Kyoto Snow Crab

Seasonal Delicacies

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Last month, The Manor at The St. Regis Macao launched its latest sustainable dining initiative with an all new six-course menu featuring the finest sustainably sourced ingredients and wines. Riding on the success of the previous sustainable dining program, Chef Michele Dell’Aquila continues to seek out sustainable food producers and utilize seasonal ingredients to design this new menu. 

“Our aim is to utilize seasonal ingredients to design a menu that not only tantalizes the taste buds, but is also environmentally friendly”, Chef Michele explains. “I believe that chefs can play a vital role in reconnecting people with the environment. It is our duty to promote the products that best reflect a smarter and more sustainable relationship with the planet,” he adds.

The Celebrate Sustainability menu at The Manor starts with a dish centered on a classic Italian springtime ingredient, artichoke.  Chef Michele weaves personal touches into his dishes, and turning to his childhood memories for this baby artichoke dish, he uses one of his mother’s cherished recipes as a starting point. 

“The whole philosophy behind this is seasonality, so I thought about things that my mother would cook during different seasons and then set about sourcing sustainable versions of those ingredients,” he says.

These artichokes have a very short season, he explains; and every year, his mother would prepare a special dish with these delicacies, a fond memory that stays with him today. 

Just like his mother, Chef Michele carefully opens the artichokes and adds a rich, flavourful filling to the empty shells. At The Manor, however, he transforms the dish for the fine-dining experience.  Using organic artichokes from Padua, Italy and herbs from Marius Auda in France – a company known for its traditional gardening techniques since the 1960’s – he fills the shells with langoustine tartare and tops them with langoustine carpaccio and kombu jelly. A clever touch that complements the sweetness and richness of the langoustine.

The star of the next dish is Kyoto Snow Crab – a true definition of haute cuisine. This fine crab breeds naturally in low-temperature and nutrient-rich waters inherent to the Sea of Japan, yielding a soft, sweet and delicate flesh. Accompanying this delicacy is asparagus from Jérôme and Aspa, two producers who follow production techniques in France that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

Next on the menu is Tategamori Ark Farm’s Egg Ravioli, made with organic flour from Moulin Paul Dupuis, filled with free-range farming eggs from Japan, Reblochon cheese by Les Frères Marchand, spinach, spring onion and green peas from Eric Roy, and Périgord black truffle from Bellorr.  

Dover Sole from Prodemar originates from a Spanish company that follows rigorous quality and environmental procedures to ensure its operations are certified environmentally sustainable. Chef serves it with baby celeriac from Eric Roy, razor clams and vermouth sauce.  Eric Roy assures high quality products by managing the soil, understanding the climate and monitoring rotations on generally very short-cycle crops.

‘Yukimuro’ Snow-Aged A4 Wagyu utilizes a 200-year-old technique employed in the wintry region of Niigata, Japan – a traditional snow-covered room to preserve and age produce naturally. This method helps save a lot of energy and the undisturbed process also helps produce higher quality meat with great texture and taste. This delicacy is dressed with black truffle sauce and Suntory’s Hakushu 12-year old whisky. Suntory’s brand promise is ‘to create harmony with people and nature’, striving to preserve the environment and ensuring a healthy ecosystem. 

The culmination of this sustainable dining journey comes in the form of a Chocolaterie De L’Opéra, made with 70% Deltora chocolate mousse, almond praline from Valencia and 70% smoked Madong chocolate sauce from France.  This chocolatier was the first in the world to dedicate itself to the design and creation of single-variety couverture chocolate for professionals. 

All of the dishes are beautifully paired with entirely organic and biodynamic wines, carefully chosen by sommelier David Duan. 

“Wines are an agricultural product, just like so many other products in our daily life,” David comments. “Nowadays people care more and more about eating and drinking healthy, and with climate change, we have to protect the planet and environment, and organic and biodynamic wines are a good way to do this. Especially younger people are more conscious of this and are very willing to buy and try these types of wines.”

David has selected organic and biodynamic wines from around the world including Josmeyer Riesling from Alsace, France; Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon USA; and Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay from Nelson, New Zealand. 

As well as the carefully sourced ingredients, Chef Michele explains other important sustainable practices he employs in the kitchen. 

“One step to reduce food waste is to encourage greater creativity from chefs to adopt a nose-to-tail attitude, meaning that you use every part of the ingredient that you are working with. Not only does this way of cooking help to reduce the environmental impact, but it’s cost efficient too,” he explains. “Investing in water-efficiency devices and appliances, and training our staff to be considered and vigilant when it comes to using water and energy helps us to reduce our carbon footprint. 

“And finally, one of the best ways to make our restaurant more sustainable is to base our menu around seasonal ingredients and if possible, local ones,” he concludes.

 

Celebrate Sustainability six-course dinner is available daily from 6:00PM – 11:00PM and is priced at MOP1,288+* per person. A selection of premier organic, biodynamic and sustainable wines curated by Sommelier David Duan is available for MOP1,788+* per person for with the wine pairing dinner.

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