Merlin Chelliah from Singapore, who is currently the Chef de Village at Club Med Kiroro Peak in Hokkaido, Japan. In the past 16 years, Merlin, as a G.O, served countless guests at Club Med Bin- tan, Club Med Beidahu, and Club Med Lijiang and witnessed Club Med’s development. Merlin’s story is a story about happiness. She welcomes guests to their “home” away from home with a sincere smile and warm greetings, bring- ing happiness to them.

At 7:00 in the morning, Merlin carefully inspects every detail of the restaurant including table setting, kitchen preparation, and dishes to make sure that everything is up to standard. The snow season in Hokkaido is approaching, and the busiest time of the year is also around the corner. In order to maximize ski time, most guests leave their rooms around 8:00 in the morning, which is a good time for Merlin to interact with guests.

From G.O to Chef de Village

The number of families taking ski holidays increases exponentially on weekends or during the holidays in the snow season. A large number of guests usually arrive at the resort with ski equipment and luggage in the afternoon.

Some guests may b e a little tired from the long journey and the lobby staff will undoubtedly get a bit busier. Merlin rushes to the lobby, temporarily opens the restaurant, prepares hot beverages, and quickly allocates additional staff to effectively manage the customer flow, ensure the comfort of the lobby, and ease guests’ travel stress.

A “happy spirit” on stage

By day, she is a super “Chef de Village”; by night, she is a “happy spir it” on stage.The evening show with Merlin is often the liveliest show at the resort. For Merlin, the best part of the day is to perform musicals, sitcoms, magic shows, etc. with the G.O team. 

From backstage to onstage, Merlin is in charge of every detail of the stage, while immersing herself in the performance. “The evening show is one of the core activities of Club Med. We hope that adults as well as children can fully enjoy the show!”

“Welcome Home” is Merlin’s favorite line, and it’s the first thing every guest hears from Merlin when they arrive the resort. For Merlin, her 16 years of experience at Club Med is like a journey with multiple interchanges. Despite different sceneries, Merlin remains true to her original aspirations of freedom, friendliness and self-discipline and and calmly embraces the next challenge with new goals and new vision.

From G.O to the Chef de Village of different Club Med resorts in Indonesia, Japan, and China, Merlin has experienced many changes in tasks during her 16 years at Club Med, her mentality has also matured. When asked what is the biggest reward of working in different countries?

Merlin’s answer was unexpected. She said, it is the different G.O teams. Adapting and accepting different cultures, respecting each country where the resort is located, interacting with different people are all very interesting and challenging. “Diversity” is one of the essence of Club Med.