When a chef personally prepares our food, we feel honored.
Several five-star hotels in Abu Dhabi have been donating leftover food for a cause. Some chefs from these hotels are also preparing meals for the rescue and stray dogs. Wow, they’re so lucky!
Doggy Bag Initiative started in July 2019 with a mission to reduce food waste in the UAE. Volunteers get vet-approved left-over food from hotels and restaurants to turn into healthy dog meals. The meals will be fed to stray dogs and rescue dogs in Abu Dhabi.
Chefs who cook for the dogs do it voluntarily. The chefs make sure that the ingredients will not be harmful to the dog’s health. The meat, grains, and veggies are grounded together to create a gourmet meal for the dogs.
Desserts, foods with heavy sauces, and foods with lots of spices are out of the doggy meal menu.
After the dog meals were prepared, these are sent to Cloud 9 Pet Hotel and Care, a local shelter and rescue center in Abu Dhabi. The shelter is the one responsible for feeding the stray and rescue dogs in Abu Dhabi.
Chef J Gourmet of Fairmont Hotel initiated the Doggy Bag Initiative. Later on, other five-star hotels in Abu Dhabi followed suit, like Shangri-La, Marriott, St. Regis, Crowne Plaza, and Ritz-Carlton.
According to the report made by Boston Consulting Group, hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets are the most significant contributors to food waste.
The people behind the Doggy Bag Initiative hopes that the cause will reach other parts of the UAE, and even other countries around the world.
The success of this program has earned an award as Best Environment / CSR Initiative at 2019 Pride of Abu Dhabi Awards.
Congratulations, and may this program help a lot of hungry dogs in Abu Dhabi!
Photos courtesy of The Doggy Bag Initiative via Facebook