By Maria Elena

Executive Chef Armin Brandtner sees to it that Dusit Thani Ma­nila’s kitchen is anything but boring. Keeping staff on their toes with ideas on how to keep the cuisine interesting means there’s never a dull moment either in the kitchen or on the table tops.

Chef Brandtner is no stranger to the art of avante garde cui­sine. Trained as an executive chef he has toiled for 30 years in the international 5 Star Hotel Industry. His apprenticeship began in a Michelin Star restaurant. He then went to several international deluxe hotels to fully master his trade. Later
on, he changed direction by working his way through the kitchens of notable banqueting and catering operators.

Never one to shirk a challenge Chef Armin went on to work for one of the world’s greatest fine dining caterers, Gerd Kaefer. The distinguished maestro took over the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden, Germany with a Michelin Star res­taurant. After earning a certification of master of cuisine in March 1992 in Wiesbaden, Armin became an Executive Sous Chef in the Intercontinental Hotel, Berlin, cooking for up to 4000 people at a time.

With 32 years of Sourdough culinary expertise, Armin became the youngest Executive Chef of the prestigious Hotel Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof in Frankfurt, Germany. The world class hotel boasted the Michelin Star restau­rant, Francais, which was under Armin’s supervision for four years.

Besides all this Chef Armin has also independently managed two of the top restaurants in Germany for six years. Prior to his stint in the Philippines he worked in the Middle East for 5 Star hotels in both Dubai and Doha.
When asked of his guiding principle in the kitchen, Chef Brandtner is em­phatic in saying,

“I have always believed in sharing the tricks of the trade with my team. With high beliefs that at the end of the day, we share the same philosophy, and that is to greatly please the discerning palates that we serve. I also open my kitchen doors to crazy queer ideas that make all the difference in this com­petitive world. Staying ahead is the key to haute cuisine.”