In celebration of World Ocean Day, which took place on June 8, Relais & Châteaux in partnership with Ethic Ocean, teamed up with The Uza Terrace Beach Club Villas, to take their joint commitment to sustainability a step further by promoting marine conservation and biodiversity through a special menu event. This year's theme, "#SOSforbiodiversity" (Save Ocean Species), emphasized the protection of endangered species like eels. Relais & Châteaux, a global association with over 580 members across 65 countries, has been championing marine conservation in partnership with Ethic Ocean since 2009.

This collaboration has seen years of continuous efforts aimed at raising awareness and promoting sustainable practices worldwide. Chef Masatomo Kina, the fine-dining main chef at The Uza Terrace Beach Club Villas, crafted the special menu to fit the strict criteria of Relais & Châteaux and Ethic Ocean’s sustainability theme. This task required careful selection of ingredients, adhering to Ethic Ocean's three-tiered rating system that categorizes seafood species as red, yellow or green— with only green-rated products acceptable for the menu.

"Regarding SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), I’m still learning, especially about not using red-listed species like eels. This experience has been educational for me, too, and it's the start of something new. We proposed several dishes, but many were rejected and had to be revised multiple times.

It was stressful, but compromising on our.