British Michelin-starred chef John Burton-Race is joining forces with Paradise Vietnam to host eight-course feasts in Vietnam’s two biggest cities and at its most famed natural attraction.

The dinners will be held at Hanoi’s Home Moc Restaurant, on Paradise Elegance in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay, and at Home Finest Saigon, deemed Ho Chi Minh City’s number one restaurant on TripAdvisor, on April 26, May 3, and May 10, respectively.

Chef Burton-Race and Home Restaurants’ executive chef Nguyen Gia Thien will each heat up a frying pan at Home Moc to prepare four dishes, paired with wines from French winery E.Guigal selected by Celliers. In an East meets West culinary experience, Chef Burton Race’s European concoctions will include rock lobster tail with cauliflower panna cotta, brown butter, rum, and raisin, while smoked “H’Mong” chicken with green tea leaf, crispy green sticky rice and black mushroom jus will be among Chef Thien’s Vietnamese creations.

As part of a special two-day, one-night cruise on Paradise Elegance on May 3 and 4, Chef Burton-Race will craft the entire eight-course menu complemented by wines from Chilean winery Concha Y Toro and followed by live music, cognac, wine, and whisky in the ship’s piano lounge. Highlights of the dinner range from gnocchi with creamy herb sauce, shavings of parmesan and truffle, to rack of lamb with lamb shank tortellini, lettuce, morels and mustard seeds. A seafood lunch buffet and pre-dinner cocktails at Cua Van floating village will also be served as part of the cruise, dubbed “Haute Cuisine on the High Sea - Chapter 2.”

Chef Burton-Race will then team up with Vietnamese celebrity Iron Chef Nguyen Thanh Tung at Home Finest Saigon, where each will prepare four European and Vietnamese dishes, including duck breast honey, citrus, fennel puree and lychee, and braised crab claw and Mekong Delta rice noodle soup in coconut, paired with wines from Italy’s Banfi winery.

“When I created the menu for President Cruises that debuted November last year on Ha Long Bay and trained their chefs and food and beverage staff, I was so struck by the country’s natural beauty, people and energy that I vowed to return and soon,” said Chef Burton-Race. “It’ll be incredible to return, working with some of the country’s most talented local chefs and peppering the fine dining scene with a distinct European flavor.”

In 2000, Chef Burton-Race took over the Landmark London hotel. After notching up two Michelin stars at the Landmark, he then opened the New Angel restaurant and hotel in Devon, which was awarded a Michelin star in 2005.

Acclaimed for his modern take on British cuisine, Chef Burton-Race has starred in an array of popular TV shows, including French Leave, Return of the Chef, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, and the BBC’s Great British Menu and Kitchen Criminals.