The Chef Leaves the Kitchen

On Platte Island, Christoph Kunz’s residency puts time on the water alongside time at the table.

A restaurant can be a way into a place. So can a fishing trip. Put them within the same visit and a different kind of itinerary becomes possible, one that gives the hours away from the table as much interest as the meal itself.

Christoph Kunz’s October 17–21 residency at Moulin, on Platte Island in the Seychelles, offers that proposition. Hilton confirms the dates and dining programme; October 16 coverage by Wild Bay Co describes a fishing trip alongside a cooking masterclass. The connection to the water sits within the announced experience rather than a documented account of what anyone caught.

For us, the detail worth following is the change of setting. A visiting chef is usually encountered through a menu. Taking the programme beyond the restaurant creates the possibility of conversation under different circumstances, with the surroundings becoming part of what guests notice and discuss.

Moulin already has a tangible relationship with its immediate setting. The restaurant sits within a vegetable and herb garden, with seasonal produce incorporated into its cooking when available. That proximity gives a visitor something concrete to look at: growing, preparing and eating occupy neighbouring spaces.

Adding time on the water widens the frame. The interesting question is how an itinerary encourages attention. What becomes visible when a guest spends part of the day outdoors before returning to a dining room? How might a conversation change when it begins away from a formally set table?

Those questions do not require a claim that fishing supplies the evening’s menu. The published programme establishes a shared context, while the precise relationship between catch and kitchen remains unspecified. It is enough to consider how the two activities ask people to attend to place, conditions and the passage of a day.

There is a broader hospitality idea here. A memorable visit can be shaped by its sequence: the movement between spaces, the opportunities to ask questions and the experiences that give a meal something to refer back to. A chef’s presence can extend across that sequence without turning every moment into a demonstration.

Kunz’s residency puts that possibility into a specific island setting. The appeal lies in looking beyond the finished dish towards the circumstances around it. A table remains the destination, but the route there becomes part of the story, with time on the water offering another perspective on where the visit has taken place.