CHEF'S TASTING
Our menu incorporates produce from Dolkhar's kitchen garden and local, ethical, sustainable producers to showcase a cuisine built on immense respect for nature and seasonality.
Our chef, after spending ample time in Ladakh eating with the locals of the region and following narratives of lost ingredients, has curated a very special tasting menu as a eulogy to his travels by giving local ingredients center stage.
Our Chef's tasting menu consists of 7 courses:
Amuse bouche | Soup | Pre entree | Entree | Palate cleanser | Main | Dessert
CRAFT EXPERIENCES
Wool CraftThe Changthang plateau in Ladakh is a vibrant landscape of nomadic tribes, their livestock, and this incredible self sufficient way of life. The plateau is also is home to beautiful, refined textile Craft in sheep wool, pashmina and yak wool. The Craft is also practiced by the women from changthang that have migrated to Khanakling (a village 2 kms from leh) and found solace and connection to their home by spinning, weaving and knitting local fibers. Here, at Dolkhar, depending on the time you have we can either organise for you, a trip to meet the women of kharnakling- torchbearers of Craft preservation, or we can take you to where the magic really began, to the stunning Changthang plateau (~ a 10 hour drive from Leh).
Ajang Tsepal and his son Rigzin le from Likir- a village fifty kilometers from Leh, are the last traditional potters of Ladakh. With them lies the key to eons of knowledge that had migrated from across the border. The father son duo are cognisant of the importance of passing on their Craft and in collaboration with Dolkhar and Hatti, have been working towards promoting and preserving this Craft. At Dolkhar, you can either immerse yourself in a pottery workshop by Ajang Tsepel and Rigzin le on the property itself or take that trip to likir and see both the amazing likir monastery, the village by the mountain and the entire pottery process as it happens from making the clay to firing. Hatti is a social enterprise also co-founded by Rigzin Lachic (Founder, Dolkhar) that works towards Craft revival.
Folklore has it that the metal artisans of Chilling and Sumdha were brought here from Nepal to build a statue for a monastery. On seeing the beauty, skill and magnificence demonstrated by the work of these artisans, the king of that time gave them a large piece of land to inhabit and pronounced them residents of Ladakh. It is interesting that even today there is mostly only one region that practices this Craft and the metals used- copper, brass and silver are all sourced from outside of Ladakh. At Dolkhar, local Craft and culture play a crucial role in creating its identity and we extend our connection to Craft with you through these experiences. Depending on the time our guests have and depending on how deeply they want to explore the Craft, we can organise a day trip to Chilling or a short trek to Sumdha, a village of metal workers.
