Culinary Power Boost for the Maldives

sustainable culinary journey

Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, together with the certified master chef and Spicehunter and international high-end gastronomy expert from Koppert Cress, Master Chef Marcel Thiele - completed a sustainable culinary journey with a series of extraordinary experiences and intensive training sessions. From the 11-22 April, the renowned culinary artist gave insights into a very future-oriented culinary art. Marcel Thiele spent 11 days at the resort creating tailor-made dining experiences and sharing his knowledge with the resort's guests. The guests come from all over the world and are not only looking for paradise as a fountain of youth of the soul, but also the culinary delights – whether from the heart of Budapest, Munich, Lucerne, Dublin or Saint Tropez, London, Singapore, Jaipur, Mumbai or Luxembourg – the guests actually come to the Maldives from different corners of the world. Master Chef Marcel Thiele lives in Germany – but as a Spicehunter he has already travelled to 93 countries around the world and shares his profound and admirable knowledge on the stages of the top chefs.

Sun Siyam Iru Fushi is proud to welcome such concentrated know-how to one of the four luxury resorts and makes no secret of it. “We want to offer the best to our guests and the topic of sustainability is part of our soul and our future plans here in the Maldives”, according to a member of the management.

The island

The island offers a total of 12 restaurants - The Taste of India, Trio – Italian or the Indonesian Bamboo Restaurant to name just 3 of the treasures. The Spicehunter Dinner has been specially adapted to the French restaurant Flavors, which is located above water with its impressive terrace and can boast an extraordinary wine cellar. A place that makes the hearts of wine connoisseurs, romantics and culinary enthusiasts beat faster. However, the menu is by no means limited to classic French cuisine, no, it brings new momentum and unites the claim of flavor, the future of culinary art and exceeds the expectations of the guests. Whether Mother Earth principles, vegan tuna, edible stones, the first European vanilla since its discovery, taste pearls of a special kind, exotic spices and the noblest oil in the world were all not only served in one menu but literally celebrated.

Vegan Tuna?

"Vegan tuna, probably wondering now – what is that? Sustainability begins with the technique of cooking and ends in its meaningfulness”, according to Marcel Thiele. “If I am able to create something from a simple ripe and juicy red watermelon within 6 hours (15 min. preparation time) that is almost identical to a Grade-A yellow tuna fillet. To marinate and stage it perfectly, I do my profession all the credit and define sustainability in a completely new level. Or how could you say, I don't have to eat sushi quality tuna every day to enjoy the feeling of Japanese quality of life.”

“No Shoes, No New”

“No Shoes, No New” is often said outside the Maldives. In fact, you don't need shoes, only on the hot wooden paths of the midday sun on the way to the water villa. Everyone who does not like that, goes to the covered buffet restaurant Iru. The restaurant surprises with new topics, because there you can dig your feet unnoticed while eating in the sand. Marcel Thiele used the hot hours to train the resort's chefs and bring them together with completely new approaches, creativity and sustainability. An air-conditioned conference and training room was not only suitable for cooling. Based on the Hippocratic belief “Make food your medicine before medicine becomes your food!”, the 42-year-old presented the Mother Earth principles. “The UN Sustainable Goals are currently the highest global sustainability principles, but how can cuisine as an intangible world heritage be reflected in them? Downright simpler than expected”, says Thiele. “80 percent of the ingredients being used should be of plant origin and a maximum of 20 percent of animal origin, salt-reduced, sugar-reduced and simplified in preparation with full respect for culture, health, nature, quality and values.”

Edible Stones

Edible stones that contain 25% poultry liver in the menu are completely positive, everyone concentrates on the taste and the explosions of aroma on the palate, but not on the animal ingredient alone – Marcel Thiele loves to provoke this cooking style, because in the end you wonder whether the steak is actually missing in the menu. What if the chefs in the Maldives could make an Italian lardo out of coconut, garlic, algae and a few herbs that puts a smile on the faces of even lardo connoisseurs? Thiele's inspiration go further than many guests would have expected.

Koppert Cress

He works for probably the most interesting company in the world when it comes to plant rarities with extraordinary tastes, Koppert Cress. Probably the most modern gardener, where sustainability is not an imposed corporate goal, but rather the pulse in the veins and is now known by every top chef all over the world. As an ambassador, he supports probably the noblest oil in the world – argan oil from the Unesco World Heritage region in Morocco. ARQAN would now emphasize Thiele, because this oil is the best selection on the market and every cent flows back into the community to not only fulfill the meaning of the Unesco World Heritage in a very exemplary way, but also to be able to highlight it as a crowning example of other treasures of the world. What could be a better place than the Maldives – to serve this precious drop there. Can such enjoyment still be topped? Perhaps through specially created taste pearls? Delicious pearls that burst delicately on the tongue and spread a pure taste of yuzu and saffron or the Scarlet Pearls – which not only impress in delicate pink, but also flatter the palate with their taste of amaranth and beetroot. A result that can be shown when a Spicehunter experiments together with Dr. Yana Steudel with the highest culinary standards.

Spicehunter

Anyone who would have thought that the surprises would end here is mistaken. For the expert, the Spice in the Spicehunter® is symbolic of all the active ingredients of the plant world that chefs use in their dishes to make food more digestible, to strengthen the body or in this harmony certain foods are edible at all and thus contribute to maintaining health. But it can also be a bit spice – or Mr. Thiele? Of course, he presented Tasmanian mountain pepper, bison grass and eucalyptic Assam long pepper, but the queen of spices and tropical realms could not be missing – vanilla. However, if you would have expected a Tahiti vanilla or bourbon vanilla here, you do not know the Spicehunter® yet. For the first time outside Europe, he presented the first European vanilla – which has been cultivated on a large scale since its discovery 500 years ago by the Dutch company Koppert Cress. Whether unfermented green vanilla, the well-known fermented black vanilla or the absolute miracle weapon red vanilla, which matures on the plant and forms many more aromas than the well-known one. The guests were allowed to enjoy, smell and enjoy again. Jasmine Blossom ice cream with Oxalis and yogurt meringue, Yka Leaves, Kaffir Lime Leaves dust and Manjari vanilla praline. A conclusion that was announced with a pre-dessert of honey chocolate, scarlet pearls and sweet yogurt foam. Any questions? Mmmmh... this is what summer tastes like - or April in the Maldives, when they invite one of the top chefs.

Magical Maldives

Meanwhile, Marcel Thiele is an honorary member of the Chefs Guild of Maldives and has already visited 13 luxury resorts and cooked on some of them. Sun Siyam Iru Fushi and Siyam World are a particularly magical place especially for families, the spa offer is certainly one of the largest in the whole Maldives and a honeymoon will also get its money's worth here. Whether it's a wedding on the beach – with the most intimate moment of life to say YES or dinner all alone on the beach – the Maldives is not just a dream destination – but a truly magical place.

Culinary Power Boost for the Maldives, Spicehunter® Marcel Thiele at Sun Siyam Iru Fushi