WHILE 22 APRIL IS EARTH DAY IN THE CALENDAR, EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY IN THE SHANGRI-LA KITCHENS

WHILE 22 APRIL IS EARTH DAY IN THE CALENDAR, EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY IN THE SHANGRI-LA KITCHENS
 

Shangri-La Chefs Celebrate Nature’s Bounty with Special Menus and Dining Events

ATP-  arab tourism portal- Dubai, – This April, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will mark the global rollout of its culinary sustainability initiative, Rooted in Nature, by hosting a month-long celebration of the group’s most exceptional food purveyors. From small farms in the Maldives to fishing villages in Malaysia, the hotels will recognise the farmers, fisherman and ranchers that make dining at Shangri-La not only delicious but also sustainable.

Special Rooted in Nature events and promotions taking place at all Shangri-La and Kerry hotels will highlight sustainable sources of produce, fish, and meat that can be found on the hotels’ menus year-round and celebrate the purveyors who responsibly steward the land and sea to provide Shangri-La chefs with the best possible ingredients. Dishes on offer will include produce and herbs grown on hotel grounds, locally-sourced organic vegetables and fruits, line-caught fish, free range poultry and beef, honey from a hotel’s own beehive, and more.

In the Middle East, Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai is implementing Rooted in Nature menus in each of its restaurants, with an emphasis on locally sourced fish and vegetables. The menus will be launched on Earth Day with an exclusive event hosted by British celebrity chef Daniel Green from the Food Network.

In Abu Dhabi, Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri is introducing locally sourced products in to the daily buffet in Sofra BLD. These include locally caught fish, local burrata cheese, tomatoes, mozzarella and honey. The hotel is also working with a local supplier to offer guests free range chicken and eggs, as well as organic Arabic cheese. Hydroponic and organic vegetables will also be sourced locally.

Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort in Muscat sources 80% of its seafood locally and the ingredients used in all menus are 60% locally extracted. Maintained by the hotel’s CSR committee, an herb garden provides the chefs with herbs and vegetables such as chilli, rosemary, thyme, basil and lemongrass.

On the island of Borneo in Malaysia, diners at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort and Spa can enjoy oyster mushrooms grown by the visually-impaired residents of the Wallace Shelter in nearby Tuaran. The locally-grown mushrooms will be served at the resort’s Coffee Terrace Restaurant.

In the bustling capital city of the Philippines, Meliomar Inc. provides the chefs of Makati Shangri-La, Manila with yellowfin tuna fished in accordance to marine council-certified guidelines. Meliomar works directly with community-based coastal fisheries representing over 3,000 fishermen who have a combined total of 1,000 small fishing boats.  The sustainably-fished tuna can be enjoyed by diners at Circles Event Cafe in the kilawin tuna with crackling pork, the tuna tataki with palm heart salad and the tuna sushi and sashimi.

Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto celebrates Canadian products throughout the menu of its standout restaurant Bosk. Chef Damon Campbell’s signature creation, the caviar doughnut, uses Northern Divine Caviar which is produced by a Western Canadian fishery and is recognised as sustainable by the Ocean Wise Programme. It is the first certified organic caviar produced in Canada and the only in the world that is certified to not contain added hormones, antibiotics, pesticides or GMO’s.

In the idyllic islands of the Addu Atoll, chefs at Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort  Maldives worked with farmers on neighbouring Meedhoo Island to create a farmer’s cooperative. As the first luxury resort on the southern atoll, Shangri-La wanted to create a sustainable local source of produce for the hotel’s restaurants. During April, diners at Fashala Restaurant will be able to enjoy a chef’s degustation menu featuring melons, basil, and tomatoes grown by the cooperative and in the resort’s own garden, alongside Maldivian lobsters caught by local fisherman and sold directly to the resort at its own jetty.

While organic farming may not be the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of Hong Kong, the chefs of Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong and Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong have found a local source of organic produce for the hotel kitchens. Chefs from both hotels work with 616 Farm, an organic farm in the New Territories certified by the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre, to supply choy sum, radishes, bak choy, lettuce, spinach and beetroot for Shangri-La restaurants throughout the year. Seasonally, strawberries, corn and guava are also purchased. Dishes featuring 616 Farm produce can be enjoyed at café TOO’s fresh salad station at Island Shangri-La and at Café Kool at Kowloon Shangri-La.

About Rooted in Nature

 The initiative recognises the differences in the group’s locations and enables all   Shangri-La hotels and resorts to incorporate sustainable items from their unique markets into their menus.  Diners can identify Rooted in Nature menu items by spotting the pea shoot logo  beside the dish description on a la carte menus and café stations at all day dining restaurants and selected specialty restaurants. Rooted in Nature items on the menu must meet one or more of five guidelines with an ingredient that is prominent in that dish.  

“Shangri-La is committed to promoting greater traceability and transparency of where our food sources come from by working with local and sustainable providers. By 2020, our goal is to serve 75 per cent more sustainably sourced food on our menus,” said Peter Finnegan, Shangri-La’s group director of food and beverage. “Through the Rooted in Nature dining experience, we invite guests to join us in embracing and celebrating the benefits that sustainable food brings us.”