Paradise, plated

Balesin opens its Tastemakers series with Chef Josh Boutwood's Michelin-starred dinner at Toscana Village

- FELICIANO RODRIGUEZ III

The small Cessna lifted off the runway with the lightness of a motorized dragonfly.

Nothing separates you from the sky in a craft like that, and you feel every tremor of air under its wings. It felt less like boarding a private island's flight and more like riding a passenger bus that happened to grow propellers. My seatmate, tense and furrowing his brows at takeoff, gripped his armrest until the plane steadied over the water. We laughed about it when the wheels finally touched the private airstrip of Balesin Island, where the sun seemed to widen over the runway.

Paradise met us at the tarmac. Alain Borgers, Alphaland's executive vice president for hospitality, greeted arriving guests with the calm of someone who knows the island's charm speaks for itself. A gentleman stood nearby with two white birds perched on his shoulders. Their feathers glowed like polished shells in the morning light. One bird nuzzled into my hand before giving my fingers a gentle, mischievous bite. No worries, it didn't break the skin.

'Each dinner is designed as a complete journey guided by chefs at the top of their field.'

Alain brought me to my villa in Balesin Village, one of seven themed villages on the island. Each setting mirrors a destination: Balesin for Philippine architecture, Bali for tropical warmth, Phuket for coastal Thai charm, Mykonos for whitewashed cliffs, St. Tropez for Riviera leisure, Costa del Sol for Spanish brightness, and Toscana for rustic Italian stone. He drove my luggage on a golf cart, stopped at the front steps of my villa, handed the keycard, then passed me the key to my own cart. The idea was simple: explore at my pace, without interruption. It felt like a promise of slow days ahead.

That evening, the promise arrived on a plate.