1. INTERVIEW
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How long have you been working as
a chef?
I have been working as a chef for
15 years.
How are your experience so far?
My experience so far has been fantastic
as a Chef. I am able to learn new
things everyday – Food is like fashion.
Therefore, it is always changing and
there is always something new to
explore and discover.
How does your family influence your
career?
Greatly. I am a Fourth Generation Chef
so cooking and hotels are in my blood.
With great guidance from my father and
grandfather towards my earlier career, I
have been able to build a solid culinary
foundation that I build on every day.
What is your style of cooking?
I have been trained in the classic
European and French styles so this is
what I know to do. However, in the
last few years, I have started to explore
Asian cuisine, especially, the food from
my Homeland Goa in India.
What can you bring more in terms of
creativity to the cuisine of Pullman?
I love to travel and have been to most
of the surrounding countries in Vietnam
so I am always picking up ideas and
tastes I find on my travels and bring that
back to Pullman Vung Tau, where I can
showcase these international flavors to
my guests at Pullman Vung Tau.
What is your signature dish, and why?
I would not say I have a signature dish,
as I described food is like fashion so the
dishes that I used to cook in my teens
and early twenties are no longer what
I do now in my mid-thirties. Therefore,
it is hard to narrow down one dish that
can sum up my 15 years of professional
cooking career.
Are you happy in Vietnam, about all the
ingredients you can find?
Yes, Vietnam is a great country to
find fresh and seasonally produce.
The Vietnamese people themselves
are almost fanatical about souring the
freshest produce that is season at that
moment. I always see this when I am
down at the markets how passionate the
shoppers are about choosing the best
produce from the sellers.
Are you familiar with Vietnamese
cuisine?
Yes, I have learnt in my 18 months in
Vietnam that this is a country that is
divided by North and South Cuisine,
and with the Middle part of the country,
which has the more traditional royal
cuisine of Vietnam.
Does the Vietnamese cuisine inspire you?
Yes for sure I think their cooking
methods of Vietnamese Cuisine is one
of the greatest ways of showcasing
the really fresh ingredients in modern
times where people have more health
conscience towards its great cuisine
“With a 15- year experience as a chef,
Desmond Carneiro has spent the incredible
18 months working in Vietnam to reflect his
burning desire for the art of culinary”.
Interview by Henri Hubert

2. INTERVIEW
because it depends a lot on fresh herbs
and broths.
What inspires you most, in cooking and
creating?
The one thing that inspires me the most
about cooking is the mix of flavors and
slow cooking where flavors take hours,
and sometimes, even days to evolve and
develop.
Since you are in Vietnam, what are the
new things that you learn and have to
incorporate with in your kitchen?
I think the number one ingredient I have
learnt to use and incorporate into my
kitchens is fish sauce, which is one of
the most vital ingredients in Vietnamese
cooking and I have also discovered that
there is no generic fish sauce, that are
vastly varied in flavor.
From your native country, India, what
do you like in terms of cuisine?
In India, the thing I like most in terms
of cuisine is the variety. India is such
a diverse country. To every 100
kilometers, the language changes,
the religion changes, and as a result,
the food totally changes. I could spend
10 years exploring India and still only
brushed the surface of the diversity
of India.
Can you briefly explain the vision
behind the food and the menu of
Pullman?
The vision of the food is Pullman Vung
Tau is in line with what Pullman brand
is all about by welcome our guests as
“Global Nomads”, and we believe
that our world is our playground.
Therefore, the vision on the food is very
similar to this. Whereby I bring food
from all parts of the world, but it is fun
and no prentice.
How many restaurants are there in
Pullman Vung tau?
Currently we have two food outlets at
the hotel with Rivera Restaurant are
primary dinning venue, but we also
have Corniche Ultra Lounge where we
showcases small tasting plates of food
along with a very well stocked wine
cellar.
Do you think that this environment is
good enough to continue advancing
your potential?
Yes, for sure, Pullman Vung Tau is just
over an hour drive from HCMC and we
have the best seafood in Vietnam at our
doorsteps, plus we are also the only
international five-star hotel currently in
the city, so we have the ability to deliver
to our guest something quite unique and
memorable for them when they visit us.
What are your ambitions for Pullman
restaurant in the future?
To constantly keep changing and
evolving to make the Riviera Restaurant
become an iconic culinary destination in
Southern Vietnam.
Greatly, I am a
Fourth Generation Chef,
so Cooking and Hotels
are in my Blood.