BULGARIA: Nikola Todorov Is New Executive Chef At Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko

Nicholas' childhood dream was to become a chef and he has not stopped pursuing his goal.

He graduated from the Professional School of Tourism in his home-town of Varna, majoring in Culinary Arts. He began his professional career as a chef in 2005 at the newly opened Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko.

Due to his tenacity and talent, the young chef rose through the ranks of Demi Chef de Partie, Chef de Partie, Chef de Cuisine, Junior Sous Chef and Sous Chef.

In the meantime, the culinary specialist has spent several months supporting four sister hotels as a part of a task force program; namely the former Kempinski Hotel Zografski Sofia, Kempinski Palace Portorož in Slovenia, Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea in Jordan and Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay Bodrum in Turkey.

In 2009, during the National Culinary Cup competitions organised by the Bulgarian Association of Professional Chefs, Chef Todorov and his team won first place in the culinary team category.

In the same year he joined the Bulgarian national team for the International Culinary Competitions in Istanbul. In 2015, he had the opportunity to hone his skills in Russia.

There he worked at the famous Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik as Executive Sous Chef, overseeing four restaurants and banquet rooms with a capacity of up to 1000 people.

After two and a half years of this exciting experience, Chef Todorov returned to Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko as Executive Sous Chef and as a member of Chef Trevor Portelli's team.

Last summer, Chef Todorov successfully completed six weeks of intensive training with Chef Rémy Giraud at one of the most renowned restaurants in France, Les Hauts de Loire, awarded with 2-Michelin star for over 25 years.

In addition to his mother tongue, Chef Nikola Todorov speaks fluent English and Russian.

Nikola Todorov takes on his new role as Executive Chef of Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko from Chef Trevor Portelli, who has headed the hotel's culinary team for the past two years.

The Maltese culinary professional will continue his career at home at Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz Gozo.