Menus that make a difference
February 22, 2023 - While planning this season’s menus at Six Senses Shaharut, Chef David mentors his culinary team to produce exquisite dishes, then serves them on plates handcrafted by young people in need of a better start. Hope grows in the desert!
Since joining Six Senses Shaharut a year ago, Executive Chef David Biton (Dudu) has been working the land to grow as much organic food as possible at the property. Maintaining a garden in the desert is challenging, but it is essential for the property to move towards greater self-reliance and sustainability. His signature culinary language, fluently blending Mediterranean and Israeli influences, is synonymous with local, seasonal produce grown in soil nurtured by the best practices of restorative agriculture. This is farm-to-fork dining, where the flavor bursts with each bite.
His vision is broader than nurturing the produce on each plate. Why not also nurture the culinary team preparing the plate, and even the young people creating the plate? In a life where the odds are somewhat stacked against them, why not, like the arid land, find solutions to help young men and women flourish so they can take more confident steps toward independence and self-reliance?
This vision has brought him to Susan’s House, an Israeli-born initiative that began as the dream of one woman who wanted to help others in need of a better start in life. Today, a whole community of young adults receives the space, vocational training, and therapeutic support they need to create and sell beautiful pieces of art.
“Through our collaboration with Susan’s House, I visit every two months and spend time with the young artists there,” says Chef David. “I really love the plates with asymmetrical shapes, as they give our cuisine an extra handmade and special effect. Each of their creations is both art and therapy. While making each piece, there is a lot of space for introspection, so young people learn the values for coping with life. It also plants a seed of confidence that they have talent and something valuable to offer the world.”
Chef David emphasizes that the dishes served up by Six Senses Shaharut are an ode to the young people who work so hard, “It starts from the plate itself, goes to the kitchen and our culinary team’s efforts to serve a beautiful meal to do it justice, and ends up at our guests’ tables who often ask us for the story behind it. It’s a wonderful way to raise awareness.”
Named Israel's Chef of the Year in 2018 by coveted French food guide Gault & Millau, David gained his early culinary experience at the world-renowned Noma Restaurant in Copenhagen before working at the iconic King David Hotel in Jerusalem. In January 2022, he became an exciting new addition to Six Senses Shaharut.
As a quiet desert haven, stay for three nights or more in a suite or pool villa at Six Senses Shaharut to enjoy 15 percent savings on the Best Flexible Rate. The Extended Stay offer includes daily breakfast at Midian Restaurant in Israel and complimentary use of our wellness facilities, including the Hammam, dry sauna, steam room, indoor and outdoor pools, and gym.