October 4, 2018
Relais & Châteaux restaurant in Cologny, Switzerland. Image credit: Relais & Châteaux
Hospitality group Relais & Châteaux is participating in the international Menu For Change program in an effort to highlight how high-end restaurants can fight global warming.
Enjoying authentic cuisine is becoming an integral part of affluents' travel experiences. A growing number of hospitality brands are showcasing their culinary offerings while emphasizing growing sustainability efforts.
Food for change
Chefs at Relais & Châteaux restaurants aim to serve "good, clean and fair food" in support of the Slow Food association. During the Menu For Change campaign, which runs until Oct. 7, all meals will include local and seasonal ingredients to promote sustainable food choices.
Part of the program's intention is to show how everyday adjustments, like making "clean" meals, can combat climate change.
Image credit: Relais & Châteaux
Research shows that 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to livestock farming, transportation and arable agriculture.
To reduce the consumption of animal proteins, Menu For Change meals aim to consist of two-thirds vegetables and one-third fish or meat. Locally-sourced ingredients are also preferred, but imported ingredients are premitted if there is no local substitute available, as is the case with spices, chocolate and coffee.
Valldemossa Hotel & Restaurant in Mallorca, Spain. Image credit: Relais & Châteaux
With the focus on local and seasonal ingredients, menus will vary at each Relais & Châteaux restaurant.
For instance, The Inn at Dos Brisas in Texas serves several varieties of sweet potato and Marseille figs that have grown in the area since the 1800s. In Mallorca, blinis will be prepared with Xeixa flour and a Barbary fig sorbet will be served for dessert.
Tourism trends
Other hotel groups, in addition to Relais & Châteaux, are blending together culinary experiences with environmentally-friendly practices.
Small Luxury Hotels of the World is capitalizing on the popularity of food tourism with a new cookbook featuring recipes from its global culinary team.
Culinary trends such as hyperlocal food, fusion meals and Asian hotpot are represented in the new cookbook. With a focus on main courses, this cookbook is the third volume in a series that the hotel group began in 2015, which allows travelers to bring a piece of the SLH experience home with them (see story).
Hospitality group Four Seasons Hotels’ George V. Paris location is continuing its streak of culinary innovation by opening the doors to its sustainable garden.
The property, known for being the first hotel to earn five Michelin stars from three of its restaurants, hosts a special garden on its property rooted in history. Four Seasons George V. Paris recently established a partnership with Les Alchimistes, a start-up in France that collects organic waste and processes it into compost “made in Paris" (see story).
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