Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has appointed Maurizio Panicali as Executive Chef for Rosewood Corniche, Jeddah's premier hotel. A Swiss national, Chef Panicali has more than 20 years of culinary experience and will oversee the entire gastronomic direction for all the Rosewood Corniche restaurants, including Ginza I Chome, Noodles, Habsburg and Soleil, while managing the hotel's in-room dining and catering options. Chef Panicali will also be responsible for creating exclusive lunch and high tea menus for corporate meetings while supervising the launch of new menus at Noodles. He has marked his arrival at the hotel with the launch of a new staff cookery competition called the Magic Box which tests spontaneity and cookery skills. Each month four candidates are given a box of ingredients and asked to prepare one starter and main course in 45 minutes. They are judged on quality, hygiene and appropriate usage of ingredients by a panel comprising Chef Panicali, the food and beverage manager and the hotel's managing director. Each monthly winner will compete in a qualifying final where one lucky Chef will win the opportunity to showcase his proficiency amid peers at the Riyadh Globe Summit taking place at Al Faisaliah Hotel, a Rosewood Hotel in February 2013. Having worked in some of the most celebrated hotels and restaurants throughout Asia, Europe, Middle East and New Zealand, Chef Panicali joins Rosewood Corniche from his role as executive sous chef at the hotel's sister property Al Faisaliah, a Rosewood Hotel and Al Khozama, a Rosewood Hotel in Riyadh. His key achievements there included the introduction of the new Ramadan concept at the Prince Sultan Grand Hall, organizing a grand wedding dinner for 4,500 guests and his instrumental role in the successful opening of a new Italian restaurant. Since beginning his culinary career in Switzerland, Chef Panicali has demonstrated his flair in the finest luxury resorts and hotels, including a year at the Movenpick Hotel El Quseir in Egypt, where he pioneered theme evenings such as Bedouin weddings in the desert and Om Ahmed's seafood dinner by the beach which increased F&B revenues by 15 percent. A truly international chef, Panicali has worked in Sardinia, taught budding chefs Italian cuisine in Turkey and learnt Spanish in Argentina. – SG
