di Mare Restaurant

The cuisine concept at di Mare Restaurant is the brainchild of Raymond Saja, who joins Karma Jimbaran from Hotel Plaza Athénée in New York City where he led the culinary team for the last four years.

Central to Saja's cuisine is his belief in maintaining purity and freshness through the use of the finest season-driven local ingredients, interspersed with foods and flavours from around the globe. The Mediterranean menu that he has conceived for di Mare reflects this principle, and includes a modern interpretation of a number of classical dishes alongside a selection of "new age" ideas.

The use of fresh, Balinese produce enhanced with Mediterranean flavours is evident in the creation of dishes such as "Jimbaran Bay Red Snapper "Escabeche"- Preserved Lemon, Cured Tomatoes, Parsley and Basil Coulis" and "Cumin-braised Grouper - Herb Crust, Roasted Eggplant-potato puree, ligurian olive sauce, chorizo oil".

The heart of Saja's cuisine is European in taste, illustrated by dishes such as "Goat Cheese Agnolotti - Artichokes, Tomato Fondue, Herb Oil, Root Vegetable Bouillon" whilst time spent in South East Asia and India is portrayed by dishes such as "Citrus-Cured Salmon - Jicama Soy and Orange Cool Herb Broth".

Situated alongside the azure lap pool at the heart of the new villa resort of Karma Jimbaran, di Mare Restaurant is likely to prove a welcome addition to the Jimbaran restaurant scene, currently dominated by the beachfront seafood warung and restaurants of the Four Seasons & Intercontinental hotels.

Raymond Saja, who at the age of 33 has become one of the world's most up and coming Chefs, is delighted to be taking on the challenge of bringing a new style of cuisine to the area.

During his four-year tenure at the Hotel Plaza Athénée, both Raymond's talent and vision have been recognised by The New York Times, New York Post, and New York Magazine. Most recently, the Conde Nast Gold List Top 100 rated Arabelle as one of the top 3 Hotel Restaurants in New York City.

Initially, he joined Plaza Athénée as the Executive Chef of the award-winning Le Regence, and in 2001 was given the opportunity to re-launch the hotel's contemporary restaurant Arabelle. Prior to Raymond's appointment at the Hotel Plaza Athénée, he gained experience at Restaurant C.T., where he worked under the direction of Claude Troisgros and Laurent Tourondel. He also spent four years at Petrossian under the guidance of Joseph Pace (formerly of Bouley). Most recently, he spent three months at restaurant Jean-Georges.