Chefs on tour

Global – Some of the world’s most talented chefs exchanged lives and kitchens for an unprecedented global restaurant swap.

Each chef had to quickly adapt their style to their new surroundings after finding out their destination via lottery
Guests booked their tickets not knowing who would be cooking for them until the day of the event

In The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle, the latest project from chef collective Gelinaz!, cooks from Japan to Chile, from Brazil to Slovenia and Australia to Denmark embarked on a journey across the world to cook for diners at some of the world’s most sought-after locations.

Each chef, including Noma’s René Redzepi, Blanca’s Carlo Mirarchi, and Hisa Franko’s Ana Ros, were sent to a new location three days before the dinner to become immersed in their new surroundings and source local ingredients for an eight-course menu. Chefs on exchange even lived in each other’s homes, completely assuming their new identities, dining with their families and becoming a resident in their new location, if only for a short time.

‘The line-up for this performance is a family of chefs who take risk as a starting point, and are neither fearful of creativity nor driven by ego, but are fuelled by a desire to explore,’ says Gelinaz! co-founder Andrea Petrini.

The Big Picture: Drawing inspiration from artist-in-residence programmes, more permanent establishments are embracing a pop-up model for their kitchen staff. Find out more in our Chefs-in-residence microtrend.