A run of culinary news out of the Maldives is making the case for booking a trip around the dinner table, not just the beach.
The biggest name on the calendar is Charles Coulombeau, the Michelin-starred French chef behind La Maison dans le Parc in Nancy. He lands at V Villas Maldives at Mirihi – MGallery Collection for a three-day residency from 26 to 28 November 2026. It opens with sunset cocktails and canapés, moves into a fine-dining evening at Muraka, the resort's overwater restaurant, and wraps with a hands-on cooking class. His style blends modern French technique with Japanese influences — expect citrus, seaweed and heavy focus on seasonality.
Not far behind, Sirru Fen Fushi – Private Lagoon Resort is bringing back Tristan Brandt, once Germany's youngest two-Michelin-starred chef, for its festive Sirru Icons Series. He joins Executive Chef Girish Sharma for a six-course four-hands dinner at Azure on 29 December 2026, then a signature four-course dinner at the same overwater venue on 2 January 2027. Reservations go through reservations@sirrufenfushi.com.
If your dates lean festive rather than New Year, THE OZEN COLLECTION has Diwali covered. On 8 November, OZEN LIFE MAADHOO's TRADITION INDOCEYLON restaurant serves an Indian-themed thali with classic sweets, while OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI's SAFFRON runs its Festival of Lights across 8 and 9 November — thalis, a live chaat counter making Dahi Bhalla and Aloo Tikki to order, and live music. Both are folded into the resorts' all-inclusive plans (INDULGENCE™ and RESERVE™ respectively), so no surprise bills.
And for those who'd rather take the flavours home: Gili Lankanfushi has published Plant to Plate, a coffee-table cookbook from Executive Chef Harinath Govindaraj, marking his 20th year on the island. It packs in more than 60 vegan recipes — radish 'scallops', teriyaki tofu steak, caramel pistachio cheesecake — alongside dishes from his South Indian roots. It costs $129, with 25% of profits going to the Cancer Society of Maldives, and is sold via the resort's website or on the island.
Why care? For years the Maldives pitch was basically 'beautiful water, eat at your resort'. That's still largely true — but with visiting Michelin talent, themed festive dining and chefs with genuine international pedigrees, the food is becoming a reason to pick one island over another. If you're choosing between similar-looking overwater villas, a residency like Coulombeau's or Brandt's could be the tiebreaker. Just note the dates run over a year out, so this is advance planning territory rather than a last-minute add-on.
