Thailand

In a milestone Marriott Khao Lak dining news, the Thailand beachfront resort proudly introduces Sown & Reborn – a new fully circular refined six-course dining experience comprised entirely of produce from the resort’s 27 acres organic farm, creatively repurposed food leftovers, and sustainably sourced local fish and shellfish.

The elegant dining experience, created by the JW Marriott Khao Lak‘s celebrated Cluster Director of Culinary and sustainability champion Silvano Amolini, in collaboration with local Chef de Cuisine Khun Eak, is offered by prior reservation each evening in limited numbers at the resort’s magnificent newly restyled signature beachfront restaurant and lounge Drift Beach Bar & Grill– which is also widely considered to be Khao Lak’s premier dining destination.

With probably the largest resort farm in the Asia Pacific region and a whole host of truly pioneering sustainability initiatives, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa has proudly become a leader in environmental best practise in all areas of its operation – but especially the kitchens.

“With this new dining experience, we aim to not only offer a beautiful and memorable dining experience here in a perfect spot overlooking an incredible beach, but also to educate diners on the importance of sustainably sourcing ingredients and creative ways to eliminate food waste,” says Cluster Director of Culinary Silvano Amolini, whose distinguished culinary career has also included long periods overseeing the kitchens at Amanpuri and Trisara in Phuket.

“Circular gastronomy is not only good for the environment, but also for the palate – a beautiful dining experience doesn’t have to involve waste or extravagance, it can be created with what you have grown yourself, can locally source or reuse on your own doorstep,” he says.

Marriott Khao Lak dining: JW Garden organic farm tour

The Sown & Reborn tasting experience includes an optional pre-dinner tour of the resort’s sprawling JW Garden organic farm, with one of the resort’s chefs who will teach them about the ingredients grown and farmed for their meal, followed by welcome canapes at the kitchen counter at Drift Beach Bar & Grill hosted by one of the resort’s talented chefs for a tutored tasting over some delicious circular and farm-grown appetisers. This can also be complemented by yoga and wellness activities, birdwatching tours and a whole host of JW Garden and other activities which support the resort’s sustainability initiatives.

Chef Silvano explains how the resort reduces food waste by skilfully repurposing food leftovers such as potato skins, discarded coconuts, watermelon husks, and his special secret umami power: a rich spicy vegetable powder which he makes every day from vegetable trimmings in the kitchen which are dehydrated, mixed with salt, and turned into a flavourful stock base, then used in soups and sauces.

After this introduction, diners are seated for the 6-course gourmet food tasting experience, which includes refined dishes made with chicken and duck eggs and seasonable vegetables from the JW Garden, cleverly upcycled ingredients which form delicious pastas and sauces, and fish dishes sustainably farmed from a local fishery. This is rounded off with desserts made using Nipa palm sugar from the resort’s own Nipa reforestation programme, which supports the local Moklen minority, or sea gypsies.

An evolving selection of creatively repurposed and refreshing beverages, thoughtfully crafted to complement the dining experience, is also available, with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings on offer each evening.

The price for this meaningful gastronomic experience is THB3,500 ++ per person. For the beverage pairing, it will be offered as an optional add-on at THB1,000 ++ per person.

Marriott Khao Lak dining: story behind each dish

Behind each dish on the menu, there is a unique story of culinary creativity and sustainable intent.

The first course of JW Garden Duck Egg for example, features a beautiful crisp-fried poached duck egg fresh from the JW Garden, on a bed of potato espuma, which is a puree made circularly through the reuse of leftover potatoes, together with morning glory grown on the farm and transformed into an ice cream – creating a totally unexpected and unforgettable flavour combination.

The second course, Umami Power and Prawns is a richly flavourful broth styled after the familiar tom yum soup but using Chef’s signature umami power of powdered dried vegetables of the day for additional flavour and texture.

The third course JW Garden Chicken Egg with smoked egg shells tagliatelle and vegan Bolognese is a remarkable dish on many levels. The pasta is made from crushed smoked eggshells and recycled bread crusts and trimmings and so has a delightful crunch and smokiness to it. Even the fuel used to smoke the egg shells comes from dried coffee bricks made from the resort’s coffee residue. The flavourful vegan Bolognese is built from whatever seasonal vegetables are thriving in the garden at the time.

The fourth course features two types of fish, snapper and grouper, which are both sourced from a farm in Rawai, South Phuket, where the fish are raised with natural, chemical-free practices and fed on insects. This ensures clean, additive-free seafood of exceptional quality.

Complementing the snapper are pickled cucumbers and sweet basil, both grown in the JW Garden.

The final two delicate dessert courses feature Nipa Palm sugar which support the resort’s Nipa Palm reforestation programme as well as featuring herbs from the JW Garden.

Marriott Khao Lak dining: sustainable signature cocktails

The Bar at Drift Beach Bar & Grill also features a number of tempting signature cocktails using sustainable or upcycled materials which would be perfect for a relaxing end to the evening.

While the Sown & Reborn menu offers a refined special tasting experience which also highlights the resort’s mission to promote sustainability and end food waste , it is also the concentrated efforts made throughout the usual day-to-day resort operation which are helping JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa make a significant impact on food waste.

In the first 3 months of this year alone, the resort has converted 8.5 tons of food waste to compost for the JW Garden, repurposed 4 tons of waste food within the resort for croutons, circular pasta and homemade jam, made 754 litres of juice from fruit trimmings, produced 253 kgs of circular sourdough bread, 17.5 kgs of circular pasta and reused 912kgs of coffee ground leftovers as fertiliser or fuel bricks.