In the heart of The Maldives, the luxurious Velaa Private Island resort is placing an emphasis on healthy living with the recent launch of its new wellbeing restaurant, Faiy. Here, Executive Chef Gaushan De Silva and Executive Pastry Chef Alexander Crocher use clean, unprocessed and whole foods to create balanced dishes that showcase the ingredients in their natural state.
Supper sat down with Chef Crocher to find out more about one of the signature dishes on the new menu: Mango Carpaccio.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What inspired the Mango Carpaccio?
The Mango Carpaccio was inspired by our desire to offer a dessert which is fresh and light, yet still feels indulgent. It is based on the overarching concept of Faiy, which is to offer healthy, colourful dishes based on the flavours of south Asia.
What goes into the dish?
Fresh Mango, grated coconut, passionfruit, pomegranate and coconut sorbet. We source all of our ingredients from south Asia to ensure they are as local as possible. Most of our fresh produce comes from the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
How is it made?
We slice fresh, sweet mango very finely, then cover it with a passionfruit glaze and scattering of pomegranate seeds and freshly grated coconut. We accompany it with a fresh coconut sorbet made with fresh coconut milk from the island.
What do you love about it?
The Mango Carpaccio is one of our favourites because of its simplicity. Combining the fresh fruits brings out their incredible flavours and offers so many health benefits.
What has the reaction been?
It is already proving to be a popular dish with our guests and the feedback we’ve received has been great so far. Diners at Faiy are looking for a dish that satisfies their sweet cravings while still offering health benefits and complementing their wellness experiences on the island.
What’s your favourite thing about this dish?
My favourite thing about the Mango Carpaccio is that it can satisfy every guest as it is gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and doesn’t contain any refined sugars. All sweetness comes from the natural qualities of the ingredients and using the freshest produce ensures minimal intervention is needed to create a flavour-filled dessert.
