5 farm-to-table restaurants every foodie should know
These gourmet restaurants impress with great food, sustainability, and cutting-edge design.
July 3, 2023
Gmundner Lodge, Namibia
© Gmundner Lodge
The Austrian company Gmundner has been known for over 500 years. It stands for the finest ceramics and table culture. Recently, the company has added another business segment with the Gmundner Lodge. There guests are being spoiled not only with generous luxury, but also with an excellent kitchen. The ingredients for this come from their own sustainable farm. Etienne Coertzen and his team conjure up delicacies from meat, fruit, vegetables, eggs and much more. On request, the team also sets the table at the secret places in the area.
Gmundner Lodge
6GM5+VH, Brack, Namibia
Web: gmundner.africa
Tel: +264 81 803 0749
Sendlhofer's, Austria
© Sendlhofer's
Would you like a little more? The hotel, which is known as a culinary hotspot in the Gastein Valley, not only offers the best of a farm-to-table restaurant. The team around Lukas Sendlhofer also cooks nose-to-tail. For example, on the table at Luke's are crispy Bread Pit and vegan sushi. Alpine tapas and 4-course moonshine dinners at 1,590 meters above sea level are also on the menu. However, it's not only the culinary in the kitchen that's open and creative. The principle runs through the entire family-run hotel.
Sendlhofer's
Pyrkerstraße 34, 5630 Bad Hofgastein, Salzburg, Austria
Web: sendlhofers.com
Tel: +43 6432 38380
andBeyond Vira Vira, Chile
© andBeyond
Damián Fernández Dupouy is a master at the barbecue grill. Or actually: on the parilla, as the chilean version is called. He grills meats from neighboring farms and serves field-fresh fruits and vegetables to go with them. Crusty bread and cheese from the lodge's own cheese dairy, as well as sweet pastries with homemade butter, round out the menu. What's in the glass? Something regional, of course: chilean red wine. Views of snow-capped peaks and the lush nature of Chile complete the pleasurable experience.
andBeyond Vira Vira
Parcela 19 - 22a, Quetroleufu, Pucón, Araucanía, Chile
Web: andbeyond.com
Tel: +56 45 237 4000
The Chairman, Hong Kong
© The Chairman Group
Founded in 2009, The Chairman in Hong Kong is one of those farm-to-table restaurants that cooked according to principles of the circular economy long before the term became a marketing buzzword. Indeed, the ingredients for Chef Kwok Keung Tung's wonderful cuisine come from the restaurant's own farm in Sheung Shui. What doesn't grow there comes directly from other farms, fresh from the field. The guests are thrilled, critics as well. The Chairman is one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2023, and there was also a Michelin star. The crab in Shaoxing wine is legendary.
The Chairman
3rd Floor, The Wellington, 198 Wellington St, Central, Hong Kong
Web: thechairmangroup.com
Tel: +852 2555 2202
Villa AiDa, Japan
© Villa AiDA
Kanji Kobayashi and his wife Yumi simply turn the concept of a farm-to-table restaurant around. They don't have a restaurant with a farm. Instead, they have a farm with a small restaurant on it. 27 tennis courts is the size of the said farm. And it's part of the experience. Guests pick themselves at the field, among other things, what they would like to try. But only Kanji and Yumi work in the restaurant. They spontaneously make excellent delicacies from what nature gives them. The farm's products are so good that two famous eateries - the Florilège and Ode, both among the top rated restaurants in Asia - also get their ingredients from the Kobayashis.
Villa AiDa
71-5 Kawashiri, Iwade, Wakayama 649-6231, Japan
Web: villa-aida.jp