Food & Beverage | Sands going organic

(Golden Court) Ice Chilled Organic Kales with Wasabi Sauce

(Golden Court) Scrambled Organic Eggs and Cherry Tomatoes with Sustainable Tiger Prawns

In support of the Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (MIECF), Sands Dining Sensations launched an Organic Food Tasting event with the media at Conrad Macao to showcase a range of delicacies created with fresh and seasonal ingredients sourced from certified organic farms in mainland China. A ten-course meal was presented and created by five Sands Resorts Macao and Sands Macao signature restaurants – Golden Court, North, Lotus Palace, Dynasty 8 and the Golden Peacock – by their skilled chefs. “Healthy” and “Sustainable” are the main goals of this promotion at these restaurants until 30th June.

(Golden Peacock) Australian Organic Honey, Coriander, Chervil, Yogurt Sponge, Quinoa, Chocolate

This brand-new concept is the beginning of promoting a healthy way of eating to customers by avoiding food containing chemicals such as pesticides, hormones, additives and antibiotics. “The vision is not only to make [this promotion] for three months [but it is] the beginning of this. And I think as a Chef we have the duty to give the best products to our customers to gain their trust,” said Chef Emmanuel Souliere, Executive Chef at Sands Cotai Central. Sands Resorts Macau aims to bring its customers healthy meals where quality, taste and organic values are considered. The chefs visited organic farms in China where they inspected produce, tested soil samples, reviewed supply chain processes and inspected hygiene standards. Around 30 different organic vegetables will be sourced from the farms.

(Golden Peacock) Makai Tikili Kebab Organic Yellow Corn, Organic Waxy Corn, Organic Sweet Corn, Organic Potato, Organic Cilantro, Organic Purple Eggplant

(Dynasty 8) Braised Milky Bai Choy with Quinoa in Fish Broth

(Lotus Palace) Stir-fried Minced Pigeon with Organic Chinese Chive and Sakura Shrimp Sauce served with Lettuce

(Dynasty 8) Braised Organic Baby Choy Sum with Crispy Dried Shrimp and Black Garlic

(Dynasty 8) Braised Organic Baby Choy Sum with Crispy Dried Shrimp and Black Garlic

(North) Stir-Fried Organic Baby Shanghai Bai Choy with Wild Mushroom

Chef Emmanuel Souliere [center] and Chef Alain Hui [second from right] – among other Sands China chefs – made the presentation of the tasting session

Switching to organic food is also an alternative practice toward sustainable development of the food system. For instance, one of the new dishes presented by Golden Court uses “sustainable” tiger prawns. “Certified sustainable prawns have set catch limits and undersized live prawns are returned to the sea which avoid particular species from extinction. In addition, the bottom trawling is banned to reduce damage to the seabed. Instead creel fishing is used where baited pots are deployed, which has a lower impact on the seabed,” said Chef Alain Hui, Executive Chef of Sands Macao.

The challenge of using organic food is being constrained and sensitive to the natural growing conditions that can result in unstable supply to the restaurants. For the time being organic dishes can therefore only play a minor role on the menu. “[We] work very closely with the farmers so that they understand our volume [and] our need for them to prepare the ground [and also] to prepare the number of people to work for us to buy these products [in order] to sell [them],” said Chef Souliere. Sourcing from nearby organic farms in China is also one way to practice farm-to-table supply which reduces the carbon footprint. 

Another challenge of using organic ingredients is that they come at a higher cost compared to conventional ingredients. As Chef Alain mentioned “eating healthy costs more but pays off.” Aimee Lee, MDT Contributor