Chef Alexandru Dumitru is one of the key voices shaping Romania’s contemporary culinary scene, with a journey defined by resilience, curiosity and deep respect for craftsmanship. His career began in the United States, where a chance encounter with restaurant life drew him into the kitchen — starting from the bottom and learning discipline, structure and consistency through real work, every day.

Over the years, his style evolved through classical training in French technique, refined by an unwavering focus on ingredient quality and the emotional power of authentic flavour. Recognised for his vision, he earned the Terroir distinction and later the Gault&Millau title of Chef of the Year, confirming his role as a leading figure in modern Romanian gastronomy.

His cooking is rooted in seasonality, local sourcing and a strong belief in supporting small producers. Elegant yet honest, his dishes reinterpret tradition with clarity, balance and personality, offering a modern culinary expression of memory, place and Romanian identity.

Ròbert Tordai, Chef de Cuisine at Bethlen Estates Transylvania, built his culinary foundation in Michelin-starred French kitchens, where precision, discipline and refinement became second nature. His approach was further shaped through close collaboration with a master of Japanese gastronomy, where balance, restraint and respect for ingredients defined his craft.

With over a decade of experience, Chef Ròbert Tordai brings together the technical mastery of French cuisine and the nuanced flavours of Asian cooking, grounding them in a deeply personal connection to terroir and the culinary traditions of the region in Transylvania he grew up in. For him, technique is not an end in itself, but a means of expressing place, memory and season.

His cooking is driven by local produce, seasonality and an intuitive understanding of contrast. Rooted in tradition yet unmistakably contemporary, his dishes seek clarity, harmony and emotion, offering a refined interpretation of local flavours through a modern, confident culinary lens.