This is the gastronomic offer of Orango Parque Hotel

Food logistics, vegetarian menus, organic garden and extreme care of food allergies

The island of Orango Grande, where the Orango Parque Hotel is located, has a reduced offer of shops and food providers. For this reason, at the beginning of the season we make a stock of non-perishable products and store them in the hotel.

Then, every time a group of travelers stays at our establishment, we make their arrival coincide with the purchase of fresh products.

Food logistics

Although we try to purchase them locally, to foster the economy of the island, it is not always possible. As Orango Grande is 4 hours by boat from Bissau, if the fresh products we need have run out, there is no other solution than to buy them in Bissau when we go to pick up travelers, and bring them in our own boats.

It is a titanic effort, especially coordination. To keep everything running smoothly, the warehouse manager, the chef, the logistics and purchasing department in Bissau, the supervisor, and the reservations department work together, keeping in constant contact to ensure that the hotel is stocked with everything it needs when guests arrive.

Despite these relative supply difficulties, food is one of the aspects most valued by visitors to the Orango Parque Hotel. Below we explain the reasons for that success.

Extensive training in gastronomy

The first pillar on which the success of the gastronomic offer of Orango Parque Hotel is based is training. Throughout the 15 years that we have been managing the establishment, successive kitchen teams have participated in numerous courses and workshops.

This contribution of knowledge is part of the philosophy of our social project, which seeks to promote the economic and social development of the Bijagó community, and generate employment. In this regard, our entire workforce is originally from Guinea Bissau, and a large part of them from the island of Orango Grande.

The training given refers to topics such as hygiene and food safety, kitchen equipment management, control of the food chain and the preparation of local and international recipes, which are renewed every year, among many others.

Vegetarian menus in the middle of the ocean

Copyright Raúl León

In this recipe book, the preparation of vegetarian dishes stands out. Two years ago, the increase in German and British visitors challenged us to offer vegetarian menus in the middle of the ocean.

The distance from the continent was compensated with the ingenuity of our cooks, and with the tasty Guinean condiment: the “malgueta”.

This chilli pepper (Capsicum frutescens) is a species of pepper widely cultivated and consumed in Guinea Bissau. And although this chilli pepper is now an essential part of Guinean cuisine, it actually originates from America. During the great voyages of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Portuguese and Spanish took this chilli pepper to other parts of the world, including Africa and Asia. And in many places, such as Guinea Bissau, this chilli pepper became an important element of the local cuisine.

The result of this fusion are exquisite dishes made with basic products such as rice, beans, carrots and tomatoes, among others, that seduce those who visit Orango Parque Hotel, and convert travelers who were not vegetarians, simply for the sheer pleasure of tasting the greenest option in our establishment.

Organic garden to start being self-sufficient

This culinary approach has been reinforced this last season thanks to the creation of our own organic garden.

The rainy season does not allow us to keep it always operational, since during some months of the year it floods. But once everything is replanted, the harvest is quite abundant. For now, the most successful products have been tomatoes, aubergines and zucchini. We hope to expand the variety of vegetables in the future, with the aim of boosting our own self-sufficiency and not having to bring so many fresh products from Bissau.

Managing Food Allergies

The last pillar on which the success of the gastronomic offer of Orango Parque Hotel is based is the great importance we give to the management of food allergies. It is a piece of information that we always require from our guests in advance, since the creation of the menus that we will offer during their visit depends on it.

In this regard, we are extremely rigorous. If any guest has an allergy to a food such as nuts, fish or lactose, these are removed from the menu for all guests during the time that allergic person is staying at the establishment. In this way any possible contact with the product in question is avoided.

And it is that we are aware of how complicated it would be to solve a health problem related to allergies, no matter how small, being 2 hours by boat from the nearest hospital.

That is why the solution we took is so radical. The only way that there is no risk of allergy is to remove the product in question from the menu for all hotel guests.

If you plan to come and visit us, please keep this in mind and let us know in advance. Because, as we have already told you, the supply involves complicated logistics, so we need to organize everything well in advance.