Chef Fabrizio Marino helms Maggese, a vegetarian-forward restaurant in the heart of Tuscany. In July this year, Marino flew down to the Maldives where, over four days, he dazzled guests at Atmosphere Kanifushi with a playful table of Italian and French dishes that highlighted vegetarian ingredients and contemporary techniques. Think avocado marinated with smoked lentil sauce or a cheese mousse with mustard and pear terrine. Marino’s dining experience found its perfect backdrop at Just Veg, which opened in 2013 as the first all-vegetarian restaurant at a Maldives resort. What seemed like a radical idea then is now increasingly familiar territory as hotels and resorts in the region are getting creative with plant-based offerings that go beyond uninspiring salads.
An island paradise for vegetarians
For most people travelling to the Maldives, vegetables are not the first thing that come to mind. Ocean-to-plate dining and seafood so fresh you expect it to leap off the plate are usual suspects. However, the last decade has witnessed a sea change in how we approach food. And for all those who ardently Google: “Is it possible to be a vegetarian in the Maldives?”, the answers are surprising to say the least. Long gone are the days when a restaurant in the Maldives would offer vegetarians a fruit platter or have some indifferent pasta tossed up for lunch. Today, there are entire sections dedicated to vegetarian and vegan dishes across meals, ranging from dosas to deconstructed desserts. Acclaimed international chefs are further driving the trend of vegetarian fine-dining in the Maldives. “Vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian [primarily vegetarian with occasional meat intake] cuisines were on the rise even before the pandemic,” says Bir Yadav, executive chef at JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa.
“Concerns about human health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare fuelled this shift toward plant-based diets, and the pandemic has only accelerated this trend. People are now more conscious, sensitive, and responsible.” All Marriott resorts in the Maldives cater to vegetarian and vegan guests. The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort’s vegetarian offerings are not limited to meals alone as guests can also participate in vegetarian cooking classes.
At the Taj Coral Reef Resort & Spa, you can find everything from Indian thalis to a meatless burger (with plant-based patty) and a “green burger” (with lentil and spinach galette). Meanwhile, The Nautilus has a choice of high-quality vegetarian, vegan, and entirely plant-based dishes across all its three restaurants—whether it’s The Nautilus signature salad with pomelo, mango, and avocado at the beachfront Thyme, or the dukkah-spiced cauliflower with crispy chickpeas at Zeytoun or seaweed and tofu salad and vegan tacos and burritos at the al-fresco grill, Ocaso. Many resorts are also growing their own produce, like the two Soneva resorts—Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani. “Overall, 33 percent of our menu is vegan. Soneva is serious about sourcing every single ingredient from ethical sources. We grow as much as we can in our organic gardens and have an extensive list of endangered species and unethical produce that are excluded from menus. The menus use only the freshest, high-quality ingredients to tempt guests on a daily basis,” says Sonu Shivdasani, founder and CEO of Soneva. In 2021, 45 tonnes of vegetables were grown at Soneva’s resorts and more than 40 different varieties of plants were added to the organic gardens at both the resorts. In addition, a new mushroom hut was installed at Soneva Fushi, growing eight varieties of organic mushrooms for the resort’s restaurants.
The food at the properties showcases the locally grown produce, Maldivian flavours and a host of western techniques. Shades of Green at Soneva Fushi is a plant-based dining experience set within the resort’s organic island gardens. Every meal begins with a tour of the gardens followed by a six-course menu created by Danish chef Carsten Kyster—expect Maldivian and Southeast Asian flavours fused with Nordic techniques such as smoking, salting, fermenting, and pickling. So Wild by Diana Von Cranach at Soneva Jani is a showcase of unique dishes like papaya ceviche and miso eggplant ‘scallops’ that revive nearly-forgotten traditional recipes from the Indonesian Spice Islands and Southeast Asia. Designed by internationally renowned raw food chef and cookbook author Diana Von Cranach, the menu is plant-based with 90 percent of the ingredients freshly picked from the resort’s organic garden. If you are vegetarian and planning a trip to Soneva this month, a unique plant-based menu by Belgian chef Bart De Pooter will be available at both the resorts from 15 to 30 August. The chef who runs one of Belgium’s best vegetarian restaurants—the two Michelin-starred Pastorale— is all set to bring his culinary innovations to the table.
Over at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, chef Gaetano Trovato of the two Michelin-starred Arnolfo restaurant (also in Tuscany) will be in residence at the resort’s Blu Beach Club from 24 to 30 October. His six-course vegetarian menu will use local produce as the raw materials that form the “scaffolding” of each dish. Meanwhile, at The Nautilus, visitors can partake of gourmet Ayurveda cuisine with dishes such as star anise-scented beetroot pears, whole wheat spaghetti with soy Bolognese, or a coconut flavoured vegetable stew with lentils and cumin tempered rice, all curated by Ananda in the Himalayas’ executive chef Diwaker Balodi. The menu incorporates the six fundamental food tastes of sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent, combined with protein, fat, and carbohydrates that are vital to good health.
Flavours of India
Apart from gourmet international vegetarian fare, restaurants in the Maldives are also upping the ante on Indian vegetarian cooking as per growing demands. Indian specialty outlet Tradition Saffron at Ozen Reserve Bolifushi offers heritage Indian dishes inspired by the precious spice—saffron, as well as an all-vegetarian thali. At Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kudaa Hura, the acclaimed Indian restaurant Baraabaru offers home-style Indian delights in a dramatic lagoon-top setting. This restaurant has a dedicated vegetarian menu and serves everything from vegan seekh kebab and courgette kofta to a Chettinad pie. If you are staying at the Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives, you can expect a specially curated vegetarian and vegan menu across the resort’s dining venues. The multi-cuisine eatery 24 Degrees also has a separate Jain menu in addition to its vast spread of Indian and Maldivian fare.
For the vegetarian traveller to the Maldives, the tide seems to be turning.
