Gaggan returns to Manila for a one-night only-dinner at Gallery by Chele

When we last went to Gallery by Chele in June, a month after its reopening from its Vask glory, the restaurant was booked for months. Now, following the success of its collaborative dinner project, Serie Kulynaria which began in September, they are bringing acclaimed Indian chef Gaggan Anand for a one-night-only collaboration dinner on Dec. 4 that is sure to send culinary fans into a frenzy.

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Like a rockstar making his encore performance with an intense guitar solo accompanied with a full orchestra and pyrotechnics show, GAGGAN(@gaggan_anand) is returning to our part of town with a surprise collaboration dinner for our next Serie Kulynaria next week! . We’re absolutely thrilled to share the kitchen with one of the best chefs in the world, holding the top spot of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list since 2015 and ranking 5th on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. He’s bringing all things wonderful and an experience nothing short of spectacular for only 8,900 plus Service Charge . It’s time to make those reservations as seats are expected to run out quickly! . Special thanks to our official residence partner @Arugabyrockwell . How’s that for a surprise?

A post shared by Gallery by Chele (@gallerybychele) on Nov 28, 2018 at 1:35am PST

In an Instagram post, the modern restaurant which was relaunched with a focus on local ingredients, announced the return of the mind behind Asia’s best restaurant for four years in a row, Gaggan which is located in Bangkok, Thailand.

Anand, who was born in Kolkata, India and begun his illustrious career in Bangkok at Red, a renowned Indian restaurant before becoming an intern at Ferran Adrià’s elBulli Catalonia, Spain.

He opened Gaggan in 2010, which to this day, remains to be the only Indian restaurant in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. However, this won’t be for long as he plans to close down come 2020 after a decade-long run.

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Anago 🇯🇵 + molé 🇲🇽 + stick rice 🇹🇭 = kebab 🇮🇳 The most confusing dish cross border contamination (@yojitokuyoshi love this word from you) We make borders walls and boundaries hate it when people say they come to Gaggan expecting Indian food or visiting Thailand do eat Thai cuisine only (yes definitely u should ) or I should have sticked to my cuisine of curries and naan bread .. or Gaggan is not Indian enough .. or the WORST comment “I don’t like Indian food but surprisingly I loved GAGGAN” Cooking and food breaks boundaries breaks hates breaks cultural barriers breaks color and creed of people cooking can heal and food is life and all those who think I am wrong then don’t ever put cinnamon in ur coffee don’t put pepper in ur kitchen and ohh please never eat sugar(originated in India too) As they say u can’t please everyone except yourself Btw @rydoanton89 created the dish he is 🇮🇩 @malvaez_mario_ did the mole he is Mexican 🇲🇽 and @polynse made the sticky rice she is 🇹🇭 and @charfung Chinese from Costa Rica 🇨🇷 filleted the fish #gaggan #asias50best #worlds50best #miharatofutenbkk #gaa #wetbkk #suhring #michelinbkk

A post shared by Gaggan (@gaggan_anand) on Oct 15, 2018 at 7:18am PDT

According to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ website, “After the final service, he plans to open a small restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan, with fellow Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants chef Takeshi ‘Goh’ Fukuyama of La Maison de la Nature Goh.”

In 2014, the J. Luis “Chele” Gonzalez-led Vask at the time, invited chef Julieta Caruso, the former head of Mugaritz in Guipúzcoa, Spain for their Kulinarya dinner series, where she cooked using local ingredients they have gathered from the trips around the Visayas region.

Last September, to kickstart Serie Kulynaria, they brought in Hong Kong-based chef Richard Ekkebus of French restaurant Amber. Japanese Kappo-style kitchen, Haku’s Agustin Balbi was the guest chef for a two-night dinner in October, while Jethro Vincent who’s behind Bali’s Bikini restaurant, and Julien Royer of Singapore’s Odette are scheduled for November and December.

Gallery by Chele has already started accepting reservations for their dinner with Gaggan on Dec. 4.

For reservations, contact 0917-5461673 or 218-3895 or email at [email protected]

Featured photos courtesy of Gaggan Facebook page and David Jacobson

Vask reopens as Gallery by Chele and only uses local ingredients

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Writer: CHRISTIAN SAN JOSE