The farm and gardens at Castle Hot Springs have very deep roots—4,000 years deep to be exact.
The agricultural history of the Sonoran Desert can be traced back at least 4,100 years. This is also where the oldest irrigation canals in the country have been discovered. It was the Hohokam culture that built the network of canals that enabled them to turn an arid terrain into arable land. The first Anglo settlers to the Valley of the Sun utilized those same ancient canals. Phoenix was named after the mythological bird because it was a new city rising from the ashes of a former great civilization.
In its natural state, the Sonoran Desert grows cactus, creosote, and other haggard-looking plants. But add water to the combination of endless sunshine and frost-free days, and the possibilities become endless.
Castle Hot Springs continues that long legacy of Sonoran Desert farming while providing a bounty of fresh produce for guests to enjoy at Harvest. Best of all, it allows the kitchen to maintain a rhythm with nature that you can’t find anywhere else. Castle Hot Springs is the very essence of eating seasonally.
Ian Beger, Farm Director at Castle Hot Springs says, “Eating seasonally keeps you in the natural cycle. It gives you something to look forward to. If I had asparagus every day, I would get bored of it. But the fact that it is only available for a short season makes it exciting and I love eating a lot of it when it’s fresh.”
Yet it’s not just the pleasure of eating foods in their proper seasons. It’s how people were always meant to eat. There are numerous underlying health benefits. Seasonal eating encourages a varied diet. Trying a wider range of fresh produce—not just your favorites—can supply you with important vitamins and minerals that you might not normally get.
All fruits and vegetables start to lose nutrients immediately after they are harvested. Those that are allowed to ripen naturally and are consumed shortly after harvesting retain higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Certain antioxidants such as folate, carotenes, and Vitamin C rapidly decline when stored for long periods, such as when they’re being shipped from far away.
“Eating out of season has a higher carbon footprint,” says Beger. “The food will not be as fresh and ultimately does not taste as good or have the same nutrient value.”
The vibrancy of the flavors as well as the rich nutritional value of each individual crop raised at Castle Hot Springs makes the elevated dining in the restaurant such an exquisite pleasure. It also provides the health and wellness benefits that remain a foundation of the resort experience.
Here the meals enjoyed by guests are created not just by the talented chefs in the kitchen but also by the Castle Hot Springs farmers and gardeners working closely with them. Together they design a menu highlighting what is at the peak of its powers—not just for that season but for that day. The harvesting for Harvest, the resort’s renowned restaurant, is an ongoing daily event that involves both the farm and kitchen staff. It is a unique synergy rarely, if ever, found at other resorts.
“We are aiming to weave the kitchen and farm together as much as possible,” says Beger. “We come together to create a crop plan built around the menu and to give our input on how the menu can adapt to incorporate what does best on our farm in this Sonoran Desert environment. Chefs harvest their herbs from our culinary garden and are sometimes out in the field helping and learning for multiple hours a day.
Eating seasonally takes on a whole new meaning at Castle Hot Springs. Because here in this desert setting, the seasons are measured not in weeks but in moments.