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The Gourmet Factor
Innovation requires an attitude, a state of mind, or a vision to achieve something which seems out of reach or not the norm. At Southern Wilderness we love food, and that is where the innovative 'gourmet guided walks' concept all began...
When heading out into the wilderness there seemed to be some unwritten rule that your diet had to be reduced to bland tasting or basic dehydrated food. The focus was on fuelling the body for the exercise; feeding the spirit with your wholesome environment was supposed to be enough.
After countless nights spent in huts and tents, the mindset that dehydrated potatoes and peas were part of the experience wore thin. Why not carry in fresh food that tastes great and can fuel your body even better then food that has had all the goodness sucked out of it?
Here at Southern Wilderness we are unashamed foodies. We love wholesome tasty dishes, and we decided that we wanted to eat well while we were out in the wilderness. So the fresh menu was developed: Thai chicken curry, lamb backstraps, real tomato and basil pasta sauce and even salmon fillets have become part of the experience! Combining the technology of vacuum packing machines and freezers with the eagerness of strong shoulders and young legs, we could all of a sudden do wonderful hikes and still be able to sit down to delicious and healthy food at each meal time - meals that we would be proud of cooking for friends at home!
We also realised that people have different dietry needs. We have devised alternative menus for guests who have vegetarian, gluten free, or celiac requirements. There are now many different things that people have allergies to, and as long as we know in advance, we can cater for almost all dietary needs, while still keeping the food tasty!
With the gourmet attitude to food set, we then thought, "what about everything else"? We sat down, mulled things over and decided that we were going to be a world-class guided hiking company. The term 'Gourmet' would apply not only to the food we serve, but to the way we dealt with everything around us.
'The Gourmet Factor' at Southern Wilderness simply means we are dedicated to making sure that we have a positive impact on not only the guests that come on our journeys, but also on ourselves (the crew), the environment and the community that we work within. The Gourmet Factor is, in a nutshell, not wasting time with mediocrity!
Call us free from New Zealand on 0800 666 044 or Australia on 1800 355 768