They say a great meal is the harmony of thoughtfulness, skill, and ingredients. But in a world moving toward sustainability, a menu can also tell a story.
When Tales by Chapter partnered with New World Saigon Hotel for the Executive Lunch—a gathering of 30 business leaders and changemakers committed to building a more sustainable future—they weren’t just crafting a menu. They were telling a story. One that started from the ground up, literally.
On one side: Quang Dung, founder of Tales by Chapter, whose focus on local produce and low-intervention techniques has defined the restaurant’s creative direction. On the other: Fabio Vitale, Executive Chef of New World Saigon Hotel, who also oversees Park View Restaurant, known for its special vegetarian à la carte and buffet menus. His culinary approach is deeply rooted in his Mediterranean traditions and the richness of flavors derived from traditional cooking methods.
“The goal was to create something sustainable, zero-waste, and entirely plant-based,” says Chef Fabio.
United by a commitment to zero-waste dining, the two culinary teams have co-created a five-course menu that speaks to both technique and imagination.
Chef Dung affirms: “This event offers the ideal platform for chefs like us to both experiment and educate—to show how interesting and delicious a plant-based meal can truly be.”
The brief was clear: create a 100% plant-based, zero-waste menu aligned with the ESG Investors Conference. The task itself is daunting enough, yet how do we find synergy between a bespoke fine dining restaurant and a ginormous system of a hotel?
A Shared Ingredient-First Approach
For both chefs, the journey toward a sustainable menu began with something simple: Vietnam’s local produce.
Despite their different culinary roots, they found common ground in familiar ingredients—corn, eggplant, tomato, cauliflower, mushroom, and cashew—each one thoughtfully used in its entirety. Nothing was wasted; every peel, stem, and leaf had a place in the process.
“A sustainable menu starts with using what we have. Monoculture and unsustainable farming practices are major contributors to pollution and emissions in our food system. So we work closely with our farmers—not just to ensure their practices are sustainable, but also to understand what's in season, what’s thriving, and even what could be grown with future menus in mind,” says Chef Dung.
It’s a philosophy rooted not only in care for the environment, but in deep respect for the land, the farmers, and the natural rhythms that shape every harvest.
If you've ever had boiled corn on the cob, you probably remember the tedious task of removing the husk—the outer layer that often takes up as much space as the corn itself. And what do we usually do with it? Throw it away.
But Chef Dung found another way. He starts the menu with a corn tart that is built on five layers: a crisp tart shell made from corn, corn purée, grilled corn, kimchi sauce, and coriander flower. The corn husks, often discarded, are dried and used as fuel to gently smoke the grilled corn—adding a whisper of earthiness and reminding us of nature’s full-circle rhythm, where nothing is wasted and everything has a role to play.
“When we started this project, we thought about all the local products available here in Vietnam. I chose two key ingredients: tomato and cauliflower. Both are plant-based, and we made sure to use every part of them,” says Chef Fabio.
That philosophy came to life in the Tomato Mousse.
The dish has three layers: the mousse on the bottom, a jelly in the middle, and the tomato consommé foam on top. As for the leftover tomato parts, we turned them into a cream that we used in our sourdough focaccia. The focaccia itself is topped with cashew cheese and marinated tomatoes.
“What we’re doing in fine dining is taking those ingredients and elevating them with new techniques,” says Chef Fabio. However, Vietnam, with its long-standing tradition of plant-forward cooking and one of the world’s healthiest cuisines, demands an extra layer of technique—and a touch of imagination—to truly surprise its guests.
On Planning Creatively
The biggest challenge for a plant-based menu is not about cooking creatively—it’s about planning creatively.
“Whatever we grow is what we have to work with. At times, we might have a surplus; other times, not enough to serve everyone in the restaurant. That’s why planning is crucial,” says Chef Dung.
With that being said, you either have to be a creative chef who can plan, or a creative planner who can cook to bring a plant-based menu to life.
In the main course, New World Saigon Hotel transformed cauliflower in multiple ways. The core was marinated and sous-vide cooked at precisely 66°C for 40 minutes to maintain its integrity, then roasted for a smoky depth. The leaves, often discarded, were blanched, then dehydrated to create a crunchy texture. The stems were finely chopped into a couscous-style base—an ode to both no-waste cooking and refined plating.
Dung let the most sustainable cooking method—fermentation—do the magic for the second main dish made with mushrooms.
Mushroom roots—usually discarded—are inoculated with Koji to create garum, a fermented sauce that mimics the complexity of fish sauce without the fish. “The bacteria do all the work, requiring little to no energy input. All you need are good ingredients,” says Chef Quang Dung.
“It’s all about imagination and forward-thinking—how to bring out the richness of a product while staying true to sustainability,” Chef Fabio affirms.
A Real Action Towards Sustainability, One Meal At A Time
Bringing this menu from imagination into reality is all about balancing the standards between Tales by Chapter and New World Saigon, between a fine dining restaurant and a five-star hotel .
On finding the balance, Chef Dung shares: “In fine dining—especially at Tales by Chapter—we focus a lot on the thought process, the technique, and the multiple components that make up a dish. It’s a very different approach compared to large-scale hotel kitchens.”
“Tales brought their experience and creativity, and we contributed our expertise in operations and built up on the ideas,” Chef Fabio adds.
For the guests at the Executive Lunch, held as part of the ESG Investment Conference Vietnam 2025—pioneers of a greener future—this was more than just a lunch. It was a statement. “We don’t cook for ourselves. We cook for our guests,” Quang Dung says. “This was a chance to both educate and delight, showing people that sustainable food can also be exciting.”
“The global food system contributes up to 37% of greenhouse gas emissions,” he says. “Creating this menu wasn’t just about innovation—it was about taking real action towards sustainability, one meal at a time.”
About Tales by Chapter
- Address: 10 Nguyen Thanh Y, Da Kao, District 1, HCMC
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalesbyChapter/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tales.sgn/?hl=en
About New World Saigon
- Address: 76 Le Lai, Ward Ben Thanh, District 1, HCMC
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Saigon.NewWorldHotel/
- Website: https://saigon.newworldhotels.com/en/