Gilles Arzur
Executive Chef
Four Seasons Tenure
- Since 2008
- First Four Seasons Assignment: Executive Chef, Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora
Employment History
- Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach; Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel; Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora; Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile; Sofitel Montreal; Hotel Sofitel Los Angeles; Hotel Restaurant La Gerbe de Blé, Chevilly, France; Sofitel Moscow; Sofitel San Francisco; Sofitel Bucharest; Restaurant Paul Bocuse, Lyon, France; Restaurant Le Goyen, Audierne, France; Restaurant L’Auberge du Kruguel, France Water Tower
Education
- Maître Cuisiniers de France, Brevet de Maitrise, France; Hotel Business School, Bonne Nouvelle, Brest, France.
Birthplace
- Brest, France
Languages Spoken
- French, English, Spanish
“I’ve always lived close to the sea, although my home town in Brittany is a far cry from the views I enjoy every day here in Mauritius!” In his fourth Executive Chef position with Four Seasons, Gilles Arzur continues on his global discovery of new flavours and cultures. Beginning in Bora Bora and travelling on to Dubai, via five years at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, Arzur arrived to the island known as the Star of the Indian Ocean in October 2021.
Landing in Mauritius just prior to the Resort’s reopening, following a number of significant restaurant and bar renovations, Arzur dove straight in to the hustle of the island kitchens, busily setting to work on finalising new menus and supporting the team on the operational re-launch. “It was such an exciting time to arrive. After an enforced extended closure due to the pandemic, and then the renovation, the Resort had been closed for a total of 18 months. To say the team and I were enthusiastic about reopening would be no small understatement.”
Trained as both a classical chef – originally under Paul Bocuse in Lyon and with a period under Alain Ducasse in Paris – and a pastry chef, Arzur has held tenures in multiple Michelin star restaurants in France before embarking on an international career in both Europe and North America that led to him joining Four Seasons. “My family are part sailors, part fishermen and part butchers, so both the ocean and food preparation has always been a key part of my life. This raw connection to the food sourcing is probably why I am such a fan of bold, authentic flavours. I believe cooking is about enhancing the best of the ingredients you have and pairing them in a way that complements each other, but without detracting from each individual component.”
In addition to his passion for the preparation of cuisine, Arzur is also famous for his committed approach to service delivery in the front of house, which is an outlook that could not be better to suited than to an island renowned for its warmth of welcome and attentive care. “The dining experience begins at the entry to the restaurant, the meal itself is a continuation of this. Every interaction with our guests, whether this is through conversation or cuisine, contributes to defining the character and atmosphere of the experience, which we hope will be truly unforgettable.”
