George Newling-Ward – Executive Sous Chef, Impiana Resort Patong

Executive Sous Chef George Newling-Ward is originally from Devon, a county on the south-west coast of England. He’s now with the Impiana Resort in Patong so what better time than now to get to know this talented chef and see what he brings to Phuket?

Chef George’s background is in the hospitality and hotel industry; he studied culinary art inthe Caribbean and the USA, earning a degree from New England Culinary Institute then did an apprenticeship at a Caribbean Resort before completing an internship at the Savoy Hotel London. Then he moved back to the Caribbean for five years in a French bistro before moving back to the hotel industry.

Chef George came to Thailand about five years ago and has been with the Impiana for two years now. He talks about his inspiration to become a chef. “I think it comes from living in the Caribbean. I moved to the Caribbean at a very young age. It’s a region where many different cultures are formed together and in coming together they also bring their food. So I’ve had exposure to many different types of food; Indian, Chinese, American, Latin American and more. It all comestogether and brings people together also. So Ithink the most inspiration for me is to createsomething that brings people together soeverybody can enjoy it.”

Today’s menu
“The menu I prepared for you today is one of our upcoming dishes. It’s Nicoise salad and Phuket lobster. The inspiration comes from my background of French Colonial cuisine and the locality as we’re here in Phuket. I try to use local seafood combined with the most traditional salads.”

About Impiana Resort Patong’s restaurants
“We have four restaurants. Sala Bua is our main restaurant serving all-day dining which includesbreakfast, lunch, dinner and room service. We alsohave The Bistro located on the roadside servingwhat is Italian mama-style cuisine and wood-firestyle pizza. 3 Spices is a Thai Asian restaurant at which we’re presently launching new menus. We’re trying to introduce more of local Phuket-style food which is getting a little bit hard to find, especially in Patong. The last of our restaurants is Beach Bar where you can enjoy snacks, sandwiches, cocktails, or anything you’d like to have while you sit by the beach.”