Wynn Al Marjan Island has announced the appointment of its senior Food & Beverage leadership team, marking another key milestone in the development of the resort’s culinary program ahead of its planned 2027 opening.
The four-person culinary leadership team includes Soumya Goswami as Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage, bringing 19 years with The Oberoi Group plus senior roles with Macau’s Melco Resorts & Entertainment and Galaxy Entertainment Group; Mathew Goodlet, who helped pioneer the award-winning program at Atlantis, Dubai, as Vice President of Culinary; Andrew Burns as Vice President of Fine Dining, bringing extensive integrated resort experience at properties such as Wynn Las Vegas, Atlantis Dubai and Marina Bay Sands; and Robert Gamch as Vice President of Daylife & Nightlife. Gamch orchestrated iconic nightlife venues and events with TAO Group and Hakkasan Group, the company explained.
Wynn said the leadership team is supported by a broader group of culinary and operational specialists from both international integrated resorts and the UAE market, including Martin Siska, Michael O’Shea, Audi Budiman, Julien Cadiou, John Buenaventura, Ankit Bhardwaj, Stefan Mueller, Addyson Pope and Parthiban Muniandy. Their expertise spans culinary operations, pastry, beverage, training and back-of-house functions.
“This leadership team is further supported by an exceptional network of partners and industry leaders, each bringing deep expertise in their respective fields,” said Goswami. “This includes Elizabeth Blau of Blau + Associates, global hospitality expert Andrew Sasson, Matt Safchik, Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage Development at Wynn Resorts, as well as a curated group of globally recognized and regionally relevant collaborators, including Alain Ducasse and h.Wood Group, with further announcements to follow.”
Upon opening, Wynn Al Marjan Island will be home to 22 restaurants and lounges, along with a world-class destination beach club. All venues are being designed by Wynn Design & Development in collaboration with a collection of the world’s leading design consultants, Wynn explained.
The portfolio include fine dining, social dining, nightlife, a food hall and casual concepts, and will include legacy Wynn Las Vegas restaurants, international brand partners and concepts developed exclusively for the resort.
“This is the most comprehensive food and beverage build we have ever undertaken,” Goswami added. “We are designing an entire culinary ecosystem from the ground up, informed by decades of experience across Wynn’s global resorts. What makes this project distinct is the level of integration – planning, leadership, concepts, production infrastructure, training, and design all moving in parallel, years ahead of opening, for a new market.”
Wynn Al Marjan Island also revealed it will now start a global search for more than 3,500 food and beverage team members with the recruitment drive to search for highly specialized roles such as masters of chocolate, pastry, dim sum, Chinese barbecue, Arabic sweets, cake artistry, butchery and more.
The beverage team will include mixologists, baristas and tea, sake and wine sommeliers. According to Wynn, it wants to ensure every facet of the operation is led by individuals with deep subject-matter expertise and a genuine passion for their craft.
Wynn said it is also investing in employee dining infrastructure to deliver restaurant-quality culinary experiences for its own colleagues. This includes six standalone restaurants and casual takeaway venues located both on the resort property and within Oasis: A Wynn Community, the employee housing complex.
“People perform better when they are cared for – and quite simply, they are our single greatest asset,” Goswami said. “This isn’t about perks; it’s about respect. If we expect our teams to deliver restaurant-quality experiences to guests, they should experience that same standard themselves, every day.”
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