"My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece," said Claude Monet. At Ka'ana, where serving delicious food and preserving our local natural habitat are two of our top priorities, we feel similarly!
It doesn't get more local than home-grown, which is why more than a tenth of our land is devoted to our onsite organic garden farm, supplying our chefs with the freshest ingredients.
Our garden is run by a small but mighty team of just three individuals, including master gardener Charles May. Born in the southern Belize village San Antonio, he's been with Ka'ana for more than six years, and has played a vital role in expanding the garden, implementing a chicken coop and sheep farm along the way (guests love visiting with sister-sheep Ceres and Rhea. They're sweethearts).
Leafy greens like arugula, cabbage, bok choy, and lettuce, along with chaya—a spinach-like plant native to Central America—are staples. We also grow fruits and vegetables such as green papaya, cauliflower, eggplant, various peppers and carrots. Herbs, including lemongrass, chives, basil and spearmint, add flavor to dishes, and chickens, a favorite site for Ka'ana guests, supply the kitchen's eggs. This month we are also introducing a new plant, Moringa, or also know as the "Morning Tree." This plan has so many health benefits and is a popular item among some of our Ka'ana staff members (they love to add it to their morning shakes).
Dining in La Ceiba, guests will taste the just-picked ingredients in dishes throughout the day, from the chaya omelettes in the morning to the linguini with house-made pesto at dinner. And when the team from Bar Lab curated Ka'ana's bar experience, they made sure to incorporate the garden's herbs in the cocktail menu. The Refresher, for example, uses cilantro, while Down the Hatch features lemon basil.
And this year, we're excited to launch several initiatives in the garden. We're adding passion fruit to the crop list, and can't wait to include the vibrant flavor in more dishes. Also planned for 2018: new herbs and spices, plus different lettuces. Another newcomer will be moringa, a vitamin-rich superfood native to the Himalayas that's causing a stir in the global health and nutrition movement. We're so excited for all the delicious possibilities.
Visit us at Ka'ana to get a first-hand look at how our gardens grow. Book today!