Ms. Kijkanakorn

Food & Beverage

SLOW Food by Aleenta Resorts

By Anchalika Kijkanakorn, Managing Director, Akaryn Hospitality Management Services (AHMS)

Aleenta Resorts pioneered high end boutique resort experiences in Southeast Asia and now they are again boldly going first towards a new approach to food and beverage. Founder Anchalika Kijkanakorn is a strong believer in providing healthy and upscale lifestyle experiences to her guests - a belief that led her to develop her own organic farm so enable her to supply her own resorts with the freshest fruits, herbs and vegetables available. More than that, it was another way to involve and support the local community, and in doing so set in progress a long term and sustainable plan that would be of benefit to locals and guests alike.

Who pioneered the idea at Aleenta to start utilizing SLOW food in the menus and what triggered the idea?

The Aleenta team has always held the belief that the resorts need to be part of the environmental ‘revolution’, in that we should help preserve our naturally beautiful planet as much as we can, rather than add to the harsh impact on the environment that building new resorts can have. Inevitably, there are products that we have to import but we buy locally as much as we can and integrate the local community and culture into as many aspects of our food as we can.

Describe where you source the food from – how far away are your producers (are they all local), do they only grow organic food, was it a difficult process sourcing quality meat and fish (or relatively easy) and where do you source them. What criteria do your suppliers have to have?

Our overall philosophy that runs throughout our operations is to buy locally and support and develop local suppliers as much as we possibly can.

We are fortunate that we have excellent local markets right on our doorstep, so much of our produce grows within the immediate environs of the resort. The majority of our produce originates from Thailand, particularly fruit and vegetables, seafood and some farm animals, such as chickens.

We have our own organic garden that ensures our herbs, fruit and vegetables are locally grown and produced without chemicals and in an organic manner. Outside of this we also work with suppliers who conform as much as possible to organic raising of livestock and try to assist and guide where we can so we are able to help them produce in a way that adheres to the SLOW philosophy as closely as we can. We can’t change the world in a day so we just try to make a difference where we can.

Buffalo mozzarella and beef tomato, wild rocket
and extra virgin olive oil dressing, macadamia nuts

What other produce do you source locally – any beverages, for example?

We’re passionate about showcasing excellent Thai wine, grown across the kingdom, but often mistaken for European wine it’s that good. Thailand has perfect climate conditions – cool temperatures during the growing season results in balanced and fruity wines. At Aleenta we sell a Shiraz rosé Monsoon Valley, a silver-medal winner at the Food & Beverage Association of Thailand wine challenge, as well as a Colombard and another silver-medal winner at Wine Style Asia last year – the Cuvée de Siam Blanc.

How easy was it to start an organic garden – how long has this been going and how did the resort create enough space? Did you hire in specialists to help cultivate it?

The organic garden is located at our property in Hua Hin where we have more space available and a dedicated team to help manage it. The garden is divided into two areas across the resort and the gardener’s work extremely hard to produce certain vegetables and herbs in sufficient enough quantities to allow us to use them in food preparation. While we do not currently produce all the vegetables our menus require we are working diligently to increase the volume produced.

What do you grow in the organic garden and what other vegetables/fruit do you plan to grow? Do you do any research into what foods are popular with guests?

We currently grow all our Asian herbs including Galangal, Holy Basil and Lemongrass and we are looking to introduce Thai fruits and vegetables such as pumpkins, papayas and durians, as these are popular in the Thai dishes we create. We are constantly mindful of what our guests will find both interesting and delicious and all our talented chefs create fantastic recipe ideas. Our main objective is to offer guests mouth-watering food made with the finest and freshest of ingredients – locally produced and cultivated by the local community to create a sustainable resource for our guests and sustainable income for local farmers who can grow with us.

Do chefs have input into what food they would like grown/organically sourced? Does this mean planning menus far in advance?

Absolutely. All of our chefs have an important role to play in the growth of our organic garden and we try to cater to their needs as much as possible. What we do not grow ourselves we look for outside and spend a lot of time sourcing from the best suppliers who share our beliefs and values. Using organic food does also mean we use seasonal produce, therefore menus do have to be planned well in advance so we know what to buy each season; we aim to always achieve five stars in consistency of quality and, to achieve that, substantial planning is required.

What challenges do you face as chefs creating SLOW menus? For example, cost-effectiveness, not enough ingredients to create dishes you want to, what do you do if you have a bad crop, do you have back-up plans, is there enough demand to sustain an organic garden etc?

Our chefs need to be flexible as we cannot 100% rely on supplies from local farmers and fishermen. And while we wholeheartedly support local farmers and will source produce from them when we can, when we plan our menus we have to know that if we run out locally we can still source the produce from another supplier or wholesaler.

As far as organic awareness is concerned Asia is still a step behind compared to the US, Europe and Australia, but this is rapidly changing. This has had a lot to do with the fact that, in Asia, mass production of food has not been a large stream of revenue for the countries; food habits are totally different to in the West. For example, in Europe you go to the supermarket and stock up on food for a week, whereas in Thai culture, when you want to eat you go down to the street vendors and buy a fantastic soup for THB30 or you go to the market to buy your produce directly from farmers. As most of these small farmers do not have the sufficient budgets or resources to use artificial fertilizer the food is ‘almost’ organic. But the world is changing and Asia will catch up in terms of organic produce.

Roasted snapper fillets, sautéed sprouts and cabbage
with parley sauce, “al dente” baby vegetables

Who came up with the idea of creating personal menus for guests and why? How is this feasible and cost-effective – for example, do you provide guests with the types of ingredients available and create something from what they choose from this list?

At our Hua Hin resort, personalized menus for guests have been introduced and our talented chef there, David Heidemann, who heads up an inviting and healthy personal dining program. This progressive menu program involves guests consulting with Chef David and personally choosing what they would like to eat before having it prepared for them by him and his team.

At our Phuket resort we also aim to offer personalized service and, if one of our guests would like something special to eat, our team will make it happen.

For example, just last month an Italian family stayed with us for 17 days and only wanted to eat grilled fish for dinner. Therefore our chef went to the market every day to buy a different fish for them to try.

We also see an increasing demand for vegetarian food. For vegetarian guests that stay with us for a week or more, the chefs will meet with them to discuss their requirements to ensure we offer them a personalized menu every time they come to the restaurant. While there are vegetarian options on our menu, there may not be enough to have something different every night for a week.

Tell us more about the Chef’s Table – what is it, when is this offered, what are some of the dishes that feature on the menu, and what creative touches do the chefs use to make dishes more special?

Our fine dining Chef’s Table at our Phuket resort has now reopened with a new name and concept – Level 3 – and brings with it a great new menu making it the destination for true foodies, as it showcases the freshest and finest ingredients in both classic and contemporary dishes devised by our talented chefs who have added new thoughts, nuances and flair.

How will you keep up the momentum of SLOW food and personalized menus – are there any other plans to increase the use of SLOW food for example, across all the resort’s menus – is this feasible?

We’re proud to say that the SLOW food concept has already expanded to all our resort menus and, while we order as much as we can locally, we do change some of our dishes based on the seasons.

Do you think more resorts will have to operate their food ordering/supplies and personalized menus in this way as more people become more focused on sustainability and healthy living?

This way of food ordering and personalized menus can only really be applied to small boutique properties, such as ours, or to dedicated SLOW food outlets. For much larger resorts the cost of serving organic is still too great compared to the returns and the supply isn’t there yet to serve the larger properties.

What are the benefits/positives of serving SLOW food and personalized menus to customers?

Organic food is healthy as it’s free from chemical fertilizers and pesticides and by not using harmful chemicals growing organic food is excellent for the environment as there is minimal impact on soil, air and water pollution. The organic farm at our Hua Hin resort will grow a wider and wider range of produce including herbs, fruits and vegetables that form the essential ingredients in Thai, Asian and western cuisines, which will mean our guests have the best home-grown ingredients and flavors. The farm will utilize internationally-recognized standards for sustainable soil cultivation, growth management and pesticide-free production. All of these elements are in line with the SLOW food concept which promotes gastronomy while recognizing the connections between plate, planet, people and culture, something we should all think about.

The experience that guests enjoy at Aleenta Resorts and the SLOW food philosophy that is embraced there is not an easy and simple path to follow. It has required the dedication of staff and resources to continue to strive to provide guests with healthy food, organically grown and produced, with the help of the local community. However, it is not only worthwhile and beneficial to all but it is a satisfying feeling that we are making a difference - however small - to benefit the environment and enrich peoples lives.

Akaryn Hospitality Management Services (AHMS) As owner and operator of two hugely successful luxury resorts in Thailand, leading Thai businesswoman, Anchalika Kijkanakorn, has fulfilled the first part of her dream of building an intimate retreat concept in her homeland. The dreams continue in 2011 with the expansion of the Akaryn Hospitality Management Services (AHMS) which will bring Ms. Kijkanakorn’s unique outlook towards resort management in Asia to a wider audience as the group embarks on a strategic expansion. After distinguished academic and business management careers in the United States and Europe, Ms. Kijkanakorn’s passion for Asia and specifically Thailand saw her return “home) in 2003 to transform a family beachfront holiday villa into the award-winning Aleenta Resort and Spa Hua Hin-Pranburi, opening in 2005. Ms. Kijkanakorn can be contacted at 66-2-514-8112 or anchalika@ahmshotels.com Extended Bio...

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