WHAT IS THE SPROUTING PROJECT
The Sprouting Project at the Omni Plantation consists of a state of the art aquaphonic greenhouse, an expansive organic garden and a large collection of bee hives and a barrel room.
THE MONTHLY DINNER
Each month the Sprouting Project hosts a state of the art dinner. Each monthly event has a unique theme that incorporates fresh, seasonal ingredients harvested directly from the Sprouting Project. Please continue reading to find out more about the amazing farm to table project.
During the monthly dinner, you will be able to tour the green houses, the expansive organic gardens, the bee hive area as well as the barrel room. That will be followed by cocktails at 6pm and a sit down plated dinner starting at 7pm. All ingredients are carefully harvested from the gardens and hives you have just toured.
Please go to The Sprouting Project or call Alisa Frasier at 904-432-1466 to make reservations. This months Dinner will take place on August 19th.
THE BEE HIVES
The bee hives are located behind the gardens and consist of sixteen colonies that total 2.5 million bees; they produce over a thousand pounds of local organic honey. That honey is incorporated into nearly all of the Plantations Restaurants menus. There are future plans to bottle it up for individual resale.
THE BARREL ROOM
Executive Chef Daven Wardynski has led the culinary team at Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort since October 2012. He is the inspiration and mastermind behind The Sprouting Project as well as overseeing nine restaurants, and all conference culinary operations. One aspect of The Sprouting Project is the unique and diverse barrel room.
The barrel room structure is constructed with solid poured cinder block and topped with a reclaimed pallet board roof. Outside the structure, natural earth covers the cinder block and pallet board roof, mimicking the “basement cool” similar to northern areas.
Contents of our thirty-six barrels change often, but we always have a variety of fermented hot sauces (made with chili peppers from our hot pepper patch) and infused balsamic vinegars (comprised of wine and the season’s best vegetation – i.e. Georgia peaches). The middle section is comprised of our barrel aged cocktail program. Chef Daven has an affinity for gin, so he has made a special “Chef’s Negroni Cocktail”. Other barrels consist of an “Apple-Maple-Rum Old Fashion”, dandelion wine and Omni Amelia Island’s most popular cocktail, “Palmetto Honey Bourbon”.
