Plant Based Dining In The Maldives

With a growing shift towards plant-based dining, hotels in the Maldives are stepping up their vegetarian game.

- Prachi Joshi

Chef Fabrizio Marino helms Maggese, a vegetarian forward restaurant in the heart of Tuscany. In July this year, Marino flew down to the Maldives where, over four days, he dazzled guests at Atmosphere Kanifushi (atmospherekanifushi.com) with a playful table of Italian and French dishes that highlighted vegetarian ingredients and contemporary techniques. Think avocado marinated with smoked lentil sauce or a cheese mousse with mustard and pear terrine. Marino's dining experience found its perfect backdrop at Just Veg, which opened in 2013 as the first all-vegetarian restaurant at a Maldives resort. What seemed like a radical idea then is now increasingly familiar territory as hotels and resorts in the region are getting creative with plant-based offerings that go beyond uninspiring salads.

AN ISLAND PARADISE FOR VEGETARIANS

For most people travelling to the Maldives, vegetables are not the first thing that come to mind. Ocean-to-plate dining and seafood so fresh you expect it to leap off the plate are usual suspects.

However, the last decade has witnessed a sea change in how we approach food. And for all those who ardently Google: Is it possible to be a vegetarian in the Maldives?, the answers are surprising to say the least. Long gone are the days when a restaurant in the Maldives would offer vegetarians a fruit platter or have some indifferent pasta tossed up for lunch. Today, there are entire sections dedicated to vegetarian and vegan dishes across meals, ranging from dosas to deconstructed desserts.