Dubai hotel opens eco-friendly vertical farm on site

Ritz-Carlton JBR grows its own herbs to tackle sustainability crisis and provide fresh ingredients

The Ritz-Carlton Dubai, JBR teamed up with Green Container Advanced Farming (GCAF) to launch a hyper-local, on-site hydroponic (a method of growing plants without soil) farm, one of the first-ever vertical farms in the city. Executive Chef Tobias Pfister is pictured. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National

With a focus on food security and regenerative farming practices, the farm is approximately 40 square metres in size and completely sealed to ensure it is pesticide and herbicide-free

Executive chef Tobias Pfister conducts a tour of the vertical farm, which grows crops year–round with daily harvests of up to 10 kilograms of produce

Maan Said, CEO of Crisp, that built the farm. As the first Marriott property in the region to establish a vertical farm, The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai supports the UAE’s ambitious food security goals

The freshly grown selection of herbs includes Italian basil, Thai basil, and rosemary, among others, while coast-line lettuce, salanova mix and kale is also grown

Executive chef Tobias Pfister looks at some of the farm's produce, which will enhance the dishes served at the property’s dining establishments, including Blue Jade, Splendido and Amaseena

The hydroponic technique employed by the resort eliminates the need for soil to grow crops and reduces the amount of water needed by close to 90 per cent when compared with traditional farming techniques

By harvesting a variety of herbs, microgreens, lettuce and other ingredients at the hydroponic centre, the hotel offers daily delivery of local produce

A Dubai hotel has taken a big step when it comes to sustainably sourcing ingredients at its in-house restaurants – by setting up a vertical hydroponic farm on-site.

Having produce grown on the premises reduces its carbon footprint and transport costs for the buyer.

“We are doing it for two reasons. A chef will always want the freshest and best possible ingredients, and the need to think of sustainability is immense,” said the property’s executive chef, Tobias Pfister.

“We all need to reduce our carbon footprints. The food is literally grown here and then served on the tables.

“There’s no transportation or logistics involved. I can actually go in the morning to the farm and cut the lettuce and have it in a salad bowl that lunchtime.”

In vertical farming, crops are grown in layers on top of one another, while hydroponics is the process of growing plants in nutrient-rich liquid instead of soil.

A sustainable strategy

The farm, which is about 40 square metres, is inside a sealed container on the property’s grounds in Dubai Marina.

Plants, including lettuce, kale, basil, rosemary and thyme will be grown year-round.

“Sustainability is becoming something that’s an important part of the conversation for every hospitality company,” said Mr Pfister.

“It’s becoming an important trend for every chef.”

He also said food security was thrown under the spotlight by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We all saw how supply chains were interrupted. All industries were impacted, not just hospitality, and it was important to learn lessons from that,” he said.

“Companies in this region import a lot of their products, so we saw the importance of coming up with alternatives to help localise these markets.”

The Ritz-Carlton’s vertical farm was created in collaboration with Green Container Advanced Farming, a hydroponics specialist.

The method is often said to be a solution to the long-standing problem of finding areas to farm in rapidly urbanising areas.

“It has been established in many cities across the world already; it’s nothing new,” said Mr Pfister.

“When cities keep growing it means space becomes limited and conventional farming methods become unrealistic. This is clearly a way forward.”

Vertical farming on the up

US vertical farm company AeroFarms broke ground on a research and development centre in the capital last summer.

The 8,200-square-metre facility is part of a $150 million plan by Abu Dhabi Investment Office to bring cutting-edge technology to the forefront of efforts to improve food security.

At about that time, Sokovo, an agricultural technology company, announced it was building a 92,000-square-metre vertical farm at Dubai Industrial City.

“The significance of this launch is twofold; we are firstly supporting the UAE on its journey to increasing sustainability, while also enabling our guests to eat locally grown produce, which of course, is more environmentally friendly, but also superior in quality, taste and freshness,” said Jeroen Elmendorp, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai.

“Looking forward, we aim to boost responsible operations, which involves placing sustainability at the heart of all that we do.

“I am confident the launch of our very own hydroponic facility will provide our guests with an incredible culinary experience.”