“People visit a restaurant to experience something memorable – a story, a feeling, a connection.” So says two-Michelin-starred Chef Nino Di Costanzo, whose approach to collaboration at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru is grounded in a world of sensorial interaction well before a single bite. On February 13 2025, the renowned Italian chef returns with the visionary creativity of his two-Michelin-star Ischian restaurant, Danì Maison – one of Forbes’s “top ten restaurants not to be missed in the world” – to Landaa’s iconic Blu Beach Club in the Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

Guests can savour Chef Nino’s inimitable gastronomy during two week-long residencies at Blu from February 13 to 19, 2025. Blu’s chefs will then serve a meticulously curated menu conceived by Chef Nino year-round to just two tables of four per evening.

Uniting the island traditions of his native Ischia with those of the Maldives, Chef Nino’s inspiring vision for the new cross-cultural exchange weaves Mediterranean kitchen essences with Landaa garden produce, the chefs of Daní Maison and Blu Beach Club and – in the words of the chef himself – sees “two beautiful nature-led islands coming together via a meeting of diverse culinary traditions grounded in soil, sea and surroundings.”

Chef Nino’s collaboration extends to sharing skills and expertise with the Blu Beach Club culinary team. Four members of the Blu team have already spent time training at Chef Nino’s Danì Maison restaurant.

The key to Chef Nino’s success is his artistry, which shows him envisioning the effect of each dish even before he envisions the food, each ingredient, and process in tune with respect for nature. This approach profoundly resonates with the nature-focused experience at Landaa Giraavaru: a chance to collaborate with guests and the Blu culinary team to bring emotions and amazement to the plate as much as food and flavour.

Chef Nino’s creative process begins six months before his food reaches the plate. Starting with a vision of the emotions he wants to evoke through each dish, the process meticulously develops through every detail, including the selection of plates, many of which the chef has designed, using materials ranging from Venetian glass to Italian ceramic.

Chef Nino applies the same considered rigour to the process of sourcing products. At Blu, he plans to draw from Landaa’s abundant herb and vegetable garden to serve a Mediterranean kitchen. It’s an approach he sees as challenging yet one of “the best parts of the partnership,” inspired by the passion of Landaa’s wider behind-the-scenes team. “The only way to move forward with anything different or out of the box is for the learning to come from both sides and for it to be collaborative,” he adds.

“We are thrilled to partner with one of the world’s greatest chefs at Blu,” comments Landaa Giraavaru’s Regional Vice President and General Manager Armando Kraenzlin. “Collaborating with Chef Nino here at Landaa will not only offer an inspirational culinary experience to guests but expose our onsite team to unique career-advancing insights.”