Vegetarian Accolade for Heritage Auckland Chef

25 July 2014

Vegetarian Accolade for Heritage Auckland Chef

Jinu Abraham, executive chef of Heritage Auckland, has won the New Zealand Vegetarian Dish Challenge 2014, in the lunch category, with his dish of organic tofu and pea stuffed potato, smoked tomato and onions. This is a second win for Abraham, having been the recipient of the inaugural Vegetarian Dish Challenge in 2012.

“Vegetarian dishes are becoming more and more popular and as a chef I am constantly challenging myself to get really creative and develop new ways of delivering vegetarian meals,” said Jinu.

Heritage Auckland, a hospitality industry leader in healthy and conscious dining, was the first hotel in New Zealand to offer vegan/vegetarian options in its main stream menus. The hotel went on to become the first Vegetarian accredited restaurant in New Zealand and recently introduced a Raw Bar alongside its extensive breakfast buffet.

Cereals on the Raw Breakfast Bar at the Hector’s Restaurant at the Heritage Auckland include cranberry, coconut yoghurt muesli with pipettes of raw berry coulis, raw granola and protein bars. Some of the preserves to go with the sliced raw cabbage linseed bread include raw fig preserve and raw chia seed and feijoa coulis. The Raw Breakfast Bar is priced at NZ$19 per person.

“This is an opportunity to change the perceptions of hotel food,” said Abraham. “We are preparing vegetables, fruit, herbs, beans and nuts in ways that retain their natural flavours and nutritional value. Our raw dishes utilise a number of techniques such as preserving, pickling, compression, dehydration and sprouting to enhance the taste. With every meal, we’re celebrating New Zealand’s vibrant and varied cuisine.”

ENDS

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