If the chef makes the restaurant, then you can expect to have a completely different experience each month at Ikarus in Hangar-7 near the Salzburg, Austria airport.  The metal and glass hangar plays host to the private airplane collection of Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull. Visitors can check out a range of historic and contemporary planes, as well as Formula One racing cars, at no charge.

Food lovers may be drawn to Hangar-7 for culinary reasons, however. A new guest chef runs the Ikarus kitchen each month, drawing accomplished restaurateurs from around the globe. Prominent American chefs who have had the opportunity to share their culinary expertise include Gary Danko, Marcus Samuelsson, Gray Kunz, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

In 2008, Joel Antunes will be the only American cook invited to serve as a distinguished guest chef. Working with Executive Chef Roland Trettl and the rest of the team at Ikarus, Antunes will bring his unique approach to cuisine, fusing French/Mediterranean cooking with a Far Eastern influence. Born in France in 1961, he headed to Bangkok at age 26 to replace Vongerichten at the Orient Hotel. He would later spend time in London before moving to Atlanta to head up the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta.

Antunes opened his own restaurant, JOEL, in Atlanta in 2001. Ironically, Antunes is giving up the reins at his eponymous restaurant to head to New York to serve as the chef at the Plaza Hotel's Oak Room beginning this summer. He will remain a partner in JOEL but will no longer serve as executive chef.

For more information visit http://www.hangar-7.com or http://www.joelrestaurant.com