UAE: Dubai chef offers tours of his greenhouse

John Martho Buenaventura is a chef at a second-floor restaurant at Dubai’s Business Bay. He grows several different kinds of lettuce, a range of herbs, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and edible flowers in a space that can’t be much bigger than 40 square metres. The results are served in his modern tapas restaurant Cuisinero Uno at the Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay.

Diners can tour the greenhouse anytime. Until March 9, as part of Dubai Food Festival, the restaurant is hosting a tour and tasting session each Friday. Interested visitors can take part in an experiential planting session and learn how to make healthy smoothies and mocktails — and taste some of this food.

“My food costs have gone down between 3 and 5 per cent, and the food tastes better because it’s locally sourced and organic,” Buenaventura says. The volumes from his terrace farm are nowhere near enough to sustain the restaurant, but as he says, at least he’s doing something to create a greener world and be sustainable. “In our own small way, we want to do a farm-to-table experience and we want to showcase that you don’t have to spend a lot of money for good food.”

Read more at Gulf News (Keith J Fernandez)