At Eco Park Hotel Azalea in Val di Fiemme (Trentino) we offer organic, plant-based, vegetarian and vegan cuisine. From time to time we rely entirely on our imagination and imagine eventful dinners that focus on holistic well-being, love of nature and the originality of Val di Fiemme. For the Epiphany dinner, we have come up with a way with essential oils sustainably extracted from the typical trees of the Fleimstal.
Tastes, nature, flavours and fragrances came together at the "Witches' Gifts" dinner. We chose three essential oils and combined them with natural, colourful and healthy dishes. The oils were added directly to the dishes and created a sophisticated scent that matched the food on offer. During dinner, guests had the opportunity to smell the pure essential oils and thus experience a journey through taste and smell.
The essential oils selected come from a friendly company: Magnifica Essenza di Cavalese, which produces its products in an environmentally friendly way and using waste materials.
The trees suggested at the dinner were: Spruce, Silver Fir and Swiss Pine.
The menu consisted of a starter, two courses and a dessert. The result of the expertise and creativity of our fantastic kitchen brigade, consisting of Pravas and Lucia.
Here is the exclusive menu of the evening:
The gifts of the magicians and witches ✧ Winter bulbs and leaves✧
Roasted fennel and ribs with paprika with linseed and white spruce scent.
The essential oil of white fir has a balancing effect on the central nervous system.
Strengthening and stimulating as it increases positive energy; helps to feel stronger and more protected in difficult situations.
✧ The salt of the earth ✧
Biodynamic spelt with pumpkin and sultanas, whipped with spruce.
The roots of the spruce are extensive but shallow: it encourages us to be practical, to "come out of the clouds", to look around with strength and pragmatism.
On a physiological level, spruce essential oil acts on the surface and is therefore excellent for fungal diseases, dermatitis, etc. Like all properly distilled Coniferous Essences, it is safe for the skin and there is no need to use a carrier oil. It also has a strong balsamic effect.
✧ Sleeping under the snow ✧
Celeriac cutlets with dill, red cabbage and Swiss stone pine mayonnaise.
The essential oil of Swiss stone pine has numerous positive properties. It is relaxing, calming, balsamic for the respiratory tract, useful for reactivating the blood circulation, fresh and pleasant. A real panacea that was already appreciated in ancient times, especially by the inhabitants of the Alps who already knew its benefits.
✧ Grow brown, rise sweet ✧
Forest cake with dark flour, plums and spruce bud syrup with spiced whipped cream.
In the forest, the hierarchy and mutual roles of the plants are clearly defined, starting with the mother plant, which preserves the memory of the forest, and ending with the small shoots, which are nourished exclusively by the older trees, which represent the future.
It was indeed a memorable and different dinner and we are thinking of organising more inspired by the synergy of good food and essential oils with their properties.