Chef William Girard

A connoisseur’s best friend, Chef William Girard brings a blend of contemporary French cuisine with fresh and subtle local flavours for a gourmet holiday in Mauritius.

Hailing from the French Basque Country and trained at the Biarritz Hotel School, this renowned chef has 25 years of restaurant industry experience. He has had the opportunity to showcase his skills in some of the world’s most prestigious hotels and fine dining restaurants prior to landing his role as Executive Chef at Royal Palm Beachcomber Luxury in Mauritius.

Chef William Girard has worked at Le Barthelemy Hotel in Saint Barthelemy, Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg in France, Burj Al Arab in Dubai and Sofitel Bangkok Silom in Thailand. He has past experience with Chef Alain Solivérès at Michelin-starred restaurants such as Le Taillevent and L’Elysée in Paris. He has also spent years alongside leading names in French cuisine like Yannick Alléno and Guy Martin, and has assisted them in the opening and pre-opening of a number of renowned hotels.

A winner of the International Accor Cooking Contest in 2000, he continues in the steps of famous names in international gastronomy such as Michel de Matteis. Leading a very talented and experienced brigade of chefs, William Girard tantalises the taste buds of visitors on holiday at Royal Palm Beachcomber Luxury every day with culinary signatures that treat them to a feast of tastes, textures and flavours.

His extraordinary passion and experience of food and lifestyle are reflected in the wide range of options and sunny holiday flavours of the hotel’s gourmet restaurants. He has created an array of recipes that embody the timeless elegance, excellence and refinement of Royal Palm Beachcomber Luxury. They are inspired by his imagination, highlighting the diversity and wealth of local produce such as lobster, freshwater camaron prawns and fish from the Indian Ocean.

Royal Palm Beachcomber’s Executive Chef serves delicious dishes based on specialties of Mauritius like a Lamb fillet with black garlic crust, green zucchini with ginger and a curry leaf gravy; a Steamed toothfish with seaweed butter, shellfish, crispy palm heart and a salsa verde sauce; Faye Faye crab meat and a ginger vegetable stir-fry with sweet and sour daikon radish; and a Ballottine of duck foie gras and passion fruit jelly infused with Café de Chamarel.

The French Chef draws on his extensive background to carry on a tradition of culinary excellence that has established Royal Palm Beachcomber Luxury as an iconic hotel in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean.