As an icon in the picture of high-end Vietnamese cuisine and located in the most luxurious five-star hotel in Saigon, Le Méridien, AKUNA restaurant has just reached an important milestone after less than a year of opening.
A MICHELIN star was announced at the MICHELIN Guide Awards ceremony on the night of June 27, affirming the recognition for the restaurant's outstanding efforts in creating culinary art inspired by the people and ingredients of Vietnam. There are five factors to evaluate and award MICHELIN stars: quality of ingredients, cooking techniques, harmony of flavors, culinary personality of the Chef and consistency of excellent quality.
These standards have been applied in more than 40 countries for nearly a hundred years, ensuring fairness and consistency in the judging process to present an award that represents the outstanding excellence of world-class restaurants.
AKUNA Restaurant Receives One MICHELIN Star Award
Becoming one of the few restaurants in Vietnam to be recognized by the MICHELIN Guide is a prestigious award for Chef Sam Aisbett and the team at AKUNA restaurant. Launched in July 2023, AKUNA is the embodiment of Chef Sam Aisbett's journey of developing his creative talent after a period of hiding to explore and discover world cuisine.
The intentional combination of his limitless personality and inspiration from the people and ingredients of the S-shaped strip of land has created AKUNA's famous "Unlimited" culinary style. With the principle of not letting any style or culture define his dishes, Chef Sam has constantly pushed the pioneering spirit and brought impressive masterpieces to the fine dining table. The culinary experience at AKUNA is where diners will always be treated to an explosive experience, made from indigenous ingredients, local spices and herbs, and diverse culinary nuances, many of which have never appeared on the high-class table before.
Behind the success of Chef Sam and AKUNA is an incredibly talented kitchen team. Headed by Chef Enrico Gross, the team consists of Chefs with diverse backgrounds from all over the world: Korea, Vietnam, Germany and France. The presence of General Manager Desiderio Bevilaqua, who worked alongside Chef Sam at the iconic Whitegrass, brings a sense of unity from vision to execution across the restaurant. Together, they create a boundary-pushing experience for diners at AKUNA.
Chef Sam Aisbett
For Chef Sam, the recognition from the MICHELIN Guide is an affirmation of the right path he is pursuing: doing what makes him happy, working alongside a team with heart and vision, and a desire to break all limits to create countless culinary masterpieces. He shared: “We are honored to be awarded a MICHELIN star. This is a precious gift for our hard work to bring excellent experiences to our customers, and at the same time a great motivation for us to continue our journey to conquer and break all limits."
Chef Sam Aisbett is no stranger to MICHELIN stars. His previous restaurant, Whitegrass, an Australian culinary icon in Singapore, had been awarded a MICHELIN star for two consecutive years and was named one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. In 2018, after leaving Singapore, Sam spent some time touring Australia before coming to Vietnam and falling in love with the “beautiful chaos” of the place. After a five-year hiatus, the vibrancy of the people and food culture in Vietnam has rekindled Sam Aisbett’s passion for cooking.
Culinary masterpieces at AKUNA restaurant
