Appetisers

Spirited Behaviour

Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh has announced a partnership with EcoSpirits to create a series of sustainable cocktails. As pioneer of the world’s first low-carbon packaging and distribution service, EcoSpirits helps minimise waste and transportation costs, and through the partnership, the hotel aims to reduce 40% of its carbon emissions.

The system works by transferring premium spirits from bulk containers into EcoTotes, a reusable vessel with a 4.5-litre capacity. Bartenders then use to this sustainably refill their bottles. Once empty, EcoTotes are returned, sanitised, fitted with tamper-proof seals and then redistributed. They can also be stacked in place and are shock-resistant, reducing waste through breakages.

The move is just one of several green food initiatives that Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh has rolled out since it opened its doors in January. Some of the hotel’s other sustainable food practices include partnerships with Eggscellent, a cagefree chicken farm in Siem Reap; Ocean Gems, a sustainable seafood company; Beyond Meat, a plant-based vegan company; and Moo Moo Farms, a domestic dairy farm.

“Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh is excited to partner with EcoSpirits and to continue to raise the bar for sociallyconscious hospitality,” says General Manager Herman Kemp. “This partnership will enable our flagship bar, The Attic, to extend its popular sustainable cocktail menu in which all ingredients in the cocktail have zero wastage.”

Members Allowed

The Balmoral launches new Scotch Club in partnership with The Macallan distillery, offering personalised whisky keeps, a concierge service and limited-edition pours.

The Balmoral, a Rocco Forte Hotel in Edinburgh, has recently unveiled its new Scotch Club in collaboration with The Macallan distillery, offering a personalised membership experience to whisky connoisseurs around the world. Utilising their shared respect for the international whisky community and hospitality industry, the luxury hotel and acclaimed distillery have sought to create a unique imbibing experience for visitors.

The exclusive club offers bottle residence in personally engraved whisky keeps that mark the entrance to Scotch, The Balmoral’s renowned whisky bar. Keeping the Scottish amber nectar under lock and key, The Balmoral’s expert Whisky Ambassadors offer members a concierge service that ensures every visit is bespoke and memorable. Scotch Club members are served their selected dram of The Macallan in a Lalique glass, with ambassadors on hand to create a cocktail or suggest a serve for members’ own expression of The Macallan Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Members also have access to a range of benefits including an annual complimentary whisky tasting for two with use of the elegant surroundings of Scotch for two hours, hosted by a Whisky Ambassador. They also receive advance invitations to masterclasses and special rates to turn their visit into an extended stay in one of The Balmoral’s suites.

The first tier of membership enables guests to access their own bottle of The Macallan Double Cask 18-Years-Old, an icon of the distillery, which brings together The Macallan’s unmistakable style with handpicked sherry seasoned American and European oak casks. Meanwhile, the top level includes a bottle of The Macallan Red Collection 40-Years-Old, which sits at the heart of the Macallan’s distinguished limited-edition Red Collection. The Red Collection is a range of rare single malt Scotch whiskies created from some of the world’s oldest and rarest casks, to mark the Macallan’s deep respect for tradition and expertise.

The Food Fight

Curated by Bompas & Parr, The Future of Food is set to bring a feast of aerogels and edible luminescence to a world-first dining experience at Expo 2020 Dubai.

A pioneering gastronomy experience inspired by space, microbiology, artificial intelligence and hyperintelligence cooked up by UK-based multisensory experience design studio Bompas & Parr is set to stir the senses of curious diners at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Diners will have the opportunity to taste super-light delicacies formed using the same techniques that NASA uses to collect comet dust; edible creations that glow in the dark; flavour changing desserts; and extremely rare ingredients, including new-to-plate plants.

Taking place as part of Expo 2020 Dubai, which runs 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, the immersive experience is inspired by the ‘Novacene’, a new-era hypothesised by eminent scientist James Lovelock. According to Lovelock, the new age will take over the ‘Anthropocene’ era, in which humans have been able to make large-scale changes to the planetary environment and introduce a future where robots and artificial intelligence will govern.

Featuring a multi-course exploratory menu, the two-hour journey gives guests a chance to explore the history of the world through food, while also exploring how humans and artificial intelligence can combine to sustainably feed a growing global population and tackle food waste, as well as the implications for future nutrition.

Known for its genre-defining projects, Bompas & Parr rose to prominence with its jelly creations, as seen in Grimshaw’s The Eden Project. The experiential firm is also behind the British Museum of Food, the world’s first cultural institution solely dedicated to food and drink.

“We are thrilled to be bringing The Future of Food: Epochal Banquet to a global audience at Expo 2020 Dubai, where we hope to inspire diners to think positively about the reality of technology-infused dishes,” says Sam Bompas, Director, Bompas & Parr. “Each course will take guests deeper into the future through first-ofits-kind dishes, as well as immersive experiences that stir each of the senses.”

With growing demand for fresh, sustainable ingredients, urban hotels are putting their rooftops to good use by planting their own produce.

The move towards sustainable practices in hotel kitchens was on the agenda prior to the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, but a call for society to become more environmentally minded is also adding incentive, leading many properties to grow their own produce in the hope that guests will appreciate the effort to reduce their carbon footprint and the quality of home-grown.

This shift is not however, exclusive to hotels located near to green pastures and viticulture, with many city centre properties taking to the rooftops to cultivate their own fresh ingredients for the kitchens below. From fruit and vegetables to herbs and botanicals, an array of urban hotels are investing in urban gardens to promote an

eco-friendly culinary ethos and enhance their F&B offering.

At Hilton London Bankside’s sustainable Kitchen Garden on the fourth-floor rooftop, ingredients such as basil, tomatoes and beetroot are used in a variety of ways, from ingredients in restaurant dishes to garnishes for cocktails. The hotel has also created small re-useable cards, which sit alongside some plates on the buffet table during breakfast and its weekend brunch, to showcase what has been handpicked by Executive Chef Ollie Couillaud and his team. “The launch of our Kitchen Garden is a great way to not only provide fresh and delicious produce, but to also combat food waste,” explains Couillaud. “Our hotel is fully committed to sustainability and in our kitchen we’re always thinking of ways to reduce our carbon footprint and food miles.”

At Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay in Singapore, the property’s ‘garden in a hotel’ concept has been extended to its rooftop, where guests can find vegetable herbs and edible flowers for a farm-to-table culinary experience. Taking it a step further, the ecologically focused hotel also decomposes food waste via a digester, which is then converted into fertiliser for the gardens. With guests looking for sustainable ingredients in every aspect of the dining experience, Emanuele Balestra, Areas Bar Director at Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes has ensured that the drinks programme spotlights plant species – including rose geranium from Morocco and thyme from Jamaica – grown at the hotel’s two on-site rooftop gardens. “Our microclimate in this part of France is unique and all of the seasons are distinctly different,” he notes. “This produces herbs and plants of quality and each plant can differ from one year and season to

the next, which provides an excellent variety of flavour in our cocktails.”

Freshly picked, these plants are used to make jellies, aromatic ice cubes, home bitters and infusions. “Having these herbs available to us allows us to create our own versions of adored classic cocktails such as the Mimosa, made with grapefruit and geranium from South Africa,” continues Balestra. “We also create perfume aromatises, which we spray on top of the cocktail to serve. The smell helps to amplify the taste of the drink.”

Viewed in the wider context of sustainable tourism, a culinary ethos guided by traceability and transparency in hotel kitchens is no longer an optional add-on but a must-have. Moreover, going forward, it is likely that many operators will look for ways to reduce their impact on the planet while also delivering unique dining experiences where fresh, locally sourced ingredients and a commitment to reducing food waste is at the forefront of their approach.

Reap What You Sow