It's not posturing
Then we are facing a very exciting hipster dream. The idea of having dinner one night vegetables that have been collected in the hotel's own garden borders on the height of contemporary luxury, that to which even the word luxury is tacky.
The truth (mini-sarcasm aside) is that the gardens in the hotels are a point in its favor. They satisfy our longing for the countryside, suggest health and sensitivity and provide storytelling . It is logical that country and city hotels, especially cities, strive to plant an organic garden. Or biological. Or echo.
The terminology is confusing, but the producer of an orchard in Segovia who sells his products in Madrid (La Tienda Ecológica, Apodaca, 3) cleared my doubts. “In Europe there are three synonymous denominations”, he told me as he gave me a taste of cherries. And he kept telling me. “Organic gardens are based on the fertility of sleep. The more fertile, the stronger the plant and the better the fruit. Also in the variety, because that way the ecosystem is more stable”. Learned the theory, I went for a walk through organic gardens, or bio or eco hotels around the world. Along the way I got hungry and wanted to get my hands dirty.
A garden in a hotel is not a trend , understanding as such something that is repeated or something with the possibility of disappearing. It is a statement of intent , a "I worry about the manual work, I take care of who sleeps in my house, I take care of the sensations".
There are many examples of vegetable gardens in hotels. **They serve to nourish the restaurant or bar, as is the case at La Mamounia **. The cocktails that are prepared in its bar use herbs from its 1,500-square-meter garden. Sometimes it is the cooks who maintain it and other times they involve the clients . In fact there are hotels, like the Grand Hotel Costa Adeje , which involves children in its care.
The most mediatic cases are those of orchards in the hotels in the city center. The Soho Grand in New York It is exemplary in its proposal. They grow in it different types of aromatic herbs, carrots, lettuce, green beans... a varied ecosystem (theory fulfilled) on a terrace in Soho that is used in the hotel kitchens and, therefore, enjoyed by its stylish clients. Also on the 12th floor of a Manhattan building is the Crosby Hotel vegetable garden . Cared for by Chef Anthony Paris , which also takes care of the four Araucana hens that “lodge” there and give away pale blue eggs. Agrosnobism to the fullest. i want to eat them.
Orchards are more common in rural areas . In Monteverdi , in Tuscany, Paolo Coluccio, the cook has the supermarket nearby, a few meters away. The arugula for dinner is collected from next to the restaurant tables . And this is literal, Paolo gets distracted for a moment from the kitchen and returns with the purchase resolved. Something similar happens in Manor House, in the Cotswolds . This mansion-hotel hides a restaurant with a Michelin star that feeds on what is grown in its own garden . Also in England is swinton-park , which grows 60 varieties for its kitchen. Guests are invited to participate in the collection.
Paolo Coluccio, at the Hotel Monteverdi
In Spain, a good example is that of La Residencia, in Mallorca. His restaurant El Olivo It always had its own vegetable garden, but in 2010, the hotel increased the land dedicated to planting herbs and vegetables. This orchard, in summer, is in its splendor and is a display of Mediterranean species. It also has a orchard of fruit trees that supply the kitchens and fill the jars of jam . Years ago, luxury appropriated the idea of owning a garden and added it to its catalog of values. Alila Mangis , in Bali has one, moreover, with spectacular views.
And we could go on, because there are more and more examples of this type in Spain and abroad , small or large, more ascribed to classic luxury or more to the hip sphere. Eating semi-frozen and hormone-treated fruit that hasn't traveled halfway around the world to reach the table It is a delicacy that, of course, we deserve. It's not posturing.
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The garden of Alila Manggis, in Bali