Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues Geneva

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2019
• First Four Seasons Position: Extra Chef, Banqueting

Employment History

• Le Jardin, Hotel Le Richemond, Geneva; Il Sapori, Geneva

Education

• Certificat Fédéral de Capacité de Cuisinier, Centre de Formation Professionnelle Technique, Geneva

Birthplace

• Geneva, Switzerland

Languages Spoken

• French, Arabic, Italian

“The most important thing for me is to approach my job like a restaurant chef,” says Sadok Dabbeche, reflecting on his perspective for delighting the appetites of meetings and events clientele of Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva. In his role as Banquet Chef of the historic property set along crystal-clear Lake Geneva, Sadok ensures that the food and beverage guests enjoy as they meet, greet, celebrate, get married, and do business is as transcendent as the spaces in which they gather. “The magic we create in the banquet kitchen is essential to the success of programming here.”

Sadok is keen on authenticity and simplicity: the former to transport event clientele through a range of international cuisines; the latter to ensure they stay grounded as the energy of conferences and celebrations swirl around them. Presentation is a key consideration, with dishes arranged with restaurant-style flair. “The idea is to leave an impression before the first bite,” he says, noting that the Hotel’s proximity to renowned culinary regions across Europe ensures beautiful and flavourful ingredients on the plate and in the glass.

Meeting with guests to personalise their experience is a favourite part of the job for Sadok. His approach, first and foremost, is to please. “I want to understand their needs and expectations while helping them build dishes, designs, and themes,” he says of engaging with clients. “We never ask guests to pick this or that item. Instead, we make the process something they’ll remember.”

Aided by a full-time sous chef and chef de partie, Sadok strives to keep the banquet team in high spirits while furthering their knowledge of ingredients, cuisines, and culinary techniques. Banqueting can be intense, he says, noting that onsite events may require up to 40 waiters on the floor, 10 chefs in the kitchen, and any number of organizational personnel, while offsite catering requires consideration of unfamiliar settings. Either way, at the end of the day, his goal is for every member of the team to understand what they’re doing and why things are done certain ways.

Hailing from small lakeside community in Geneva, Sadok was inspired to the kitchen by his mother, who instilled a love of cooking, entertaining, and generosity. “She was never a culinary professional but was always wonderful in the kitchen and at the table,” he recalls. “Whether cooking for our family or for friends and visitors, she always wanted to make people happy.”

After study at a local culinary school, Sadok joined a restaurant at a local five-star hotel as a chef de partie where he broadened his technique working with meat, fish, and many other ingredients. Though the work was enlightening, soon enough he realized he enjoyed the organizational aspects of production and switched his focus to banqueting. “I wanted to learn something new and become comfortable creating big parties and events,” he says, adding with a laugh, “That probably came from my mother, too.”

Sadok initially found his way to Four Seasons as an Extra Chef in banqueting in 2019. He spent a year discovering the finer points of Japanese-Peruvian fusion cuisine at Izumi overlooking the Pont du Mont-Blanc from the rooftop of Hotel des Bergues. Then he returned to banqueting where he rose first to junior sous chef, then to sous chef before being promoted to his current position in 2025.

Having spent his entire life in Geneva, does he ever aspire to take his talents to another destination? “As a father of three, there are some complexities,” he says with another laugh. “That’s a discussion waiting to be had. For now, though, I’m right at home here.”