In addition to our extraordinary local chefs, The Wakaya Club & Spa has an International Guest Chef Culinary Program that brings highly acclaimed talent into the Wakaya kitchen for exciting intervals of creative collaboration resulting in many festive occasions of exciting dining.

The Wakaya Club & Spa welcomed Executive Chef Craig Strong from Studio Restaurant at Montage Laguna Beach in California as our Guest Chef at the resort this October. Chef Craig worked closely with resort culinary staff to craft epicurean delights for our guests, including Spicy Tuna Poke, Seafood Paella, Dungeness Crab Salad and his very own special Warm Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Mousse served with Wakaya Perfection Organic Ginger ice cream.

Want to try some of his specialties yourself? Enjoy one of Chef Craig’s delicious recipes here:
Dungeness Crab Salad

A heartfelt thanks to Chef Craig Strong for sharing his incredible talent with The Wakaya Club & Spa!

Call or email our Reservations Department to book this culinary escape to Wakaya and receive a complimentary two-night stay at the Montage Laguna Beach. Please use Promotional Code: “WC-Montage”

USA & Canada: 1-800-828-FIJI (3454)

Australia: 1-800-126-205

New Zealand: 0-800-440-454

Email: info@wakaya.com.fj

About Chef Craig Strong:

Chef Craig Strong, Executive Chef of Studio at Montage Laguna Beach, is known for his modern French cuisine with California influences. Previously he worked in Europe as Sous Chef for The Newport Room at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona, where an emphasis on olive oil, fresh seafood and the Mediterranean climate led Chef Strong to embrace the bold flavors and rustic style of Spanish cuisine, adding the refinement of French techniques.

Studio has been recognized with five stars from Forbes Travel Guide, Robb Report as one of “America’s Finest Dining Restaurants,” and Food & Wine Magazine’s “Top 50 Hotel Restaurants.” Studio has also earned the “Best of Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator and is rated one of Zagat Survey’s “America’s Top Restaurants.”

Other Guest Chefs

Guest chefs have included Jim Coleman, Charles Dale, Greg Doyle, Vincent Rae, Nobu Matsuhisa, Grant MacPherson, Masa Takayama and Charlie Trotter, among others.

Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine explains, “Evidence of a visiting chef program can be found in The Wakaya Club & Spa kitchen in Nobu Matsuhisa’s sashimi and Charlie Trotter’s perfected ratatouille. Visiting American chef-gurus Matsuhisa and Trotter each spent time working over The Wakaya Club & Spa’s stoves and left with effusive expressions of praise for the kitchen team. Yes, for all their modesty, these Fijians are fine culinary artisans.”

The Wakaya Club & Spa’s extensive organic farms, fresh seafood and Fiji Fantastic lamb, deer, pork and more give visiting guest Chef’s the opportunity to learn about the islands sustainable footprint, its thoughtful cultivation methods and to inspire them to innovate new culinary creations in a tranquil, environmentally-conscious environment.

The Guest Chef Culinary Program educates Guest Chefs on Wakaya Island’s newest organic wellness product, Wakaya Perfection Organic Ginger Powder. This fine golden powder is revolutionizing the dining industry, acting as a luxurious taste enhancer for everything from seafood, sauces, stir fry and deserts to teas, smoothies and cocktails – all with built-in natural wellness benefits. Guest Chefs will partake in an exclusive Wakaya Island Farm Tour that showcases the hand-cultivation methods used to harvest this special ginger on Wakaya’s virgin volcanic nutrient-rich soil, ultimately delivering the purest and most potent form of powdered Ginger in the world.

For more information on The Wakaya Club & Spa International Guest Chef Culinary Program, please contact Jennifer Halliday at Jennifer@wakayaperfection.com or at 310.628.5232