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Later, he presided over a floating restaurant in
the lagoon. Unfortunately, that was short-lived.
The owner soon sold the business. But, highly
satisfied with Leslie’s services, he gave him a
small compensation payment that would allow
him to buy a restaurant-supermarket! He didn’t
know much about the retail industry, but the
experience he had acquired in Holland proved
very useful. After a while, he sold that business
too and this time decided to open his own proper
restaurant... at last! It was an immediate success.
The place was always full! As luck would have
it, a lot of his customers worked at the airport.
He met, among others, the ground personnel of
large service companies who, seeing the quality
of his cuisine, suggested that he should become
a personal caterer for private jets. At first,
he systematically rejected their proposals.
Then, worn down by their insistence, he decided
to give it a try. In order to do this, he redesigned
the back area of his restaurant and began to
prepare and deliver dishes to the airport. As luck
would have it (again), the first private jet that
he supplied belonged to the Russian millionaire
Roman Abramovich. Once again, he surprised
everyone with the quality of his service, not
just his food but especially the little details
that make all the difference: the wrapping,
the packaging, the labeling and the care he took
to preserve optimum freshness of the products.
Every package he delivers is sealed and includes
its own refrigeration system thanks to integrated
layers of ice. “There could be a power outage
or some disaster at the airport, the pre-cooked
dishes that I deliver to the jets will always be
as fresh as when they left the kitchen!”
From that moment on he never looked back.
Concentrating entirely on catering to luxury
private jets and yachts he created “Sint Maarten
Jet Catering”. His mission? The total satisfaction
of his client. Nothing is impossible. “Of course,
we offer a menu to choose from and orders are
usually placed the day before. But in the case
of an emergency or a special order at the last
minute, I cook it on site right away and deliver it
myself just before take-off”. And in that context,
Leslie is the best. No matter how outrageous the
order, he always says yes. “A chef must be able
PORTRAIT
Leslie Martina
to respond to every challenge, that’s what he has
been trained for”. On that point, Leslie Martina is
particularly amazing. He excels at every style of
cuisine: Italian, Lebanese, Asian, Thaï, Japanese,
American, experimental, organic and even vegan!
Of course, he has a few favorites. He is an absolute
expert when it comes to the preparation of seafood
and the sauces to go with it. We could, no doubt,
go on talking for hours about his cuisine, but
the simplest thing would be simply to taste it.
Because, unfortunately, words are not enough.
The fact that he is always the one called on to
personally take care of feeding the Dutch royal
family or their train of ministers when they travel
by air in the region commands a certain respect!
That speaks volumes.
Today, Leslie Martina works out of brand new
space just steps from the airport and several
marinas. His kitchen looks like a spotless
operating room. When asked why there is no
smell of food in the air, he replies quite simply
with a smile, “A clean kitchen never smells.
If it does, you need to worry. On the other hand,
just lift the lid of one of my pots or lean over one
of my dishes and you will smell a host of savors!”
He is also the owner of the Big Fish restaurant
where, if you would like to try it, you can sample
a wide variety of his cuisine. You will have guessed
by now, Leslie Martina is a multi-faceted, fascinating
and talented person. The island of Sint Maarten-
Saint Martin can be proud to boast of him.
At the very end of our interview, he mentioned
that he had also been trained in floral
arrangement and so he composes his own
bouquets! Without a doubt, Leslie Martina will
never cease to amaze you …
O n b o a r d # 5
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