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For Zeta, it's vital to make a big fuss of people when they choose this island to be their permanent home. Like throwing what islanders call a scoff or feast in the dining room at the inn. A scoff is a tricky thing to pull off because it has this kind of unpredictable nature to it, but we still want to do it in a way that has the precision that we have fought so hard to accomplish. Yeah, this one needs turning around. One, two, three. It's only right that Jles and I pitch in to help with preparations.
Marlene and I are making jammed tarts with spiced molasses pastry. It smells amazing. Flo and ginger. M. And the molasses, of course, which I'm I'm I'm a big fan of. And your cinnamon. Cinnamon as well. And it's only fitting that we use partridge berries picked right in front of the inn. I like that. You're doing really well. Not bad for a mainlander. No bad for a mainlander. That's what I am. A mainlander. And for the bride and groom, two personalized tarts. After all, it is a scarf in honor of the animal made with love. There you go.
The scoff is a great chance for the kitchen to impress with some of the more acquired taste found on the island. The groom's favorite food is goat. So, Chef Tim's picking one up from his local supplier. All of these goats have been able to live outside and see the sun. People have taken good care of them, and when they are killed, they're going to be killed with respect. I would rather we were serving these cows though. Oh, there we go. It looks like the cow heard that.
The kitchen has pulled out all the stops to put all things foggo on the menu. This is your beautiful goat. We've got a goat. Enjoy. Thank you. Thank you very much. In keeping of Zita's inclusive sense of hospitality, the scoff is not only for locals, but all guests staying at the inn. Oh, you know, we just got in today and we were asked just out of the blue to attend a wedding. You just mingle. I mean, there's there's nobody that you don't talk to. There's nobody you don't know within 5 minutes of being here.
You know, that's why you be a part of the family here, coming to a wedding where it seems so intimate, right? And they don't know us from anything. And so, it's so neat. It is so neat. Spectacular. Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you, Marine. Here are a couple of Melissa gem curves that Monica and I made for you both. Enjoy. Thank you so much. Anna is continuing the annual ritual of building a seasonal hotel. This 27th incarnation is known by workers as the 27, and we're going to help. Perhaps surprisingly, it's not made of ice blocks alone. The
superructure is built out of a substance called SNICE, which is made using the snowthrowers normally used in ski resorts. It's nice. It's actually water. It goes through this snow cannon and the snow cannon produces small ice crystals with air in between. So, it's white as snow but stronger than snow but softer than ice. When the ice freezes, it sets like concrete. So, it's the perfect building material for us. The arch is the that's the frames which we use for the building. We put them up in a line in sections. Then we throw the slice onto them until we have a thick cover. And then we wait one day or two and then we lower them
and pull them out with a tractor because they are on skis so they can be moved like a tunnel of opportunities. It takes 10,000 tons of nice and ice to build the main structure of the hotel. Only once it's ready can work on the 35 bedrooms begin. Oh, it's freezing. It is freezing. There is a lot to do and not much time. Luckily for Anna, help is at hand. Why would I want to live in this lovely warm wooden hutch like this? I know. I'll build a house out of ice just because I can. First, we need to get kitted up. Hello. For one of the world's coldest construction sites.
We need you, you know, because it's quite a lot. Still got a quite a lot to do until we open. There's always things to do. You'll be able to tell I'm a builder cuz I'll always be on a coffee break and nothing will get built. Just running around with the other builders. Sorry. Knocking off time. Two pair of shoes here. Pro. Thank you. Like steel cap protection. If you get an ice block on your feet, you know, that's not very nice. These ice blocks, they're about two tons.
It seems that Monica and I might not be quite the pair of capable construction workers Anna had hoped for. I don't know. I think does it how does this is Monica's? Yeah. And that's yours. Yeah, we're okay. You know, I don't want Oh, you're okay for now? Yeah. I don't really want to change either, but you're not used to so much snow, are you? Yeah. We get a scattering in January usually a couple of days. Often it can be half an inch. It's lethal. We are not the only rookies on this building site. Of the 31 artists tasked with designing and sculpting rooms, 20 have never worked here before.
We got artists from Hong Kong, Japan, Iran, England, and all over. For some, it's their first time working with ice. It's so different to be here. They could be big city people sitting in an office working on a computer and digital design. They are very skilled. But here it's really practical. And so for them it's it's a I think it's a challenge but also an inspiration. what? And uh what's amazing is so I take it and the msure is going to grind me fresh Brazil powder ready to go. something. Oh, look what I got. I'm so happy.
Fresh razalan, you know, it's still warm. I have never used this much butter in one dish. I mean, my senses are just being set on fire with the spices that are going into this dish. More butter. Yes. Very good. Okay. Oh my word. I've had to film it cuz people won't believe how much sugar has gone into this past. I can't wait to try it. Charles is missing out. That is incredible.
I'm very honored to be taught by the masters of pastia here in this very kitchen. And this is how they eat it. So the whole family sit down and everyone gets in with their hands and you just take a bit of the pastier and drink your tea with it. a wonderful way to enjoy uh such a dish. This is Rocket's latest project, a jungle cable car called the Dragonfly. Gondola baskets float for almost a mile through the reserve's treetops at heights of up to 200 m from the ground. Some experts suggest that it's up here that around 70% of life in the forest is found, and this gives guests a unique opportunity to catch a
glimpse of it. That looks kind of exciting. That looks like Jurassic Park, doesn't it? Feel like we're going to get in this gondola and this huge bird is just going to come and take us out. Pterodactyl. There you go. Today, we'll be helping operations manager Mark carry out vital safety checks. It has to be very smooth. It has to be very safe. It has to be very comfortable. And to do that right in the middle of nowhere is a real challenge. Oh my word. Yeah, this is so cool. A I could stay out here all day. I wish my daughter was here with me. She'd love it. If Rocky thought it was tough to build the hotel without impacting the environment, it
was nothing compared to constructing a mile long jungle ski lift. He had to find a way to put this system somewhere in the middle of the Mashpi reserve without having to cut down trees. This extraordinary feat of engineering took 4 years and $3 million to complete, employing a crew of 20 and using over a thousand tons of concrete. Can you imagine just going zip down there. I mean, it's beautiful. Amazing thing. It's just really terrifying. I mean, really terrifying. If you have any sort of imagination, I don't see how you can think about anything except the twang of
the cable snapping and the whole thing plummeting down to the thing, smashing through the trees and the twigs and the branches and sm and bam and hitting the deck and ah and then waking up your limbs all broken with a panther eating you. That's probably not going to happen. But there does have to be a rescue procedure in case of power failure. And there is. It's called a rope. The thing is that you never know what can happen. Better be safe than sorry. That's a high. Staff members take turns to test the escape drill, but today that dubious honor has fallen to one of us.
It looks quite like quite a long way down. It certainly if you fell out of this thing, you would die. I'm just too scared, so I'm not going to do it. I reckon I'm being quite brave by staying up here. With Jaws bravely opting to keep my seat warm, it's my turn to take one for the team. Well done. Don't look down. Yeah. Slowly sit back like Sit back. Trust your equipment. Okay.
Don't do that. Woohoo! This is so cool. This feels awesome. Just sitting in a swing. Really? It's the letting go. Jars, do we bring any champagne with us? This isn't just thrillseeking. It's a drill that has to be tested regularly. That's so awesome. Can we do it again? Wet foot. Look at that crab. Yeah. A lot of crab. Wow. Fantastic. Although I work with fish every day, sometimes I'm upset by what I see in fish markets. Oh my god. But look at all the stingrays.
I dive and they go above you and they're literally smiley as they go. You look at them when they've been killed and their mouth just goes into this frown. It's so sad. Some species of stingray are under threat due to over fishing, as are some of the other fish here. This is a red goropa. Yeah, this is redo. Red goro is so rare. It's so rare. They pay hundreds of pounds for this because it's a rare fish and there's not many of them left. I mean, I haven't seen one in years. Well over It's well over 15, 16 years since I've seen one.
Chris and his team are certainly mindful of the limits of natural resources, yet have to deliver thousands of seafood dishes a week. Our main goal the last few years are focused on the sustainability of the seafood because we're we're on the sea. This is, you know, a big part of what we serve is seafood. So, we want it to be a, you know, an integral part of Absolutely. our menus. It's always, you know, it's about being able to keep it going 10, 20, 30 years. You know, if it continues, some of this fishing that goes on, the ocean will be empty before they know it.
Chris has begun working with experts like Dennis on what they say is a sustainable seafood policy across his kitchens. In their case, using farm seafood to reduce the impact of fishing on the ocean stocks. These are the ones that you're using. Yes. And they're farmed. Amazing. We want to make sure that we really being responsible for the environment. We're being responsible for our own um livelihood here in Singapore. And we want to grow that future. In terms of the present, the big event is finally here. 1,400 people are about to arrive for the VIP banquet involving eight intricate courses, some of which
will involve seafood from the market. As part of Chris's banqueting team, it's time for me to crack on with plating up row upon row of starters.
