A sparkling-new property, collaborations with award-winning chefs and bartenders, plus an insider look at the city’s food culture and colorful heritage—highlights from the 2025 edition.
Bangkok is a city of contrasts known for its vibrant street life and a distinctive blend of modern and traditional cultures. Locals and visitors alike are drawn to its serene Buddhist temples, lively street markets, world-famous street food, and their legendary night life.
The global culinary scene is embracing a return to traditional cooking methods, heirloom ingredients, sustainable and cultural practices.
In a city that is bursting with electric energy and diverse experiences, The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok offers a tranquil and elegant vantage point with is distinctive style of hospitality artfully weaving Thai heritage with modern sensibilities, positioning the property as an epicurean gateway through meaningful encounters enhanced with local flavor. With this in mind, Marriott International fittingly handpicked the brand-new luxury hotel as the venue for the finale of its highly anticipated 2025 Luxury Dining Series, this year’s theme being “Forgotten Flavors.”
Luxury dining trends
The theme was not just something drawn out of a hat, but rather derived from a comprehensive study by Marriott called The Future of Food Report 2025. It revealed that Asia Pacific commands a remarkable 37.8 percent share of the global culinary tourism market with projected growth to US$6.2 trillion by 2033, indicating a significant shift toward traditional cooking methods, heirloom ingredients, and a focus on sustainable and cultural practices.
Affluent travelers are seeking more immersive gastronomic journeys that shine a spotlight on hyper-local produce and time-honored techniques that are often overlooked in modern fine dining. Rightfully so, this year’s theme is all about rediscovering culinary heritage through contemporary innovation as the series made its way around the participating properties.
For its sophomore outing, the Luxury Dining Series was held at the following Marriott International hotels: The St. Regis Osaka, JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Bengaluru Prestige Golfshire Resort & Spa, The Ritz-Carlton, Perth, The St. Regis Singapore, The St. Regis Jakarta, and finally making its way to The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok.
“We are honored to present the season finale of Marriott’s 2025 Luxury Dining Series within our first year of opening,” said Tina Liu, General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok. “This meaningful series reinforces our commitment to elevating Thailand’s ‘Forgotten Flavors’ through modern expressions, celebrating ancient techniques and beloved ingredients that define the nation’s culinary identity. Together with our culinary partners, we hope to deliver unforgettable experiences that bridge tradition and innovation.”
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Twice as nice: 6-hands collaborations at Duet by David Toutain
The best things do come in pairs, and the highlight of the weekend was arguably the collaboration dinners at Duet by David Toutain, the stunning glass house restaurant that is an ode to contemporary French cuisine on the 7th floor of The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok. Michelin-starred chef David Toutain joined chef de cuisine Valentin Fouache in welcoming chef Adam Catterall of Roganic Hong Kong and chef Loïc Portalier of Louise and La Terrace Louise Hong Kong.
Both collaborations stayed true to the theme, each drawing from their distinct culinary heritage and then executing their multi-course journeys with creativity and refinement. Toutain, Fouache, and Catterall demonstrated how their cooking philosophies and culinary leanings are in synch, offering dishes from their respective menus while making it all seem like one cohesive concept that championed lost European cooking techniques— a “massively medieval” scallop in aspic comes to mind, as well as gnocchi given a herbaceous spin with fig leaves and vegetal civet) made fresh and current.
As for their collaboration with Portalier, the Frenchmen made it a true collaboration, putting a contemporary touch to the classic flavors of their motherland, as evident in the mussels stewed in green anise and lemon and a beautifully poached monkfish served with green beans and epicea.
Shoutout to Duet’s head sommelier Oat for his bold choices in their beverage pairing, like a funky white wine from Cotes du Jura, France and a delightful Belgian apple lambic.
Chocolate overload and bar takeover
at Caleo
An emerging bean-to-bar scene in Thailand, Caleo has captured the attention of chocoholics. While production remains modest, Thai cacao is known for its high quality and unique flavor profiles. Executive Pastry Chef Sylvain Constans has every reason to be excited and it showed in his impressive array of chocolate confections for a special edition of the afternoon tea at Caleo.
He walked us through how they produced their own chocolate using local beans, utilizing everything from the fruit which was turned into juice and the dried husk into tea. The dizzying selection of chocolate creations were accompanied by beautiful savory sandwiches and The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok’s signature tea blend made especially for the property by Araksa Tea Garden.
At nightfall, Caleo transformed into a sultry jazz lounge where they hosted Angelo Sparvoli, head bartender of the American Bar at the Savoy London. He was joined by master mixologist and Ratafia Rossi founder Simone Rossi, bar and beverage manager Ewen Ledan and the rest of his talented team who handled the massive crowd like the pros that they are. To go with our martinis and Hanky Pankys, the kitchen served up excellent bar chow such as fresh oysters, lobster rolls, burger sliders, nachos, and chili fries. To address the after-drinking munchies, executive chef Glen Cooper’s late-hours team whipped up a hearty and decadent baked rigatoni with meat sauce and lots of melted cheese.
Luxury brunch at Lily’s
The weekend was fittingly capped off with a spectacular brunch headlined by an all-star cast orchestrated by Lily’s chef de cuisine Sedtapat “Pop” Sukpaisanpongsa. Lily’s is The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok’s all-day dining restaurant which wraps around their massive kitchen, beautifully laid out in separate rooms designed according to a distinct vibe and personality.
It has attracted the city’s well-heeled brunching crowd, especially for this special one that features chefs MENA’s Best female Chef Tala Bashmi from Bahrain, Chef Loïc Portalier, and popular local culinary figure chef Aruss “Jai” Lerlerstkull (Charmgang, Charmkrung, and Charmkok).
Aside from Lily’s impressive cold bar station, jaw-dropping French cheese selection, and interesting beverage choices, the guest chefs also offered up their own popular bestsellers, such as chef Tala’s mussels ravioli with seafood sauce; chef Loïc’s angel hair pasta with caviar, truffle, and shio konbu and duck and parsley terrine; and a sublime beef red curry from chef Jai that calls for steaming hot rice.
As with any stay at a Ritz-Carlton property, the weekend truly ended on a high note with many high points too many to mention. The Luxury Dining Series is a bright beacon in an ocean of food events because it not only focuses on trends but also strives to celebrate the rich culture that surrounds each property. It educates and enlightens, ensuring that guests leave not only pampered and carrying fond memories of their experience, but enriched with the beautiful stories woven into meaningful collaborations.
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