the Japanese sensibility and technique honed during his years at Nobu.
From there, a hot-and-cold onion soup prepared by Chef Gomez, salt-baked and finished in dried kombu, brought the table back to Spain before the savoury run closed on wagyu fricandó with potato furikake. Dessert came last in the form of arroz con leche, featuring koji and the local, tropical flavours of jasmine and coconut.
For Huynh, hosting chefs of this calibre at Oku was as much about morale for his own team as it was about cultural dialogue and exchange. “It’s exciting on both sides,” he said. “The (Spanish) chefs are just as excited as we are when we share our perspectives.”
The Spanish Pantry Festival marks the first Spanish gastronomic event of this scale and scope in Vietnam, and the timing feels apt. Spanish cuisine is a regular fixture on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List, and ranked among the top five nations globally for total Michelin stars.
Paadín, who is also festival organiser, pointed to the growing presence of Spanish restaurants across Southeast Asian cities like Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur as proof that the cuisine is still finding new ground in this region. “Spanish food is about celebration,” he said. “We don’t eat in silence. Every dish is a show of respect and love for each ingredient.”
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REGENT PHU QUOC
Just a 15-minute drive from Phu Quoc International Airport, Regent Phu Quoc sits right on the beachfront along the island’s Western coast, with gorgeous views of the Gulf of Thailand. Villas are expansive, featuring fully equipped kitchens, private pools and outdoor showers, and tasteful and modern decor with local touches.
There’s more to eat here than just Oku. Rice Market, the all-day dining restaurant serving local and international fare, is often packed in the mornings as guests flock to the live stations to watch the chefs in action. The beef pho is a crowd favourite, as is the Bo Ne Steak and Egg featuring Angus beef steak with pork pate and Vietnamese baguette. Lunch at Ocean Club serves up freshly grilled seafood in a beach club setting by the poolside. For drinks, head up to Fu Bar on the rooftop at sundown, or Jade, the speakeasy cocktail bar tucked discreetly within a hidden corner of the resort. Between courses, there’s also the spa, the Pedi:Mani:Cure Studio by renowned pedicure-podologue Bastien Gonzales, and a slew of activities to fill the daylight hours, from sailing aboard the resort’s Serenity yacht, to yoga and kayaking.