Pan Pacific Bangkok's general manager, Samir Wildemann, recently announced the appointment of Patrice Dumont as director of food and beverage and as executive chef.

French-born Dumont is a graduate of the French National Cooking Academy in Paris and has more than 20 years of international experience in the trade, with seven years spent as head chef in a two-star-Michelin restaurant in Paris.

Before joining Pan Pacific, Dumont was executive chef at Voile d'Or Resort and Spa, a 181-room, five-star resort in Mauritius.

Riccardo Pacifici

Executive chef Dietmar Spizer of the Conrad Hotel Bangkok has added Italian master chef Riccardo Pacifici to his team. Pacifici will be in charge of the hotel's Italianate restaurant.

The chef did his initial training in Rome before working his way up the ladder in traditional restaurants. His first venture overseas was at the renowned Terrace Restaurant in London's Grosvenor House Hotel, before he was poached by the Halkin hotel.

Pacifici later returned home to join the Grand Hotel de la Minerve, then the Grand hotel Quisisana, before joining the Conrad Bangkok.

"My cooking style uses a rich mixture of vegetable sauces combined with fish and meat and then vacuum cooked. My other specialities are ravioli and home-made fresh egg pastas, all with a Mediterranean flavour using extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs," he says.