JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa is setting a new benchmark in sustainable dining with the launch of Sown & Reborn, Southeast Asia’s first fully circular beachfront tasting menu. This innovative six-course dining experience features fresh produce from the resort’s 27-acre organic farm, creatively repurposed leftovers, and sustainably sourced local seafood.
Crafted by the resort’s acclaimed Cluster Director of Culinary, Silvano Amolini, in collaboration with local Chef de Cuisine Khun Eak, the intimate experience takes place each evening by reservation at the newly reimagined Drift Beach Bar & Grill – widely regarded as Khao Lak’s premier dining destination.
The resort, which boasts probably the largest farm of any resort in the Asia Pacific region, has become a leader in environmental best practices, especially in its kitchens.
Silvano Amolini highlights that circular gastronomy is good for the environment and elevates the dining experience. He believes that exquisite meals don’t require waste or extravagance. They can be made using home-grown, locally sourced, or reused ingredients.
Guests can opt for a pre-dinner tour of the JW Garden organic farm, guided by a chef who explains the ingredients used in the meal. After the tour, guests enjoy welcome canapés and a tutored tasting of circular and farm-grown appetisers at Drift Beach Bar & Grill.
This experience can be enhanced with wellness activities such as yoga, birdwatching tours, and other sustainability-focused options.
The Sown & Reborn menu showcases creative, circular cuisine using fresh ingredients from the resort’s own JW Garden. Highlights include a crisp-fried poached duck egg on potato espuma, paired with morning glory ice cream, and Umami Power and Prawns – a tom yum-inspired broth enriched with the chef’s signature umami powder made from dehydrated vegetable trimmings.
Another inventive dish, JW Garden Chicken Egg with Smoked Eggshell Tagliatelle and Vegan Bolognese, features pasta crafted from smoked eggshells and recycled bread crusts, with even the smoking fuel made from used coffee grounds.
Sustainably farmed snapper and grouper from Rawai, raised without chemicals and fed on insects, are served alongside pickled cucumber and sweet basil from the garden.
For dessert, Nipa palm sugar sourced from the resort’s reforestation initiative supporting the local Moklen community adds natural sweetness. Herbs from the JW Garden feature throughout, rounding off a dining experience rooted in sustainability and creativity.
Beyond the tasting menu, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa shows a strong commitment to reducing food waste in its daily operations. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the resort converted 8.5 tonnes of food waste into compost for the JW Garden.
It repurposed 4 tonnes of waste food into croutons, pasta, and jams. It also produced 754 litres of juice from fruit trimmings. The kitchens made 253 kilograms of circular sourdough bread and 17.5 kilograms of circular pasta. Additionally, 912 kilograms of used coffee grounds were reused as fertiliser or fuel bricks.
