'I travelled 5,000 miles to try out plant-based food at a four-day festival in paradise'
Travelling more than 5,000 miles for a four-day vegetarian festival may seem excessive.
Still, when that festival was on a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean, this was not an invitation to refuse. The resort of Atmosphere Kanifushi lies in the quietly populated Lhaviyani Atoll, far from the crowds heading to the easier-to-reach islands near the capital, Malé.
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Hide AdMy journey, which should have taken around 12 hours, thanks to some disruption with an inbound Emirates flight to the UK, eventually totalled 30 from door to door. The trip was worth it, though, as nothing had prepared me for the beauty of the Maldives.


Even though it was raining as I arrived on the noisy 35-minute flight by seaplane, as it bumped towards Atmosphere Kanifushi, I was already in love.
I wandered up the arrival pier to the sound of traditional Boduberu drums and was greeted at reception with a glass of icy-cold champagne, then made my way on one of the little hop-on buggies that constantly moved around the small two-kilometre-long island to my gorgeous Sunset Beach Villa, home for the next four days.
These villas are the largest entry-level beach-front villas in the Maldives. They are supremely comfortable, from the delightful outside bathroom, jacuzzi bath, walk-in shower, and a delightful couple of resident geckos to help protect me from the mosquitos.
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Hide AdIndoors, there's a fridge stuffed with food and drink and a humungous bed, which I longed to climb into, but I was here to eat, and dinner was just one hour away. So, I flung open the doors to my private garden and the path leading to the beach. Off came my shoes, and that first feeling of the damp, warm sand in my toes while watching the Maldivian sunset was something I would never forget.


My first dinner was at the luxurious over-water Pier 6, which, in the dark, spilt just enough light out into the night to both see and hear the gentle lull of the lagoon below. Dinner was an array of canapes and seafood, including boxes stuffed with lobster, crab, tuna, scallops, and steamed dim-sum, alongside cocktails and European wines.
After dinner, I stepped out onto the deck to a warm, gentle breeze, and as I peered into the lagoon, I was mesmerised by a sea turtle swimming beneath me when I realised I had now been awake for close to 36 hours and it was time for bed.
Unbelievably, by 7am, I was up and out onto a windy beach for a Sound Healing Bath with the in-house Yoga teacher. This meditative experience of "bathing" in sound waves was to help heal my jet lag, and it did. At the end of 30 minutes, I was refreshed and ready for breakfast and a tour of the island.
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Hide AdThe 5-star All-Inclusive resort of Atmosphere Kanifushi occupies the whole of the island. From my 100 m² Sunset Villa, built when the resort opened in 2013, there are now 162 stand-alone and water villas sized up to 450 m², some with private pools. The largest at 450 m² is the Kanifushi Residence, with a living space, 4 bedrooms including a nanny's room and a 115 m² glass swimming pool with ocean views.


There is a wealth of food at Atmosphere Kanifushi; in my short 4-day visit, I managed to eat cuisine that crossed continents and styles in six different restaurants with food so fresh, I wondered how they managed it on a tiny remote island.
One day, unbelievably, lunch was served on floating trays in the glass pool of Kanifushi Residence, and it was indeed a first for me.
In 2013, Just Veg, the first vegetarian restaurant in the Maldives, was opened here. The restaurant is now so renowned that each year -and the reason I am here - they host a four-day vegetarian festival which now attracts food lovers worldwide.
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Hide AdThe festival is hosted by the quiet and unassuming renowned Italian chef Fabrizio Marino, who each year leaves his Tuscan restaurant in San Miniato between Pisa and Lucca to celebrate the exquisite art of plant-based dining.
Over the 10 years he has led this feast, fusing Arabic, Indian, and Mediterranean influences, he has overcome some difficulties with sourcing ingredients, as some are now grown on the island specifically for Just Veg.
The festival's high point was the Gala dinner hosted by General Manager Ram Bhoyroo and supported by Director of Wines Nicolas Laguette, working with Fabrizo's menu to produce an astonishing flight of wines. Within an array of dishes, there are too many to mention.
I ate watermelon sashimi, roasted aubergine and shiso sauce, and smoky oyster mushrooms. I loved the silky artichoke cream, hazelnut, black truffle, and stunning sweet and sour onion ice cream.
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Hide AdI had to pinch myself as the food of this calibre with fine European wines and great company in a palm-fringed restaurant open to the gentle breeze, and sound of the Indian Ocean is what dreams are made of. I slept well that night.
Aside from incredible food, there are many other activities on the island. During my brief stay, I managed snorkelling, including spotting a scary-looking stingray, had a delicious, relaxing spa massage, yoga classes, and even joined in a tree-planting session as part of the continued regeneration and sustainability practised on the island, where I planted a coconut palm with my name on it.
One of my highlights was the 45-minute boat trip to Naifaru Island and the Atoll Marine Conservation Centre for rehabilitating sea turtles, an eye-opener to understanding the dangers facing these beautiful creatures. The days had flown by, and suddenly, I was back on the seaplane heading to Malé and what turned out to be a more leisurely trip home. I was sad to leave but happy knowing I would be back one day, at least to see how my coconut palm was growing.
atmosphere-kanifushi.com; www.emirates.com
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