The Aruba Arugula Project: Farm-to-Table Dining in the Desert Landscape

In 2017, a 1,500-square-meter plot in Savaneta became the site of Aruba’s first fully indoor sterile greenhouse—the beginning of what locals now call the island’s farm-to-table movement. The “Aruba Arugula Project” isn’t a single initiative; it’s the collective effort of farmers, chefs, and entrepreneurs who are proving that fresh, locally grown food can thrive in a landscape that averages just 18 inches of rain a year.

What follows is a tour of the farms, markets, and kitchens that define this movement—places where the distance from soil to plate is measured in hours, not days.

Goshen Farms: Dragonfruit in the Desert

James van der Meerschen transformed a dry, cacti-dotted plot into a working farm that now cultivates ten dragonfruit hybrids. Walking the rows, you see how greenhouse technology and drip irrigation make the difference: pink and yellow dragonfruit hang from trellises alongside herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers. The fruit shows up on hotel breakfast buffets and poolside menus across the island.

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Goshen’s Back to the Land Experience bundles a farm tour with hands-on harvesting and a cooking session alongside local chefs. You’ll prepare Aruban classics using ingredients picked that morning, then sit down to eat them at a communal table. The experience runs roughly half a day and requires advance booking through this Viator tour or directly with the farm.

STR Agriculture Market: Saturday Mornings in Noord

The Saturday market at STR Agriculture in Noord unfolds on a concrete patio under a metal awning. Long pumpkins, bananas, and cucumbers grown in the farm’s high-tech greenhouses share table space with vendors who drive the island’s culinary diversity. A German expat sells cheesecake with black-cherry jam. A woman from the Canary Islands offers mojo rojo, a spicy red-pepper sauce. Dr. Green’s stand serves fresh lemonade and poffertjes—Dutch pancake puffs dusted with powdered sugar. Near the back, an unattended cooler holds chicken-curry roti rolls on the honor system.

Santa Rosa Farmer’s Market in Piedra Plat runs on a different schedule but offers similar variety—unique fruits and vegetables you won’t find in supermarkets. Both markets are cash-friendly, and most vendors price in florins rather than dollars, so bring local currency.

Taste My Aruba: When the Season Writes the Menu

Taste My Aruba doesn’t have a fixed menu. The kitchen cooks from whatever arrived at the farm that morning—seafood often caught the same day, vegetables chosen for peak ripeness, herbs clipped hours before service. The garden seating area, shaded by vines and strung with warm lights, sets a pace that encourages lingering. Keshi yena, the cheese-filled Aruban comfort classic, appears regularly but isn’t guaranteed—the menu shifts with supply.

The approach reflects a broader philosophy in Aruba’s farm-to-table scene: variability isn’t a flaw, it’s the point. One night you get local snapper with bright herbs; another night the chef works from a different set of arrivals. For travelers used to predictable chain dining, this can feel unstructured. For anyone who wants to taste what Aruba actually grows and catches on a given day, it’s the whole appeal. Check their website for current hours and seasonal dishes.

Terra by Jeremy Ford: High-End Local Sourcing

Terra opened in 2025 and brought a new level of polish to Aruba’s farm-to-table landscape. Chef Jeremy Ford, who also runs an organic farm in Florida, builds multi-course tasting menus around ingredients sourced within the island. Farmacure Fungi, a local mushroom grower, supplies varieties that appear in dishes throughout the season. The dining room is small, the pacing deliberate, and the wine list curated to pair with the island’s produce.

This is the expensive end of the farm-to-table spectrum—expect to spend significantly more than at markets or casual restaurants. But the sourcing is transparent: Ford can tell you which farm grew each component and why it was chosen. For travelers who want to see how far local ingredients can go in skilled hands, Terra delivers that argument course by course. Food & Travel included it in a gourmet guide to Aruba shortly after opening.

Infini: Chef Urvin Croes and the Eight-Course Argument for Local Food

Chef Urvin Croes returned to Aruba after seven years at a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Netherlands and training in Italy. At Infini, his chef’s-table concept in Oranjestad, he runs an eight-course menu built around what he calls “Aruban fine dining.” Roughly 60 percent of the ingredients come from within the island—a significant figure given the climate and soil conditions. A recent menu included crispy Peking quail and beef with Caribbean creole sauce, each course introduced by Croes or his team with context about the ingredient’s source.

Infini seats only a handful of guests per service, and the experience runs several hours. It’s not the spot for a quick dinner before heading out—it’s the meal itself. Croes also operates Caya, a Latin-Caribbean restaurant with a more casual format, where the sourcing philosophy carries over but the pace is faster. His broader goal, as he told Travel + Leisure, is to shift how visitors see Aruba—from a beach destination to a culinary one.

297 Farm: Lettuce in the Desert

If any single operation embodies the “Arugula Project” idea, it’s 297 Farm in Savaneta. Founded in 2017, the farm uses TAPKIT Hydroponics technology from Israel to grow butterhead and romaine lettuce in a sterile indoor environment. Seeds come from the Netherlands. Water is treated with nutrients, pH-balanced, cooled, circulated, and reused for seven days via a sloped-gravity system. No pesticides. No soil. The whole operation is monitored through an app.

Lettuce takes five to six weeks from seed to head. Harvest happens every Monday, and the heads are distributed to Ling & Sons, Superfood, Do It Center, and PriceSmart. You can also buy directly at the farm every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The farm is currently experimenting with iceberg variations and plans to trial bok choy next. Four more greenhouses are planned on the same 1,500-square-meter site. The goal, as the farm’s team puts it, is to see locally grown lettuce in every supermarket on the island.

Planning Your Farm-to-Table Itinerary

Seasonality shapes what’s available. Summer brings juicy island fruit—dragonfruit, papaya, mango. Winter favors hearty roots, rich sauces, and braised dishes. Restaurants that cook from the market adjust their menus accordingly, so what you find in June will differ from what’s on the table in January.

Reservations matter. Taste My Aruba, Terra, and Infini all require advance booking, and the best tables go quickly during high season (December through April). Markets like STR Agriculture and Santa Rosa are walk-in affairs, but they operate on specific days and hours—show up on a Wednesday and you’ll find an empty patio.

Cash is still king at most markets and some casual spots. Zeerover in Savaneta, which serves fresh red snapper and shrimp by the pound from a covered pier, is cash-only. Bring florins for market vendors and smaller restaurants; U.S. dollars are widely accepted at higher-end places but you’ll get change in florins at market rate.

For a deeper dive into specific dishes and traditional recipes, check out our guide to where to find the best keshi yena and pan bati, and our tour of how Aruban chefs source unique ingredients.

Farm-to-Table Dining in Aruba: Your Questions Answered

What does farm-to-table actually mean in Aruba’s desert climate?

It means ingredients grown or harvested on the island—often the same day—using greenhouses, hydroponics, and careful irrigation. It doesn’t mean every single item on the plate is local; some staples (grains, certain spices) are still imported. But the core produce, herbs, and seafood increasingly come from Aruba itself.

Which farm-to-table experience is best for a family with kids?

The STR Agriculture Saturday market is the most kid-friendly: poffertjes, roti rolls, lemonade, and the freedom to wander between stalls. The Back to the Land Experience at Goshen Farms also works well for older children who can handle a half-day of harvesting and cooking.

Are vegetarian and vegan options easy to find at farm-to-table restaurants?

Yes, especially at Taste My Aruba and Terra, both of which accommodate plant-based diets with advance notice. Markets like STR and Santa Rosa naturally offer plenty of vegetable-forward options. A plant-based guide to Aruba dining is available through the tourism board for more detailed recommendations.

Is farm-to-table dining in Aruba expensive?

It ranges widely. Market produce and street-food style spots like Zeerover are affordable. Multi-course tasting menus at Terra and Infini sit at the high end. Most restaurants fall somewhere in between—comparable to mid-range dining in the U.S. or Europe, with the added value of knowing where the ingredients came from.

The Real Taste of Aruba

The Aruba Arugula Project isn’t a single farm or restaurant—it’s the network of people who looked at a desert island and decided it could feed itself better. From the dragonfruit trellises at Goshen to the hydroponic rows at 297 Farm, the movement is still young, still experimental, and still limited by the realities of climate and logistics. But that’s also what makes it interesting: you’re eating food that exists because someone found a way to grow it here, not because it was shipped in from somewhere else. For a deeper look at how Aruba’s culinary scene continues to evolve, browse our guide to pairing Aruban cuisine with local brews.

References

National Geographic. “What to Eat in the Caribbean Island of Aruba.” 2024. ↗

Travel + Leisure. “Aruban Cuisine Is a True Taste of the Caribbean.” 2025. ↗

Aruba Tourism Authority. “Lettuce Tell You About 297 Farm in Aruba.” 2025. ↗

Food & Travel. “Going Dutch: A Gourmet Guide to Aruba.” 2025. ↗

For more Aruba dining guides, explore our coverage of the island’s best seafood dishes, a roundup of romantic beachfront restaurants, and our feature on Aruba’s decadent desserts and treats.