After nine years as chef de cuisine at Le Normandie, the French fine dining powerhouse at the Mandarin Oriental, Arnaud Dunand has departed from his position and is gearing up to open up his first and most personal restaurant, Maison Dunand.

 

Open for business since 1958, Le Normandie soared into every top-tier foodie conversation under Dunand. Adding legitimacy to what diners already knew, the restaurant won two Michelin stars under his direction and has retained them since 2017.

 

Before landing in Bangkok, the chef, who hails from the French Alps near the Savoie region, spent 15 years working across France for renowned chefs such as Georges Blanc at his eponymous restaurant in Vonnas, Marc Veyrat at L’Auberge de L’Eridan, and Jean-Francois Piege at Les Ambassadeurs in Paris.

 

His fine dining passion project will open in the Sathorn area and pay homage to his upbringing in the Alps with an intimate, elegant setting featuring natural materials, warm colors, and textures of wood and stone. 

 

As for the food, Dunand is throwing out the playbook and will be showcasing personal touches using a wide range of ingredients—some local, some imported—in an ever-evolving menu. 

 

Although Maison Dunand isn’t set to open its doors until the spring of 2022, diners will be able to get a sneak peek this October, when Dunand and his team will take over the light-dappled top floor of Gaggan Anand for three months.

 

Here, they will be presenting various set menus as an introduction for what’s to come. You can be assured that Dunand’s signature dish—Oscietra caviar with sea urchin and potato, an elegant soup of rich and salty seafood—will make an appearance. 

 

The pop-up, starting Oct 8, will be available for lunch and dinner. At lunch, choose from four courses (B2,200) or five (B3,600), and at dinner, six courses (B4,600) or nine (B6,900). 

 

While the menu is set to change frequently, you can expect exceptional dishes like crab with horseradish and mandarin orange, kinmedai (splendid alfonsino fish) with mussels and artichokes, lobster bisque, suckling pig with juniper and pumpkin, and monkfish with ankimo (monkfish liver pate) and porcini mushrooms.