From elevating Asian tastes in Kashibo restaurant, introducing gourmet junk food with J.F.K. and now bringing the global trend of vegan fine dining to the jewel in Hurawalhi’s crown, 5.8 Undersea Restaurant, Warren Moore, Executive Chef, is a man on a mission. We sat down with the young, ambitious and creative South African for a chat about his recent work trip and to give you a taste of what culinary journeys you can embark on when at the resort.

You spent a good proportion of the summer on a work trip to Europe. Where did you go and what insights did you gain?

My business trip took me from the Maldives to Switzerland (cue dream job!) where I had the pleasure of working alongside two renowned chefs: Stefan Heilemann at Ecco Zürich and Patrick Mauler at Park Hotel Vitznau. Stefan, who brings 2 Michelin starts to Ecco, creates magic on the plate by using Asian fusion coupled with full, robust flavours of classic, rich cuisine. Patrick, Chef de Cuisine at Focus right at the banks of Lake Lucern, equally awarded 2 Michelin stars, bases his dishes on local cuisine and works with a fermentation process, bringing out loads of flavour to his culinary creations. Both chefs are as equally as great as the next but what sets them apart are the process and execution skills. Patrick is a chef dedicated to presentation and operates every dish with precision and dominance. Stefan seems to have a radical but cool approach to execution with a full body of flavour to every bite that he serves.

How will this experience reflect on the the 5.8 Undersea Restaurant vegan menu?

My new approach to the strictly vegan menu will be coupled with both Asian fusion influence as well as fermentation process. One of the new vegan dishes I’d like to highlight is smoked miso fermented aubergine. The fermenting process will last for five days and thereafter the produce will be bathed in a sous vide bath for 90 minutes, capturing, all of the smokiness through the aubergine, giving off that barbecue grill taste. The dish will be dressed with potato and cauliflower mousse with hits of lemongrass, soiled in a turmeric, coriander and coconut broth with hints of mild Maldivian chili.

Another vegan highlight that I hope diners will love is the sweet pea tartare – young sweet pea shelled and rested with fusion oil consisting of basil, rosemary and thyme with delicate hints of dried celery salt – quinoa with caramelised onion as the base with a trilogy of pea textures. The dish will be sauced with delicate aromatic Asian flavours consisting of galangal, tomato, lime juice, passion, paprika and honey. All dishes for the vegan menu, available for lunch and dinner including all private dining occasions at 5.8 Undersea Restaurant, consist of gaining as much flavour as possible naturally to really bring out the essence of the healthy and natural vegan cuisine.

Based on your feedback and also executive chef’s current culinary inspiration, we’ve introduced strictly vegan menus too that will wow you with both the presentation, and the fermented and Asia-inspired flavours.

Seasoned with perfection, as always!

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