A Legends’ Dinner at Botanica Marks a New Chapter for Taste El Gouna

The light settled over Botanica - the Middle East’s pioneering hydroponic restaurant - as guests arrived. The restaurant’s clean lines reflecting El Gouna’s long-standing instinct for order and sustainability. There was a sense of calibration rather than ceremony — a quiet acknowledgement that this dinner, led by culinary legends cooking in Egypt for the first time, would help articulate the rhythm and values behind 35 Flavors of El Gouna. 35 Flavors sits at the heart of the Taste El Gouna platform, shaping its culinary expression through chef collaborations, technical workshops, and dinners grounded in the town’s sustainability-first approach.

The evening opened with a standing welcome aperitif. Turki Bin Hallabi, Tamara Rigo, Ariel Hagen, and Sara Aqel — the rising chefs within the programme — presented small, focused bites built on Egyptian ingredients. Turki served labneh with crisp bread; Tamara transformed baladi bread remnants into cups filled with a roumy cheese paste, seasoned with cumin from the Dolomites and pomegranate molasses; Ariel prepared a chicken liver bite shaped by his precise, minimal style; and Sara offered sardines with molokhiya, connecting Mediterranean and Levantine profiles through local produce.

Once everyone settled, the dinner began.

Chef Norbert Niederkofler, a key partner behind the 35 Flavors of El Gouna culinary showcase, opened with a Red Sea groupercourse. The dish reflected the principles that shape his work at Atelier Moessmer — a clear structure, sustainable techniques, and an emphasis on ingredient integrity.

Daniel Hadida and Eric Robertson followed with a hen consommé served with sourdough pasta. The dish reflected their methodical approach: defined lines, controlled flavour, and a reliance on the natural depth of the ingredients rather than additional embellishment.

The third course came from Himanshu Saini, who served duck leg with a light curry. The plate applied his detail-oriented style to local ingredients, balancing richness and warmth without overstating either element.
The fourth course was prepared by Fabrizio Mellino, who presented a lamb Neapolitan ragu.

The dish reflected his Mediterranean discipline and generational training, integrating Egyptian flavours into a familiar structure with measured clarity.

Dessert returned to Norbert, who closed the meal with a lemon brioche. The dish carried the same disciplined logic as his opening course, concluding the dinner with a focused, clean expression of flavour.
What linked the evening was the continuum between the rising chefs and the established ones. From the cocktail hour to the final plate, the dinner functioned as a shared space.

Chefs moved between the kitchen and the dining room, speaking with guests, answering questions, and maintaining a steady, open rhythm throughout the night.

By the end of the evening, the flagship dinner — part of 35 Flavors of El Gouna, held in partnership with Atelier Norbert Niederkofler Temporary — read as an extension of Taste El Gouna’s cultural architecture: Egyptian ingredients handled with precision, sustainability embedded as practice, and chefs from different generations working within the same framework. Guests stayed long after the final course, noting the details of each dish and the coherence of the evening’s progression.

The night ended with an afterparty marking the launch of La Maison Bleue Residences (LMBR) — a continuation of the same communal atmosphere that shaped the dinner, extending the gathering beyond the table and into El Gouna’s broader cultural landscape.