The garden's harvest is used in all of the hotel's kitchens and their two fine dining establishments on site. One of the restaurants is One Ninety, a bistro grill that specializes in firing items on their applewood grill. The other, Jiang-Nan Chun, a Chinese establishment that focuses on Cantonese cuisine.
The garden is monitored by everyone at the hotel. In a group effort, each hotel department focuses on one to two crops. Sheri Masters, the associate editor of the Four Seasons Magazine, states "The engineering team tends the banana trees, human resources cares for the chili plants, finance oversees the limes and lemongrass, and the chefs turn their attention to the delicate herbs and gingers." With this rotation, their is never a crop that is left unattended.
Chef Bruno Correa and Sous Chef Stefano Andreoli, representing One Ninety, embrace the chance to work with the freshest vegetables and herbs into their cuisine. Chef Correa says, "The food we cook is simple and based on the use of fresh, high-quality products. Fresh organic herbs really impart a difference, heightening the flavor of the dish."
Only nine months have passed since the garden was started. Everyone seems to be pleased and the idea is blossoming. The garden was expanded in October 2009, five months after opening, to grow crops for Jiang-Nan Chun (like bok choy and kale), while remaining to grow their other crops (like okra and basil). This fully sustainable garden is located on premises and provides produce to all of Four Seasons' kitchens. This system is an awesome step in the right direction for helping the environment and cutting costs (food waste and purchases).
I agree with andrew on this that it is a very big step for such a big company in the sustainable/green movement. Plus this company most likely has the funds to start a garden like this without putting their company at financial risk.
ReplyDeleteI like the way they broke it down by department as to who takes care of what in the garden. This does not leave the responsibility of the garden in just one persons' hands. This also makes it a team effort and as most of us know teamwork is a big part of the kitchen/hospitality atmosphere, and it seems like a fun way to get everybody involved on something outside of their standard work day. This may also provide the staff with knowledge of the food they are cooking or preparing as they have grown it, and i like the idea of banana trees. Overall i feel this is a very beneficial cycle for both the company and the business as it reduces waste and costs.
Organic composting, tending a garden that has clearly an extentive 'menu', it seems as though this huge company is making an awesome effort in upping the quality of their food. They didn't mention the reason for doing this was for the sole purpose of going green, but for the quiality and freshness of their ingredients. Either way, it incorporates into our topic and does the job anyway. I think this whole idea is awesome. My favorite was the breakdown of the departments, being each assigned to a different section of the garden. That is just the perfect way to get all employees literally involved and educated on something as simple as how to grow perfect produce! This also makes for huge eye appeal to consumers, and I'm sure is just an interesting story to tell. Good for them.
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