A culinary first: cooking with molten rock

Saudi Arabia, 2022: For the first of its kind event, Bompas & Parr offered diners an incredible opportunity – to eat sumptuous local produce cooked on a stream of molten lava heated to a staggering 1,350 degrees Celsius.

The venture built on the ground-breaking work of one of the world's foremost experts in molten rock, Professor Robert Wysocki from Syracuse University in New York.

Lava technicians poured out the molten rock in a performance spectacle, with guests’ dinners seared to perfection in seconds, or smoked, roasted and grilled over three roaring fire pits. This immersive experience featured a phenomenal set menu with the finest of local ingredients.

Magical landscapes

Set under the night sky, guests first journeyed to the heart of the sublime Shallal Canyon, guided only by torchlight through a bespoke sound and light installation.

Saudi Arabia boasts more than 200 dormant volcanos, creating some of the most beautiful volcanic landscapes in the world. The limestone of AlUla was formed between 541 and 251 million years ago, during the Paleozoic Era creating the rock-faces that allowed habitation that are synonymous with AlUla, creating a distinctive backdrop for this singular event.

Fresh from the fire

Drawing on the raw power of nature, Forces of Nature menus were prepared by expert pit-masters were inspired by the origins of cooking on open flames. Dishes included whole salt-baked celeriac and charred fillets of beef finished across molten lava; and fire pit-roasted saddles of goat. Drinks included smoked, flamed and charred cocktails, as well as coffee and tea and drinks heated with red-hot loggerheads, fresh from the fire.

Forces of Nature was conceived in conjunction with Incense Road – a multi-sensory dining experience inspired by an epic episode of history, celebrating AlUla’s legacy at the heart of the Incense Road.