The Anantara Veli resort hosts chefs Alena Solodovichenko and Cristina Bowerman in the Maldives

Anantara Veli Maldives Resort is closing its guest chef season with two dinners: Alena Solodovichenko on 22 October, then Cristina Bowerman, Michelin-starred in Rome, on 5 November 2026. Announced on 9 October by Ventive Hospitality, the resort’s owner, this final leg wraps up the fourth edition of the Around the World Michelin Star Guest Chef Series, with an all-female line-up this year.

☰Contents

1. An all-female season since January
2. Alena Solodovichenko, from Kyiv to the Maldives
3. 5 November: Glass Hostaria lands on the island
4. Why is sustainability shaping the menu?
5. Dining, 40% of international revenue
6. 67 adults-only villas in South Malé Atoll

An all-female season since January

The series is now in its fourth year. In March, a press release from Minor Hotels, Anantara’s parent company, announced an entirely female programme: Caterina Ceraudo and her Calabrian cooking in January, Gabriela Chamorro from Dubai in February, followed by Kelly Rangama, Emily Roux (Caractère, London), Nao Motohashi (Restaurant JULIA), Iris Jordan Martin (Ansils, Aragon) and Ash Valenzuela-Heeger (Riverine Rabbit, Birmingham). “Kitchens are still a male-dominated world,” said Francis Purification, the resort’s culinary director, at the time, promising each residency collaborative dinners with his team, cooking classes and a long-table dinner.

In September, Niyati Rao, co-founder of Ekaa in Mumbai, closed the third-quarter chapter, bringing an Indian perspective to the series. Ventive presents this end of season as a three-month programme leading into the Maldives’ high season.

Alena Solodovichenko, from Kyiv to the Maldives

Alena Solodovichenko, whom the resort’s website calls Chef Alena Solod, began her career in family kitchens in Kyiv before moving on to international restaurants. Her residency at Anantara Veli blends her Ukrainian roots with contemporary European technique: a cooking class on Wednesday 21 October, followed by dinner on Thursday 22 October 2026, built around European flavours.

5 November: Glass Hostaria lands on the island

The finale goes to Cristina Bowerman, chef at Glass Hostaria, a Trastevere restaurant awarded one star by the Michelin Guide. Her contemporary Italian cooking draws on influences from her travels, and sustainability sits at the heart of her approach. She will teach her class on Wednesday 4 November and cook the closing dinner on Thursday 5 November 2026. Kishore Bandaru, the resort’s junior sommelier, pairs the wines for each menu.

Why is sustainability shaping the menu?

Since 2025, the series has asked chefs for a sustainable gesture: vegetables from the island’s Chef’s Garden, the catch of the day or a zero-waste menu. This year again, the guest chefs are encouraged to work with seasonal produce and responsible sourcing, a real challenge in an archipelago where most ingredients are imported, as the culinary director acknowledged in 2025.

Dining, 40% of international revenue

For Ventive Hospitality, a company listed on the Indian stock market, the reasoning is also financial. “The Maldives are an important part of our international portfolio, with five resorts and 515 keys,” says its chief executive, Ranjit Batra. He points out that food and beverage accounted for 40% of international hotel revenue in the first quarter of the 2027 financial year, from April to June 2026: reason enough to take great care over the culinary programme.

67 adults-only villas in South Malé Atoll

Anantara Veli has 67 villas over the water, facing the ocean or on the beach, and welcomes adults only. For dining, the island offers Origami (Japanese cuisine and teppanyaki), Cumin (Indian Ocean spices), Baan Huraa (Thai, over the reef), the Dhoni Bar and private dinners on the beach; guests also have access to the restaurants and spa of neighbouring Anantara Dhigu, a minute away by pontoon boat. In the same atoll, see also the switch to all-inclusive at Kandooma Maldives; elsewhere in the archipelago, the reopening of Constance Halaveli and the future Amanolu, the first Aman in the Maldives.