According to the 2025 Travel Trend Report by All Accor, culinary experiences are increasingly shaping travel decisions, with a 250% surge in searches for “cooking tourism”. BIRD has rounded up a collection of standout properties- from community-driven island dining in Sumba to zero-waste gastronomy in the Austrian Alps – each offering a fresh, thoughtful approach to food, rooted in sustainability, place, and seasonality.
Cap Karoso, Sumba
Leading the charge in sustainable luxury on the Indonesian island of Sumba, Cap Karoso is an eco-conscious resort rooted in community. Embracing the locally sourced food movement, it draws on its own three-hectare organic farm to supply its restaurants with fresh, native ingredients that celebrate the island’s rich biodiversity. Its three restaurants, Julang, Apicine, and the Beach Club, serve reinvented Indonesian dishes, tapas-style Pintxos, and Mediterranean sharing plates, while you can also enjoy cliffside picnics, romantic beachside dinners and hands-on farm-to-fork cooking classes. This October (4th-18th), Cap Karoso’s commitment to experiential dining will come to a pinnacle with the Sumba Food Festival; the island’s first ever festival, created in support of local initiatives such as seed funding for small businesses, education and clean water. Ten acclaimed chefs from across the Asia-Pacific, including Michelin-starred and World 50 Best names, will collaborate with local producers to create dishes that are globally inspired yet deeply rooted in place. You can embark on food adventures with the chefs, from ocean to grill outings, 4-hand dinners and wine tastings on the beach. Cap Karoso also hosts year-round residencies with chefs, artists, and visionaries with chef Zuri Camille de Souza bringing her bold, inventive flavours to Sumba, this July and August.
eriro, Austria
In the secluded heights of Austria’s Tyrolean Alps, eriro invites you to embrace a wild-at-heart approach to dining, offering an elemental experience. Located 1,550 metres above sea level, eriro is a nine-suite hideaway known for its ultra-private hospitality and conscious way of living. At the core of its culinary philosophy is a deeply intuitive, zero-waste programme rooted in respect for nature’s rhythms. Ingredients are sourced within a 50km radius, and transformed through whole-plant and nose-to-tail techniques: as peelings become flavoured salts, meat offcuts and offal evolve into garums, broths, and complex seasonings. Nothing is wasted, with a focus on ancient preservation methods like fermenting, curing, drying, and pickling, honour seasonality while minimising excess. You’re invited to forage in the surrounding alpine terrain for herbs, mushrooms, and pinecones, and afterwards explore traditional fire-cooking techniques, curing and grilling over open flames in spectacular outdoor settings at the foot of the Zugpitze mountain range. With a menu that shifts with the seasons, each meal is a celebration of wild abundance, offering a deep connection to the land, grounded in the present.
Soneva Fushi, Maldives
Set in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll, Soneva Fushi pioneered the barefoot luxury movement when it first opened in 1995, with its “no news, no shoes” philosophy. Situated within lush tropical foliage, the resort offers unmatched privacy and tranquillity with dining experiences that channel the spirit of wild adventure. You can dine across 11 different venues, ranging from treetop zipline restaurants to oceanfront sushi bars, sourced from the resort’s own organic gardens and prepared by visiting culinary visionaries. For those with a taste for the extraordinary, Flying Sauces invites you to zip‑line 200 metres out over the Maldivian jungle to an open-air kitchen, where Michelin‑starred chefs, from Wassim Hallal to Pascal Barbot and Tim Raue, craft menus infused with local flavours. Alternatively, castaway picnics on uninhabited islands offer a more primal luxury: think boat rides to remote shores, hours spent snorkelling reef-fringed waters, and slow lunches back on land. Early birds can discover the different constellations, stars and planets as the night turns into the day and the sun rises above the jungle canopy. This is accompanied by a champagne breakfast as the in-house astronomer guides them across the morning skies of the Maldives.
São Lourenço do Barrocal, Portugal
Situated within a 780-hectare working estate of olive groves, vineyards, and wildflower meadows, São Lourenço do Barrocal is a lovingly restored 19th-century farmstead that offers an elegant escape. Here, days unfold slowly: wander archaeological trails past prehistoric stone circles, ride horseback through ancient cork forests, or learn traditional crafts such as wool spinning and olive wood carving. Menus are rooted in the seasons, sourced from the kitchen garden and local producers. Under the guidance of Executive Chef Bruno Carvalho, menus feature contemporary takes on Alentejo classics, such as acorn-fed black pork with migas or slow-roasted veal cheeks infused with local herbs like oregano and pennyroyal. You can also dine al fresco at Hortelão, where wood-fired grills and garden-side tables elevate every seasonal meal into a multisensory experience. From garden to plate, every bite is a celebration of sustainability, heritage, and the bold, earthy soul of Alentejo cuisine.
Wild Coast Tented Lodge
Located on a secluded beachfront site on the edge of Yala National Park, Wild Coast Tented Lodge fuses the comforts of a luxury hotel with the back-to-nature adventure of a safari camp through their cocoon-tented suites. At the heart of its culinary offering is the lodge’s Wild Dining experience – an unforgettable evening set beneath a canopy of stars, with the soundtrack of the forest all around. You follow a lantern-lit path through the bush to a secret location where tables are laid beside a crackling bonfire. Here, a multi-course gourmet feast unfolds, showcasing the finest local ingredients and traditional Sri Lankan flavours, all prepared in an open jungle kitchen. The setting is elemental yet elegant, a celebration of nature, flavour and the quiet magic of the wild. For those seeking a more intimate encounter with the landscape, the lodge also offers private beach dining, where you can dine with sand between their toes, waves lapping the shore, and the vast sky above.
Le Grand Bellevue, Gstaad
Tucked away in the serene Swiss village of Gstaad, far from the bustle and heat of the Med, Le Grand Bellevue offers a quietly luxurious summer escape. At the heart of its summer programming is the hotel’s Fondue Backpack experience. Thoughtfully packed with all the ingredients and traditional equipment needed to prepare an authentic Swiss fondue, this bespoke kit allows you to hike into the mountains and enjoy a warm, indulgent meal in the wild – surrounded by fresh air and sweeping panoramic views. For those seeking an even more dramatic journey, the hotel’s heli-hiking experience begins with a private ascent to a remote mountain peak, followed by a guided trek across pristine, little-touched terrain – culminating in a fondue picnic above the clouds.
The Arula Chalets, Lech
A mountain hideaway, The Arula Chalets is one of Austria’s most exclusive chalet offerings, perfectly positioned amidst lush pine trees and the emerald green of summertime pastures, located in the idyllic region of Lech. The Arula Chalets offer a 24-hour butler, ski concierge service, private ice rink, private Chef, chauffeur service, daily housekeeping, spa manager and yoga teacher. You can embark on a wild heli-drop experience that whisks them high above the Arlberg massif to a secluded alpine plateau. Here, a private al fresco lunch awaits prepared by the chalet’s head chef and set against sweeping views of Lech’s dramatic peaks and crystalline skies. You can savour gourmet dishes and Austrian delicacies crafted with local ingredients, accompanied by a glass of crisp champagne.
