Michael Ellis

Chief Culinary Officer – Jumeirah Group

Michael Ellis joined Jumeirah Group as Chief Culinary Officer in 2018. Michael oversees the F&B operations at all Jumeirah hotels and resorts and leads the culinary teams across the entire range of restaurants and dining outlets, from signature and fine dining to family and more casual dining experiences.

Michael joined Jumeirah from Michelin Restaurant and Hotel Guides where he was Global Director for Europe, Asia and the Americas. Michael has a long international and distinguished career in culinary as well as a deep passion for food and the dining experience. He has spent his lifetime championing amazing food with absolute dedication, his knowledge is unparalleled and he is a true gastronomic encyclopedia.

An advocate for the restaurant industry and an American native with a global workplace, Michael has an unmatched understanding of destination restaurants. Michael’s role is to focus on developing new restaurant concepts, attracting and upskilling culinary talent, and enhancing existing restaurants to industry-leading levels.

The appointment of Michael as Jumeirah’s Chief Culinary Officer was an important milestone in José Silva’s strategy to refresh and elevate Jumeirah’s restaurant offerings throughout its luxury portfolio, and a first step in delivering his vision to put dining as a core pillar of the Jumeirah experience, and its strongest market differentiator.

Michael has an MBA from INSEAD in France.

Chef Marco Garfagnini

Executive Chef – Jumeirah Al Naseem and Head Chef of Sal

Chef Marco Garfagnini joined Jumeirah in July 2018 as Executive Chef – Jumeirah Al Naseem. Today, as Jumeirah continues its drive to elevate its restaurant experiences worldwide, Chef Marco leads the Al Naseem culinary team and has taken a new responsibility as the Head Chef of SAL – a striking new destination at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah serving sea-inspired Southern European dishes. Chef Marco works closely with Michael Ellis, Chief Culinary Officer, and José Silva, CEO, to support the Group’s restaurant and dining development across the portfolio.

Chef Marco Garfagnini was born in Tuscany. An Italian who was destined to cook, he cultivated his passion for cooking in his family kitchen in Carrara before then continuing his skill abroad; in Paris, London, and New York. Bringing decades of experience in the world’s top kitchens to Jumeirah, Chef Marco’s passion lies in the art of creating great dining experiences that offer simple, harmonious cuisines - cooking from the heart.

Under his leadership in Jumeirah, he helped drive the successful Jumeirah Beach Hotel relaunch opening. In this role as the Executive Chef for Jumeirah Al Naseem, he leads a team of +150 chefs and stewards and is responsible for seven restaurants – The Palmery, Rockfish, Summersalt, Kalsa, Ambar, Al Mandhar, and Sugarmash. He also manages the banquet operations and private dining. His priority is to create unique offerings, making Jumeirah Al Naseem not only the place to stay but also a leading hotel in its culinary offerings.

Prior to his time in Jumeirah, Chef Marco had a remarkable journey, full of prestigious accolades in the culinary world. In 1999, at an age of just 25, he opened his own restaurant Ristorante Ninan is Carrara, and was awarded his first Michelin star 1999. In 2011, Chef Marco led the way for ll Lago at Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva to receive its first Michelin star. And in 2015, he was the Corporate Executive Chef at Chateau de Noirieux Relais & Chateaux in Briollay, France and was awarded the first Michelin star for the hotel. In 2016, before taking his role with Jumeirah, Chef Marco joined Pierre Gagnaire as Executive Chef de Cuisine for all his restaurants, including the iconic Courchevel property, Les Airelles. His restaurants were recognised by Michelin Guide with two stars.

Chef Marco was also named Young Italian Chef of the Year by renowned Italian Gambero Rosso guide. And was recognised a finalist for the Best Chef in Italy award.

Chef Kim Joinié-Maurin

Executive Chef – Al Mahara Restaurant

• French-Australian born on November 7, 1982 in Yan Joo-kun, South Korea (He was adopted from birth.)
• His father was the late Monsieur Jéan-Noel JoiniéMaurin, a lawyer, and his mother is Madame Jean Mary Joinié-Maurin.
• He spent his childhood in the beautiful Bosdarros, Aquitaine, France.
• His hobbies were reading, playing piano, tennis and swimming.
• Apart from their love of nature and mountain climbing, his family loved to travel around the world which had exposed his palate into different cuisines at a very young age.
• He became very interested in baking and cooking at the age of 7, mainly influenced by her grandmother.
• He studied in Pau and later on he went to École Hôtelière et de Tourisme Paul Augier in Nice and École Supérieure de Cuisine Française (ESCF) Ferrandi in Paris where he pursued his career in culinary.
• His first training was under the supervision of Chef Jean Sabine at the Ministère française des affaires étrangères in Paris.
• His had his internship at Café de Paris as a Commis I and had his front of the house training as the Hotel and Beverage Director Assistant at Mercure Hotel in Orly.
• He took further internships at Au Crocodile, a 3-Michelin starred restaurant in Strasbourg as Commis I under the owner Chef Jung and his head chef, Mr. Huguet.
• He had his last internship as Commis I under another 3-Michelin starred Chef Alain Passard at his L’Arpège restaurant in Paris, France.
• After completion of studies and internships, he immediately received a job offer to join Restaurant de Jöel Robuchon (3 Michelin stars) in Las Vegas Nevada as a Commis I in January 2007 and was promoted to Sous Chef until January 2011 where he was assigned to be a part of the opening team of the Restaurant de Jöel Robuchon in Singapore and became its Sous Chef.
• Chef Jöel Robuchon himself announced and appointed Chef Kim as its Chef De Cuisine in 2017 until its very unexpected closure in 2018. The restaurant has remained the one and only 3-Michelin starred restaurant since the arrival of Michelin Guide in Singapore until its closure.
• Bringing with him his diverse culinary background, Chef Kim Joinié-Maurin joined Burj Al Arab in January 2019 as the Executive Chef of Scape restaurant. Four months later he was designated as one of the Executive Sous Chefs of the hotel and in August 2019 he became the Executive Chef of Al Mahara restaurant.
• His mantra as a chef have always been “Never serve a dish that you will not be happy to serve to your family.”