Flavors from the silk roads 

Not long ago, MGM and Robb Report concluded the second edition of MGM x RR1HK Culinary Masters event at MGM Cotai over the period of 3 days.

Over 400 guests, six internationally acclaimed chefs, and global diners came together for an epic culinary journey, a fitting culmination to Macau’s June gastronomic celebrations. 

The event, themed “Savor 700 Years of Silk Road Flavors: A Gastronomic Odyssey,” celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, coinciding with the 700 years since the renowned Silk Road explorer Marco Polo. Macau, designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, provided the perfect historic backdrop, with its rich legacy of East-West trade connections, to explore the culinary significance of the ancient Silk Road routes and the latest global gastronomic trends. 

This year’s event boasted a star-studded lineup of celebrity chefs hailing from across the Asian, European, and Middle Eastern regions along the historic Silk Roads.

The impressive roster included Garima Arora of the acclaimed Indian restaurant Gaa, the world›s first female Indian chef to earn a two-Michelin-star; Chudaree «Tam» Debhakam of the renowned Thailand restaurant Baan Tepa, the world›s first female Thai chef to win a two-Michelin-stars; Marco Galtarossa of the one-Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Villa Elena in Bergamo; Yang Dengquan, the executive sous chef who helms the one-Michelin-starred Sichuanese restaurant Five Foot Road at MGM COTAI; Sara Aqel of Dara Dining, who modernizes Mediterranean cuisine with an Italian focus in Jordan; and Florita Morais Alves, of La Famiglia Macanese restaurant, a well-respected ambassador of Macanese cuisine. 

For the first time, these six diverse master chefs collaborated to present an unparalleled 12-hands gala dinner, drawing upon their respective interpretations of flavors from the historic Silk Roads.

They ingeniously infused their innovative cuisine with elements that paid tribute to the rich cultural traditions and evolution of gastronomic exchange along these storied trade routes.

The result was a culinary masterpiece that delighted palates from around the world, showcasing the artistic mastery and global influence of Middle Eastern, European, and Asian cooking traditions.