Bangkok--11 Jan--Bumrungrad International Bumrungrad International, in cooperation with the Royal Project Foundation, is pleased to announce the launch of “Gourmets of the Garden”, Great Chefs design delicious menus using healthy vegetables from The Royal Project. Over the past eight years, Bumrungrad International has showcased some of Thailand’s best restaurants through its Great Chefs program. For 2008, we’ll ask the chefs to design menus featuring healthy vegetables from The Royal Project Foundation in northern Thailand, source of the famous “The Royal Project” brand. These vegetables are nutritious and hygienic. They get special care to retain their fresh flavor from farm to kitchen. The Great Chefs program is highlighted prominently throughout the hospital. It has also attracted local and international media attention. “This year we are privileged to have 12 premium hotels offering delicious and healthy dishes using healthy vegetables from The Royal Project to our patients and their guests. It is part of our commitment to serve our patients while promoting their health,” said Mr. Mack Banner, Bumrungrad International’s CEO. Under the Great Chefs program, each restaurant works with hospital’s kitchen to design or adapt a healthy menu, which is then featured for a month. The special menus are available at no extra charge to patients, giving them the opportunity to sample dishes from some of Thailand’s best restaurants. Picture shows (from 2nd left): Mr. Mack Banner, Bumrungrad International’s CEO, Hospital’s Executive Chef Miss Rachayaphan Bonyarithitpakorn, and Professor Emeritus Kamphol Adulavidhaya Marketing Director of the Royal Project Foundation. The Royal Project Foundation The Royal Hill-Tribes Development Programme, at present called The Royal Project, was inaugurated in the year B.E. 2512 (A.D. 1969), following His Majesty the King's expressed desire to initiate the benefits of sedentary agricultural practice to the Hill-Tribes community with introduction of substituted cash crops that, in some cases, may fetch higher market prices than opium. During the early stages of the project, His Majesty encouraged the grafting of temperate climate peach scions to the stocks of local species of peach trees. The grafted trees bore fruits that were improved in texture and taste and were hardy enough to withstand long transportation journey to the markets. Other temperate climate fruit scions were also experimented with at different elevations at the Royal Project's Highland Agricultural Research Stations in various villages in Chiang Mai Province, Phui Village, Mae Chaem District, Khum Village, Fang District, Khun Wang Village, San Pa Tong District, Sam Mun Village, Chiang Dao District, and Mae Tho Village, Hot District. Bumrungrad International Bumrungrad International is Southeast Asia’s premier private hospital and a regional referral center for advanced care, offering 554 beds, 30 specialty centers, 940 medical specialists and over 800 nurses. It is Asia’s first JCI accredited hospital and serves more than one million patients yearly from 190 different countries. Program participant list: 1. JW Marriott Bangkok - Executive Chef Dieter Ruckenbauer 2. Swissotel Le Concorde Bangkok - Chef Willment Leong 3. Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok - Chef Sarawut Im-sup 4. Banyan Tree Bangkok - Chef Vipawan Udomthanapipat 5. Grand Mercure Park Avenue - Chef Sakkajonh Thang-on 6. Sofitel Centara Grand Bangkok Hotel and Convention Centre (BCC) - Chef Jasvir Sanghera 7. Millennium Hilton Bangkok - Chef Supoj Suwanwong 8. Amari Boulevard - Chef Silvano Amolini 9. Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok - Executive Chef Sombat Lerkratanaphaisan 10. The Dusit Thani - Chef Thaneht Naovarat 11. InterContinental Bangkok - Chef Seksan Kerdyoo 12. Grand Sukhumvit by Sofitel - Executive Sous Chef Nitipat Panyajiravisit For press inquiries, please contact: Public Relations Department, Tel 02 667 2212 E-mail: [email protected] www.bumrungrad.com