51 floors up in Singapore, the world’s highest urban farm produces surprises for its restaurants

Panoramic views, urban farming and an experiment in sustainability – what chef wouldn’t want to go to work every day with an edible garden at their fingertips? At CapitaSpring, 1-Arden’s restaurants Kaarla and Oumi form an ecosystem with a 10,000 sq ft Food Forest.

Video and story by Joyee Koo, May Seah
CNA Lifestyle
May 27, 2022
(Must see. Mike)

Excerpt:

What’s an urban farm doing so high up in the middle of Singapore’s financial district?

The 1-Arden Food Forest at CapitaSpring has over 130 varieties of crops, and it’s where restaurant chefs come if they’re looking for something special for their menu.

“Having a garden at our fingertips is inspiring every day,” said Fiechtner, who has worked all over the world and was previously V-Dining’s executive chef. “To go out at any time of day and pick something fresh from the garden – it’s really exciting for the guys in the kitchen to see something grow from scratch, and then to the final product that we get to serve.”

One of the things he wanted to grow was the tiger nut, a superfood from Africa dating back thousands of years, he shared. “It’s amazing for the soil, the reward in terms of yield is amazing, and the flavour suits the menu very well.”

At Kaarla, he uses tiger nuts in various ways, from a curd for the salad to an ice cream to top a dessert of tiger nut nougatine, white Chitose corn, calamansi jelly and poached oranges.

As for the produce he imports from Australia, such as beef and seafood, sustainability is at the forefront as well. “We know all the producers’ names, how they harvest and how they grow,” Fiechtner said.

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