F & B
Como Shambhala , Como ’ s wellness brand , offers cooking demonstrations and classes for guests , who also can visit the source of ingredients such as coffee , rice , fruits and vegetables , says COMO Hotels & Resorts ’ nutrition adviser , Eve Persak . Some of those ingredients go into the raw cacao mousse with raspberries and pistachios ( left ), and the raw salad with Dijon mustard and apple cider vinaigrette ( above ).
chain ’ s first city hotel , Six Senses Singapore , which has a modern Chinese restaurant and bar , Yellow Pot .
“ Our Chinese chef , Sebastian Goh , had to relearn a lot of the traditional Chinese cooking methods he was used to , in order to avoid the unhealthy additives that are commonly found in Chinese cuisine ,” General Manager Murray Aitken says .
According to Goh , the menu went through several rounds of revisions . “ As Chinese cuisine is known to be heavily laden with MSG , we had to create all our sauces , stocks and paste from scratch to work around traditional Chinese cooking methods .” The menu also includes gluten-free , dairy-free , vegan and other options .
Chefs encounter other challenges : Ayurveda at Giardino , newly offered by the Giardino Group , which operates luxury resorts in Switzerland , means the executive chef not only has to cook up delicious food but must be an alchemist in the use of Asian spices and herbs . Employees must be well-trained and briefed , says the group ’ s Ayurveda specialist , Stephanie Albert .
But perhaps the biggest challenge is ensuring that concepts remain relevant and exciting . As Aman ’ s Stone says : “ Wellness cuisine is curated with a very strong and exact science of nutrition , which it needs to stay true to in order to be authentic — whereas foodies enjoy the excitement of fusions . Due to the complexity of creating dishes that are raw food-based ( often taking 24 to 48 hours to prepare before serving ) and staying true to the nutritional and calorific value of the food , the challenge comes with continuously energizing new recipes that diligently keep this focus . And as ever the continued challenge is offering a varied and diverse diet , yet maintaining the nutritional benefits and delicious flavors .”
KITCHEN COSTS The chefs and nutritionists interviewed do not believe that wellness cuisine is necessarily costlier . Canyon Ranch ’ s Ghione says : “ If you were to compare the startup cost of one of my kitchens that focuses on healthy food versus a conventional menu-based kitchen , well , we are probably a bit cheaper , actually . Our grills , oven and stoves are the same as any other . However , we do not need to invest in large , expensive freezers or shoulder the heavy expense of fryers , which includes thousands of gallons of fryer oil per year , fryer filter
machines and waste oil management .” Miraval ’ s Pratt points to other ways to keep costs under control . “ In our kitchens we prioritize organic produce with the least pesticide exposure , locally grown and in-season ingredients which are often less expensive options . We will also take ‘ ugly ’ produce that grocery stores don ’ t want ” – imperfect-looking fruits and vegetables that would normally be thrown away but are perfectly good to eat . “ Each of these decisions help us keep costs in check as well as offering our guests a different way of thinking about this commitment ,” he says .
The rewards are worth it , say practitioners , who believe the biggest risk about wellness cuisine is only to ignore it . Says Canyon Ranch ’ s Ghione : “ I have personally taken many risks in my 24-year-long career as a chef . I ’ ve left high-paying , stable jobs to venture on my own into the health and wellness sector . By taking those risks and a personal interest in people ’ s lives , I have found there is absolutely no better reward than seeing someone beat the odds of losing their life to a dreadful disease — all because I took the time to cook like their life depended on it .”
44 hotelsmag . com July / August 2018