Talks about sustainability in the restaurant industry used to be centred on sustainable sourcing—sourcing for meats and seafood that are wild-caught or farmed through ecologically sustainable means. Subsequently, the farm-to-table movement went full swing, shifting the spotlight on reducing food miles and sourcing locally. In recent years, as climate change hits mainstream consciousness, the sustainability discussion has again gathered momentum to encompass zero-waste cooking and reducing plastic waste.
THE RESTAURANTS LEADING THE CHARGE
One of the most prominent restaurants in the sustainability narrative is Locavore in Bali, which was named Sustainable Restaurant 2019 by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants committee. Funnily enough, sustainability wasn’t their goal when co-founding chefs Eelke Plasmeijer and Ray Adriansyah first opened Locavore. Their razor-sharp focus—on using only locally available ingredients to present their modern European cuisine—was actually prompted by the realisation that diners were looking for authentic, original experiences and that there was no point in importing ingredients that international guests have access to at better quality back home. That mindset shift kickstarted their journey and everything else started to fall into place.
At Locavore, sustainability is about “the way things get farmed, handled, shipped, used and discarded.” 95 per cent of ingredients are sourced from local producers and artisans. Locavore even has their own butchery, Local Parts, to support nose-to-tail cooking. Consider Crispy Sparrow, done bebek goreng style— pressured cooked and deep-fried such that guests can literally eat everything, beak and feet all. Thinking out of the box not only helped them find practical use for sparrows (pests to farmers), but also new ways of doing nose-to-tail.
Denne historien er fra September - October 2019-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2019-utgaven av WINE&DINE.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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New Blood
The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.
Sharing Is Caring
Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.
New And Improved
The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.
Let Land Grow Wild
Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.
The South Asian Misnomer
Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.
Building Blocks From The Archipelago
For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.
