Ovolo Hotels launches “Year of the Veg”

1st October 2020 | Eativity editors

Ovolo Hotels announces today, on World Vegetarian Day, that all its restaurants and bars across Australia and Hong Kong will go vegetarian for 365 days. The designer hotel collection has become the first hotel group to make such a commitment globally.

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 the tradition 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.

Mister Percy will be serving up vegetarian house-made pastas daily.

With a rise in consumer interest and appreciation of the benefits that come with plant-based and vegetarian foods, this change reflects the fact that Ovolo is listening to its customers’ preferences. Guests and diners will be able to explore innovative and exciting vegie creations in Ovolo’s unique kitchen and bar concepts, which are all inspired by fresh, 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 experience and techniques to showcase vegies through a refined menu offering. Fermenting and pickling will feature prominently across the menu (try the pickled walnut if you can), and Wilson will also introduce a kitchen garden where he and his team will grow produce.

A ZA ZA TA dinner spread… where to begin?

Israeli-born chef Roy Ner has evolved his menu at ZA ZA TA to further celebrate the food of Tel Aviv, known as the vegan capital of the world. Guests will be taken on a journey of the Middle East, experiencing all the spices, vegies and textures of the Levantine melting pot.

Mister Percy will shift to a vegetarian Italian wine bar, serving up house-made pastas daily and antipasti that fuses knowledge of a traditional Italian cuccina and the best of seasonal produce, offering the perfect ally to a thoughtful collection of boutique and local wines.

Alibi’s kimchi dumplings are to die for.

In 2017, Alibi Bar & Kitchen was the country’s first 100 percent plant-based venue to open, showcasing only plant-based cuisine in collaboration with US-based Matthew Kenney. Alibi brings Kenney’s distinct food philosophy and style to the plate with a combination of classical and innovative cooking techniques that give local, plant-based ingredients a creative makeover – smoking, fermentation and molecular techniques all feature.

As well as going vegetarian across all restaurants, Ovolo will continue to incorporate sustainable and ethical practices where possible, with this launch coming off the back of several eco-friendly initiatives already implemented by the hotel collection in the past year.