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Boutique Cheltenham hotel launches new cafe menu inspired by world foods

Street food from across the world will be brought to Cheltenham with the launch of a new lunch menu at the town’s award-winning Greenway Hotel and Spa.

The boutique hotel has introduced new bento boards with three themes – Oriental, Middle Eastern, and Mexican – but will be alternated throughout the year with cuisines from across the world.

The new menu will be available at The Spa Café within the Elan Spa.

Head chef Abi Dasalkar said: “Spa food tends to be quite boring with things like starters, sandwiches and toasties, but to me that does not sound like a spa experience at all!

“We wanted to stand out from that and create a healthy and nourishing experience, but also something that is really tasty, so we’re excited for people to try something new.”

All bento boards come with a starter, main lunch and a desert of fresh fruit skewers.

The Middle Eastern menu includes hummus with crudites and pitta bread, along with spiced chicken breast with tzatziki and bulgur wheat salad; vegetable spring rolls and an oriental noodle salad with miso-glazed pan seared salmon feature in the Oriental option; and for something a bit spicier, the Mexican menu includes homemade tortilla crisps with guacamole and sour cream, with beef chilli rice and a bean and sweetcorn salad.

The new menu is available all week from midday until 4pm and is priced at £27.50 per person, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free variants also available. Dasalkar has taken inspiration from his varied cooking career, having moved from India almost two decades ago, trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London, and holding the role of head chef at Greenway since July 2020.

He said: “I have worked with some really top chefs and Michelin-starred chefs too during my career, but have found my own cooking style over the last three or four years in particular.

“It is all about fresh food, vibrant colours and strong flavours, a lot of it is street food in a different way but my main aim is to help people have a fantastic food experience.

“My love of cooking stemmed from my mother really, so there’s lots of her influence too. When I was younger everybody would come to our house and people used to crave her food. That sort of appreciation I now have with my own food which is fantastic.”

The 21-bedroom hotel, which is part of the award-winning Eden Hotel Collection, is tucked away on the outskirts of the rolling Cotswolds and known for its fine dining and spa experiences.

It features the 3AA Rosette fine dining Garden Room Restaurant, as well as the ultimate spa experience at the Elan Spa, which has been awarded 5 bubbles from the Good Spa Guide.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .