It’s no secret that fresh, seasonal, locally sourced organic food tastes better, is better for our communities, and nourishes our bodies better.
So where do we find restaurants that cook with natural, regional ingredients? Or that truly take good care of our environment?In Tulum, a handful of top restaurants are leading the way in preparing delicious food that leaves a much smaller footprint on our Mother Earth, and ATTA Restaurant is at the forefront.
Our nature-loving chef, Daniel Franco, explains some of ATTA’s green practices that make our food not only delicious, but also healthy—for us and for the world.
Local And Seasonal Ingredients Rule
ATTA buys local and seasonal ingredients whenever possible. It’s simple: we support local farmers, get yummier produce, and shrink our carbon footprint.
Did you know that worldwide, food production and shipping make up almost 1/3 of all carbon emissions?
In our region, for example, almost all the fruits and vegetables in supermarkets are trucked here from Mexico City´s “Central de Abastos” (a gigantic produce market that´s over 1,500 kilometers from here!)
If we all ate food grown ecologically in our own region instead, we’d make a big impact on the emissions that cause global warming.
While it’s not always easy to find and connect with local small producers, ATTA has been doing the legwork to bring you the best local produce around.
Honoring Local Culture
The Yucatan peninsula where we live is home to an amazingly rich cuisine! There are so many unique ingredients native to our area, from vibrant green chaya leaves to guaya fruit, earthy makal root to sweet jocote plums. All that makes our regional food taste truly special and different.
At ATTA we celebrate these tasty natural ingredients, and the long-lived Maya culture that figured out how to use them in delicious ways! We use ancestral recipes and techniques, but always add our own dash of creativity.
Chef Daniel’s grandparents are from this region, so applying the cutting-edge cooking techniques he learned working at top hotels, to the complex flavors he grew up with, comes naturally to him.
“I hope to share this culinary heritage with people from different backgrounds and promote cultural exchange through food,” says Daniel.“My dream is for ATTA to become a model of sustainable cuisine in harmony with its environment, where culinary excellence is combined with respect for nature and the community,” he adds.
Waste Not, Pollute Not
Here are some crazy facts from the United Nations’ World Food Program about wasted food:
30% of the food produced each year around the world ends up in the trash! This equals about 1.3 billion tons of groceries.
If we could give that food to people, instead of throwing it away, it would be enough to feed 2 billion humans around the globe. That’s enough to end world hunger.
If wasted food were a country, it would be the 3rd largest carbon dioxide polluter on Earth, beaten out only by the USA and China.
In light of all that, avoiding food waste is a big priority in ATTA’s kitchen. Chef Daniel explains that he´s extra careful about menu planning, ordering only the ingredients he needs, and using as many parts of each food as possible (for example, using peels, leaves, roots, bones—the whole shebang).
Saving Energy and Water
As you know from visiting Tulum’s sparkling, pure blue cenotes, water is so important to the Riviera Maya, with huge underground rivers linking together our whole peninsula.
At ATTA, we want to be good stewards of this water, so we make sure to reduce our energy and water consumption, by turning off equipment when not in use, using energy efficient equipment, and quickly repairing any water leaks.
We have our beautiful Cenote Tuuch right here, just steps from our restaurant, so we´re reminded every day how vital it is to care for our water!
This is an area where we hope to keep evolving, to use more and more ecological practices.
Goodbye, Plastics
Have you ever seen the amazing art project called “Washed Up” by Tulum artist Alejandro Durán? Durán makes colorful sculptures and installations with some of the tons and tons of plastics that wash up on the world’s beaches each day.
While his art can look beautiful, the reality Durán—and ATTA—want to highlight is that we humans urgently need to stop using all that plastic that ends up in our oceans! At ATTA, we strive to never use single-use plastics in our kitchen. Instead, we opt for reusable containers and cloth bags.
As we constantly work to become even greener, we’re proud of already being one of Tulum’s most sustainable restaurants. We believe delicious food and a healthy Earth go hand in hand.
Come let us inspire you with our creative menu and tasty artisanal cocktails. We’ll be waiting for you here on the banks of our shimmering Cenote Tuuch, ready to toast to your health — and Mother Earth´s.
