A NEW DINING experience has been launched with Government and tourism officials lauding it as a wise investment.
Asian Spice Restaurant, which will offer authentic Indian Mughlai cuisine, was officially opened on Friday night at the All Seasons Resort in Sunset Crest, St James.
According to resort director Soni Kessuram, the restaurant was a significant part of the hotel’s six-year, $4 million renovation and rebranding exercise. Mughlai cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines in North India known for its richness, using exotic spices, dried fruit and nuts.
Kessuram noted that, apart from authentic Asian spices, all food products used at the restaurant, including halal meat, would be Barbadian.
In addition, all the woodwork for the decor has been manufactured locally with the accents imported from India.
Executive vice-president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Sue Springer, applauded the investment in the property.
“This is an extraordinary investment that is being made by one of our award-winning small hotels and we congratulate Soni on taking such a bold step despite the current economic challenges around us at this time,” she said.
In welcoming the new addition to the island’s culinary offering, Springer stressed the importance of restaurants creating linkages with the agricultural sector.
“Our chefs prefer to be able to offer fresh local food as opposed to imported because fresh becomes tastier and also you get less wastage in the kitchen. The biggest challenge we have had in the industry is the ability to have quality, quantity and consistency of the supply of fresh produce,” she said.
She however noted that the BHTA was working with the Inter-American Development Bank on a project to improve this situation.
Meanwhile, Acting Minister of Tourism Irene Sandiford-Garner said that Barbados had a distinct culinary advantage over islands.
“Barbados is well poised to dominate regionally in this particular niche because we offer a complete culinary experience from the higher end haute cuisine to the mid-range experience to the community type offering such as the Oistins Fish Fry,” she said.
Sandiford-Garner added that it was important for Barbados to embrace new niches in order to ensure the sustainability of the tourism sector.
“Culinary tourism has become a fast-growing market segment. Food is a significant aspect of the visitor experience of a destination driven by the trend towards authenticity and the need to have a high-quality experience,” she said. (NB)
