Nam Hai sows 'farm-to-table' concept in Vietnam
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Nam Hai sows 'farm-to-table' concept in Vietnam
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Category: Asia Pacific - Vietnam - Gourmet restaurants -
Gourmet restaurants
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2011-01-21
Chef: 'We're just embracing the culture that surrounds us'
In another show of initiative and resourcefulness, The Nam Hai has turned a plot of once-fallow land into a herb and vegetable garden, flourishing with organically grown produce for use in gourmet dishes and exotic drinks.
"Increasingly, our guests are asking about ingredients. Casually, yes, but also at a remarkable depth of interest," said John Blanco, general manager of The Nam Hai. "Because so many of our staff know so much about how this all works, we realized we had an opportunity to get way out in front on this issue."
Conceived and managed by the resort's executive chef, Conrado Tromp, the garden occupies a full hectare of previously unaccounted for space adjacent to the hotel entrance.
Where tropical weeds and wild vines once grew, edibles such as red basil, lemongrass and mustard lettuce sprout in controlled abundance from the sand-based, coastal soil.
"The organic food movement has spread to all corners of the world," said Tromp, a Dutchman whose work experience over the past decade includes stints with Four Seasons resorts in Hong Kong, Maldives, Saudi Arabia and Germany.
"Just the other day, I read an article about how the revolution has extended to vending machines, with nutritious snacks starting to replace fatty, sugary staples. Living a healthy lifestyle is more important to people now than it’s ever been."
Harvested at a time when Tromp was in the process of transforming The Nam Hai's Beach Restaurant into a Vietnamese-fare-only venue, the garden enables the resort's food and beverage specialists to seize on what separates this country’s cuisine from most others — right-out-of-the-earth ingredients.
No greater testimonial exists for Vietnam's relationship with fresh food than a 2007 episode of No Reservations. In the popular television program, host Anthony Bourdain describes Vietnam's national dish — pho (a noodle soup chock full of flavorful herbs and vegetables) — as a "textural Disneyland."
"I'd burn cities to the ground for this," he said.
"The Vietnamese have subscribed to the 'farm-to-table' approach — as the West likes to call it — for centuries," said Tromp. "Most meals are still prepared in this fashion. We're just embracing the culture that surrounds us."
All guests of The Nam Hai are welcome to take a walk through the seaweed-fertilized garden — "no chemicals used at all," said Tromp — and explore its features on their own. Those who wish to learn more about the variety of crops at the culinary team's disposal are encouraged to sign up for the resort's cooking class, offered daily through sign-up at reception.
Situated on 35 hectares of landscaped tropical gardens 30 minutes from Danang International Airport, The Nam Hai is an exclusive, all-villa resort featuring 60 one-bedroom villas and 40 pool villas ranging from one to five bedrooms, each with its own infinity pool overlooking the East Sea.
Signature features of the Indochina Land-owned, GHM-managed property include three beachfront swimming pools, two gourmet restaurants, and a tropical spa beside a lagoon.
Since opening in December 2006, The Nam Hai has garnered recognition from many of the world's most prestigious travel publications, including Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Frommer's and Australian Gourmet Traveller.
Last year, the resort made headlines for another initiative inspired by what exists within the property's margins — an audio tour that celebrates the retreat's architectural chops, narrated by the designer himself.
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