Achieving balance

Wellbeing chef Gabriele Kurz Resort explains how spas can achieve delicious and healthy cuisine. 

Madinat Jumeirah is committed and passionate about wellbeing cuisine that is wholesome and nutritionally well-balanced, using only organic and plant-based ingredients, says chef Gabriele Kurz who is at the helm in her role as resort wellbeing chef. 

Kurz joined Madinat Jumeirah in 2007, when she took on the role of chef de cuisine and developed the concept for a fine-dining restaurant called Magnolia,which specialised in wellbeing and vegetarian cuisine. 

Her role has expanded over the years, and in 2011, Kurtz became responsible for ensuring that the Madinat Jumeirah offers healthy vegetarian dining alternatives to its guests. She is now involved in menu development for restaurants and corporate events in the resort and is responsible for the entire menu at Talise Spa. Her cooking and educational classes, nutritional advisory, as well as her diabetic and obesity consultation are popular with

Dubai residents and in-house guests alike. 

We ask if she uses sugar in any of the Talise Spa dishes. “We have eliminated refined, white sugar from our spa dishes, but do use honey or agave syrup in desserts” explains Kurz. “For several reasons I would recommend people look into their sugar consumption in general, be it for spa or not. Sugars are empty carbohydrates, which in extent can cause extra fat storage within the body. For those looking for a lean figure eliminating sugar as much as possible is very helpful. Sugar is also a vitamin thief. In digesting it, the body needs to use up vitamins, which can result in low vitamin levels. It is also acidifying.Over acidity is a problem of today’s lifestyle which

results in early ageing, hair loss, less elasticity of the skin, weak bones, hair and nails for example.” 

So what should spa cuisine consist of? “Spa food should be, by nature, light, vitamin-rich and ideally wholesome. Vegetarian dishes support detoxification, which is beneficial for many spa treatments. I recommend adding vegan and raw bites as an option. Spa menus need to be looked at from a very different angle from “normal” food menus. A few basics are; they should not smell of garlic, onions, frying oil. They should not be too filling. Often a spa has no food production area so the dishes need to be transportable, and still require the refinement of beautiful presentation, great taste and health benefits,” says Kurz.