Lauded Belgian chef to head Anya’s food and drink department

Anya Resort & Residences, an up-and-coming luxury residential resort in Tagaytay City, Cavite province, has signed on award-winning and Relais & Chateau-recognized chef Emmanuel Stroobant to helm the establishment’s food and beverage department. 

Anya and Stroobant are currently developing cuisine concepts that will highlight the freshest local produce and a truly healthy, yet indulgent dining experience.

Belgium-born Stroobant owns four critically acclaimed restaurants in Singapore that emphasizes Belgian tradition, continental flavors, and hearty and uncomplicated dining. He hosted the Asian Food Channel cable television series Chef in Black and authored the cookbooks Cuisine Unplugged and Vine Dining: White, which won a Gourmand World Media award.

He was the opening consulting chef to the award-winning lifestyle establishment 7atenine, located in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Stroobant began his career at 16 by cleaning dishes at one of the best restaurants in Belgium. Though he initially intended to study law, the kitchen environment soon piqued his interest in the culinary arts and eventually convinced him to enroll in a hospitality course.

He opened his first restaurant in the Belgian city of Leige, to much success. The call of adventure led him to travel extensively until he decided to settle in Asia, living first in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. Stroobant is now mainly based in Singapore and considers himself more Asian than European.

“Chef Stroobant considers the local produce and flavors of Asia and creatively uses them to make dishes that are altogether sophisticated, healthy and luxurious, which are at the heart of Anya’s brand of hospitality,” Roxaco President and CEO Santiago Elizalde said.

Anya Resort & Residences is developed by Roxaco Land Corp., which co-created the successful Peninsula de Punta Fuego and the Terrazas de Punta Fuego communities. Scheduled to open its resort phase in the first quarter of 2016, Anya is set to offer worry-free and highly personalized services.

Anya’s dining areas include the Poolside, Samira Terrace Restaurant’s romantic private-dining setting; the more casual Cafe Amra & Deli; and the Pizzeria Anila. Anya can also create special menus and meals for those who have particular dietary requirements.

“I believe that eating healthy can also be exciting and festive, whether…in a formal or casual setting. Our menu concepts will feature the fresh ingredients that are found in and around Tagaytay, as well as some of the flavors that have come to be identified with this part of the country,” Stroobant said.

He added that sourcing most of the ingredients from Tagaytay would help ensure the quality and freshness of the dishes, and sustain the local environment and farming industry.