A TOUCH OF ROYALTY

We journey to Oman for an evening of decadence and enjoy a Middle Eastern twist on the wedding menu of a much-loved royal duo.

- Glesni Holland

On 19 May 2018, the world watched on as we witnessed the stunning wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. It was a beautiful British summers day; the sun was shining, the celebrity guests turned up in their masses and the happy couple looked every-inch in love.

There was that dress – designed by British designer Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy, that ring – custom made using one diamond sourced from Botswana and two smaller stones from Princess Diana’s collection, and then – though we didn’t get a glimpse ourselves as onlookers on the day – there was that wedding menu.

Compiled of nine-courses and required to feed 650 guests, curating this special menu was no small task for the 24 chefs assigned to work on the project brief. Among them was chef Nikolaos Koulousias; a German-born chef with Greek parents, who established his love for cooking at a young age when creating dishes from his heritage alongside his Grandmother in Greece.

During a recent visit to the Gulf, chef Niko recreated the royal menu at the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar with a Middle Eastern twist, for an exclusive Royal Affairs event for staying guests and media.

“It was spring 2018, and I had just finished part of my scholarship and taken up some consultancy work in the U.K. when I was asked if I’d be interested in joining the team to create the wedding menu,” he says. In no time at all, (April 2018, to be precise – just over one month before the wedding date) he began work with the team on prepping the menu and dishes.