Nikkei nights, steak & wine and seafood dining lead Kuda Villingili festive season
Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives will put gastronomy and wine at the centre of its 2026–2027 festive celebrations, with Nikkei dining, seafood dinners, barbecue evenings, wine pairings and Indian and Arabian flavours forming part of its “Season of Light” programme.
Running from 23 December 2026 to 7 January 2027, the festive calendar will draw on the resort’s eight restaurants and established wine programme, alongside Christmas and New Year gala dinners.
Among the culinary highlights will be Nikkei Nights at Mar-Umi, combining Japanese and Peruvian influences, as well as Steak & Wine Night, barbecue evenings and the more intimate WINE-DOWN Wednesday seafood dinner.
At Spice, guests will be able to explore A Journey Through India & Arabia, bringing together culinary traditions from two regions that have long influenced food culture across the Indian Ocean.
The programme follows a year in which Kuda Villingili was named Best Gastronomic Retreat in the Maldives at the Global Destination Awards 2026. Mar-Umi also received a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for the third consecutive year.
For chefs and F&B professionals, the range of experiences demonstrates the different service formats expected from a contemporary resort culinary team — from seafood and steak-led dinners to Nikkei cuisine, themed regional menus and large festive galas.
Nikkei and wine at Mar-Umi
Mar-Umi will be one of the main culinary venues during the festive period through its Nikkei Nights.
Nikkei cuisine brings together Japanese techniques and ingredients with Peruvian flavours, requiring chefs to balance precision with stronger elements such as citrus, chilli and aromatic sauces.
Seafood often plays an important role in this style of cooking, making freshness, knife work and careful seasoning particularly important.
The restaurant’s recognised wine programme adds another dimension, with pairings giving the culinary and beverage teams an opportunity to work together around flavour, acidity, body and texture.
The resort will also host Steak & Wine Night, where the relationship between cooking technique and wine selection comes into sharper focus. The cut of meat, degree of doneness, sauce and level of richness can all influence the style of wine best suited to the dish.
Seafood and global flavours
The festive programme will include WINE-DOWN Wednesday, an intimate seafood dinner shaped around food and wine pairing.
For seafood menus, preparation method is as important as the ingredient itself. Raw, grilled, roasted or butter-rich preparations can each call for different wine styles, making collaboration between chef and sommelier essential.
At Spice, A Journey Through India & Arabia will broaden the programme through dishes influenced by two diverse culinary regions.
The format provides opportunities for chefs to work with spices, marinades, grilled meats, rice preparations and aromatic sauces while showing how regional cuisines can sit within a wider resort dining portfolio.
Barbecue evenings will add a more informal format, with live-fire cooking and outdoor service placing emphasis on mise en place, temperature control and timing.
Christmas and New Year gala dining
The main festive celebrations begin on 23 December with the Tree Lighting Ceremony and Festive Carols.
On Christmas Eve, guests will gather for sunset cocktails at Raalhu Bar before moving to a Christmas Eve Gala Dinner at The Restaurant, accompanied by live entertainment.
For the kitchen brigade, gala dining requires coordination across hot kitchen, cold kitchen, pastry and bakery, alongside stewarding and front-of-house teams.
Large-scale festive services also demand careful planning around sourcing and production, particularly in an island environment where speciality ingredients need to be ordered well in advance.
New Year’s Eve will follow a similar progression, beginning with cocktails and live music at Hawkers before the Season of Light New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner at The Restaurant.
The following morning, the culinary programme continues with First Light Breakfast, accompanied by sparkling wine as guests welcome 2027.
That quick transition from late-night gala service to New Year’s Day breakfast is a familiar operational challenge for resort culinary teams, requiring careful staffing and advance preparation.
Culinary workshops for younger guests
Food will also feature within the programme at Kuda Fiyo Kids Club, where younger guests can take part in culinary workshops alongside arts, crafts and other activities.
Such sessions give chefs and pastry teams an opportunity to introduce children to food preparation in a simple, interactive setting.
For culinary professionals, teaching young guests requires a different skill set from restaurant service. Techniques need to be made approachable, while ingredients, workspaces and allergen considerations must be carefully managed.
Gastronomy as part of the festive identity
“Season of Light is ultimately about giving our guests time to be together and the freedom to celebrate in a way that feels meaningful to them,” said Deepa Manuel, General Manager of Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives.
“Whether that is gathering around the table, discovering the ocean, watching children experience the magic of Christmas or simply slowing down with the people they love, we hope the season becomes part of the memories they take home from Kuda Villingili.”
Across the festive calendar, food and beverage will provide one of the principal ways guests experience that philosophy.
From Nikkei cooking and seafood pairings to steak, barbecue, Indian and Arabian cuisine and two major gala dinners, Kuda Villingili’s culinary teams will move between multiple cuisines and service styles across the two-week programme.
For chefs, sommeliers, pastry professionals and F&B teams, “Season of Light” will therefore be as much a showcase of the resort’s culinary operation as it is a Christmas and New Year celebration.
