The 22nd April is Earth Day and to celebrate in advance, chefs at Shangri-La Hotels will roll out a sustainable initiative called Rooted in Nature.
This month-long celebration will highlight the sustainable sources of the hotel’s food suppliers – from small farms in the Maldives to fishing villages in Malaysia, recognising the farmers, fisherman and ranchers that make dining at Shangri-La sustainable.
The Rooted in Nature initiative aims to: support local agricultural and fishing communities; buy chemical pesticide-free local produce; source from free-range livestock and poultry products where possible; acquire sustainably-sourced seafood that are caught through ethical means; and serve organic and fair trade products indicated by national and local food safety standards.
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 these 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 and honey from a hotel’s own beehive.
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.
In the capital city of the Philippines, Meliomar 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 Program. 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.
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, 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, which supplies a variety of vegetables including radishes, bok choy, beetroot, celery and tomatoes for Shangri-La restaurants throughout the year. Dishes featuring 616 Farm produce can be enjoyed at cafe TOO’s fresh salad station at Island Shangri-La and at Café Kool at Kowloon Shangri-La.
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.”
For more information go to www.shangri-la.com.
