New Urban Hotel to open organic farm in north Thailand
Meliá Chiang Mai, a 260-key hotel, will soon debut in Thailand’s mountainous north, by establishing a farm to harvest produce for its restaurants, bars and spa.
The hotel, due to open on April 8, 2022 on Charoen Prathet Road in the heart of Chiang Mai, has partnered with ORI9IN The Gourmet Farm, a 198-acre gourmet organic farm located in nearby San Sai District overseen by two-star Michelin Chef turned sustainable farmer James Noble and his wife May.
Noble, a chef who has run Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK, will work with local farmers to grow an array of fruits, vegetables and herbs for the hotel on its own two-acre farm on the broader ORI9IN property.
In addition to local seasonal produce such as young morning glory, red basil, lemongrass and passion fruit, the farm will also grow various kinds of tomatoes, salad leaves, and specialized ingredients such as padrón pepper that would otherwise need to be imported from Spain for the hotel’s authentic Mediterranean cuisine.
The partnership is a central plank of Meliá Chiang Mai’s ‘360° Cuisine’ programme, under which the hotel aims to work closely with local farmers to help them improve sustainability and encourage ethical production to make communities and the overall food system more resilient.
The 360° Cuisine programme tells the guests where their food comes from and also encourages them to visit the hotel’s farm to meet local farmers and learn more about sustainable farming and healthier eating.
The hotel’s menus will highlight appetizers, main courses and desserts that feature ingredients from the farm. Example dishes include 'Salmorejo con Tomate Triturado' (fresh chilled tomato soup), 'Fattoush Salad' and 'Fruta de Temporada' (seasonal fruit platter). Ingredients from the farm will also be in various beverages at the hotel’s bars and Meliá’s signature YHI Spa.
“In addition to pursuing ‘farm to plate’ by sourcing organic produce that travels only a short distance to our hotel, our partnership with ORI9IN also comprises ‘plate to farm’ where we separate our food waste and bring it back to the farm as compost, thus minimizing waste as part of a truly 360° concept,” said Meliá Chiang Mai’s general manager Edward E. Snoeks.
