In celebration of World Vegetarian Day yesterday, Ovolo Hotels has announced the ‘Year of the Veg’ – a pact that will see all its restaurants and bars in Hong Kong & Australia go Veggie for an entire year.
Herbivores, rejoice because Ovolo just got a whole lot greener.
As the world changes and Ovolo evolves, ‘Year Of The Veg’ has sprouted and Ovolo takes home the medal for the first hotel group in the world to go vegetarian.
‘Year of the Veg’ will see all Ovolo restaurants and bars across Australia and Hong Kong go vegetarian for 365 days.
“Dining out and enjoying tasty food and wine with great company is one of life’s simplest pleasures. Good times and good intentions is how we’re evolving. We want to be conscious about what we are consuming and practice environmental sustainability as best as we can, as this leads to a larger impact on humanity, not just the environment.”
Girish Jhunjhnuwala, Ovolo Group’s Founder and CEO
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Ovolo’s Australian venues that will go vegetarian for a full year include Monster Kitchen & Bar at Ovolo Nishi in Canberra, ZA ZA TA at Ovolo The Valley in Brisbane and Mister Percy at Ovolo 1888 Darling Harbour in Sydney. Alibi Bar & Kitchen at Ovolo Woolloomooloo, Australia, and New Zealand’s first vegan hotel restaurant, will remain with global plant-based pioneer, Matthew Kenny as Creative Culinary Partner.
In vein of collaborating with industry-leaders, Monster Kitchen & Bar welcomes Paul Wilson (previously of Geranium in Denmark and Orpheus Island on the Great Barrier Reef), with Executive Chef Roy Ner (previously from Nour and Lilah in Sydney) at the helm of the ZA ZA TA kitchen.
With a rise in consumer interest and understanding of the benefits aligned with plant-based and vegetarian cuisine, this change embodies Ovolo’s philosophy of connecting with its customers’ wants. Guests and diners will be able to nourish their bodies and feed their souls at Ovolo’s unique kitchen and bar concepts, inspired by fresh and locally sourced produce, ethical eating, and conscious cuisine. Alongside, seasonal cocktails and wines sourced from some of Australia’s most progressive producers will also feature.
Monster Kitchen & Bar’s new Executive Chef, Paul Wilson, will incorporate his previous experiences and techniques to showcase vegetables through a refined menu offering. Fermenting and pickling will feature prominently across the menu, and Wilson will also introduce a kitchen garden where he and his team will grow produce. Israeli-born chef, Roy Ner, has evolved his menu at ZA ZA TA to further reference and celebrate the food of Tel Aviv, fondly known as the vegan capital of the world. Guests will be taken on a journey of the Middle East, experiencing all the spices, vegetables, and textures of the Levantine melting pot.
Mister Percy will shift to being a vegetarian Italian wine bar, fusing knowledge of a traditional Italian cuccina and the best of seasonal produce to serve up daily house made pastas and antipasti. The offerings ally perfectly to a thoughtful collection of boutique and local wines by the glass, quartino, or bottle.
In 2018, Alibi Bar & Kitchen was the country’s first 100% plant-based venue to open, showcasing only plant-based cuisine in collaboration with U.S. based celebrity chef and plant-based pioneer, Matthew Kenney. Alibi brings Kenney’s distinct food philosophy and style to the plate. A combination of classical and innovative cooking techniques gives locally sourced plant-based ingredients a creative makeover, with smoking, fermentation, and molecular techniques all featured.
Sustainable and ethical practices
As well as going vegetarian across their restaurants, Ovolo will continue to incorporate sustainable and ethical practices where possible.
Committed to continuously finding ways to further reduce their environmental footprint, this launch comes off the back of several eco-friendly initiatives already implemented by the hotel collection in the past year. This is inclusive of a bold move away from single-use bathroom amenity plastics, all OMG Amenities being designed in a sustainable manner, and making use of re-fillable, tamper-free pump bottles which are HDPE recyclable. In addition to this, Ovolo were early adaptors of removing plastic straws, introducing reusable woven bags for slippers, and the use of biodegradable materials in laundry bags and packaging.
All venues will offer vegetarian menus from Thursday 1 October, in line with World Vegetarian Day:
- Monster Kitchen & Bar – Open for dinner, Thursday to Saturday
- ZA ZA TA Bar & Kitchen – Open for dinner, Thursday to Saturday
- Mister Percy – Open for dinner, Wednesday to Saturday
- Alibi Bar & Kitchen – Open for dinner, Thursday to Saturday
Click here for more information.