Meetings Menus That Work
Dolce International chefs share the secrets of successful meetings menu planning and their ideas for trendy autumnal feasts.
By Joan Marsan, Associate Editor -- Hotels, 5/31/2000 11:00:00 PM
The menu-planning process for meetings and conventions bears little resemblance to the task of creating a signature restaurant’s offerings. After all, few hotel guests choose to eat every meal at their hotels’ restaurants during their stays—even if the establishments are renowned for a superior range of selection and world-class cuisine. But during meetings and conventions, hotels are challenged to provide round-the-clock F&B service at a single outlet that will satisfy guests for several days. Montvale, New Jersey-based Dolce International specializes in running conference hotels and resorts at 11 properties spread across North America and Europe. Keeping clients happy requires careful consultation between meeting planners and chefs, and a willingness to make adjustments to suit customers’ needs. But guest satisfaction also depends upon a culinary team that truly knows food. Dolce’s chefs and operations officers have mastered the task of feeding the masses something new and different every day.
Freedom Reigns
Chris Tomboni, executive chef at Lakeway Inn, a Dolce conference resort in Austin, Texas, is a veteran chef of seven hotel restaurants. The key to a satisfying conference center menu, Tomboni says, is freedom. Across hotel chains, Tomboni points out, consistency is revered. A certain fruit must be served the same way every day at every member property. At a conference center, however, guests appreciate creativity. Guests’ stays average four days and can stretch much longer, and every meal they consume during their stay comes direct from Lakeway’s kitchen. A cuisine or presentation guided primarily by an ethos of automaticity would keep few guests content. To avoid boring his customers, Tomboni writes up to 20 menus a week—a world apart from the creative situation at an established hotel restaurant where quarterly menu revisions and standing signature dishes are de rigueur. “Signature dishes don’t carry the same weight in the meetings business,” Tomboni says.
Standards, however, do play a part in meetings menu planning. A minimum of three appetizers and three entrées per dinner menu assure there will be enough options available to satisfy the tastes of a variety of guests. Entrées often comprise fish, poultry and meat items. A regionally inspired dish adds cultural character to the meal, and meeting planners are strongly encouraged to select the increasingly popular vegetarian dishes. Comfort foods, which at Tomboni’s central Texas locale include chicken-fried steak, taco bars and fajitas, are commonly incorporated, as long-term meeting attendees often crave home-style cuisines.
Comfort food plays into Tomboni’s number one strategy for controlling costs while meeting the needs of customers who, at a conference center, always arrive in large, synchronized groups for meals. Simplicity often characterizes comfort foods, and simplicity allows for quicker, cost-effective service. “If we have a group of 500 coming in, we make it easier,” Tomboni says. For example, he serves up an entrée called the “Trio,” a pre-plated sampler consisting of a 2-oz. beef medallion, two jumbo shrimp and a 4-oz. chicken breast. Guests typically tempted to try everything on the buffet get their chance without straining servers or selecting oversized portions and contributing to waste.
Simple Solutions
Simplicity helps keep meetings menus profitable in Dolce’s European properties, as well. While labor costs at Tomboni’s Lakeway property average 18% to 20% of total revenues, in Europe these costs can easily approach the mid-40s if benefits are included, says Mark DePiero, senior vice president, operations, Europe. Reducing labor needs by minimizing the complexity of preparation and presentation assists the chefs at Chantilly, Vineuil Saint-Firmin (28 miles north of Paris); Frégate, St. Cyr sur Mer, Provence, France; and Vaalsbroek, Vaals, The Netherlands.
An emphasis on simple preparation techniques and buffets contrasts with traditional European dining habits, DePiero says. But the introduction of these alterations has proven successful. At the French properties'’ salad bars, for example, items are served separately rather than premixed. Double-, rather than triple-ingredient, salads are frequently served. Ultimately, encouraging customers to mix their own salads allows them to vary their meals day to day—again creating variety that keeps customers interested and satisfied. The buffet concept, previously shunned in France, works extremely well, DePiero says. “Choice is not typical in Europe,” he says. “When customers realize what all is available to them, they are impressed.” And because a range of choice is so unusual, three entrées, rather than the four or five that typically appear on the buffet spread at Dolce’s U.S. properties, are enough to give guests an impression of bountiful array.
Regional Flavor
Tomboni’s influences include Caribbean and Mediterranean styles. His diverse training helps him to keep his cooking lively. But as much as he likes to introduce cuisines from faraway continents, Tomboni stresses the importance of using regional products. For Tomboni, working with local purveyors helps him to assure top-of-the-line quality at a lower price. And while they fluctuate, food costs ring in at an average 27% of revenues. Relying on local producers also introduces to his cooking items inherent to the region. People come to the Southwest expecting a culinary experience colored by the mores of the locale, Tomboni says, and incorporating local produce encourages him to create menus that meet guests’ expectations of meals that will add to their cultural experience.
The savings produced by creating regionally affected menus also keeps costs manageable in Europe, DePiero says, where the Dolce properties average 30%. “Poultry costs three times what it does in the United States,” DePiero says, but lamb is cheaper. Traditional Provençal lamb dishes impress guests expecting an authentic south-of-France dining experience and at the same time keep costs low. Fruits and vegetables are frequently less expensive in Europe, though they are greatly affected by seasonal availability. So Dolce’s European menus heavily emphasize locally grown items, such as asparagus, white peaches and tomatoes. The seafood entrées differ widely between Chantilly and Frégate because of the regions’ adjacency to opposite coasts. The fish traditionally eaten in Provence comes from the Mediterranean, whereas northern French cuisine responds to an Atlantic influence.
Fall Games
Looking ahead to the autumn months, Tomboni anticipates a heavy use of game paired with starchy vegetables prepared with a twist. Seared duck with a plantain or sweet potato mash will highlight Lakeway Inn’s poultry listing. A complementary entrée will be a three- to four-inch thick braised, bone-in veal shank gracing a hearty ossobuco stew. For regional flair and a comfort-style touch, fresh poblano chile gravy will warm up a venison cutlet prepared similarly to a chicken fried steak. Mashed garlic roasted potatoes, orzo and wild rice might serve as accompaniments. Desserts will feature locally grown berries. A pear-apple tart would speak of the season. And chocolate anything, Tomboni adds, is appropriate year round.
Game will highlight the fall menus this year at Chantilly, Vaalsbroek and Frégate, as well. Like Lakeway Inn’s Texas hill country setting, the region surrounding Chantilly appeals to hunters. Chantilly’s autumn offerings will feature pheasant, duck and goose entrées. At Frégate, wild boar will make an appearance, as will lamb. And in Vaalsbroek, chefs anticipate the heavy use of pigeon, squab and venison. Root vegetables will serve as accompaniments.
Angie Styles, executive chef at the Dolce Hamilton Park Conference Center, Florham Park, New Jersey, envisions a fall menu featuring rabbit, an ossobuco stew replacing the traditional brown sauce with a tomato- and orange-based broth and saffron risotto, and Maryland rockfish for regional flavor. But rather than the classic autumnal root vegetable accompaniments, Styles will introduce a wide variety of fresh, locally grown mushrooms and a cornucopia of grains, from black barley to quinoa and red kernel berries, which she feels guests will appreciate for their nutritional value, substance and difference. “The worst thing in this business is getting into a routine,” Styles says.
On the Side
Delightful Diets Restaurants increasingly cater to the dietary restrictions of their guests. The Loews Hotels introduced a “P¢” program denoting high-protein, low-carbohydrate menu items. A Loews survey of chefs and F&B directors revealed nearly 25% of diners request carbohydrate substitutions or eliminations when ordering. Many menu selections already met the P¢ demands, and another 40 items were added to increase offerings.
The Azzura Point Restaurant at Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego added a few-course P¢ tasting menu including a warm lobster salad with black truffle vinaigrette and seared foie gras with dried cherries and red cabbage. Loews Miami Beach developed a low-carbohydrate dessert, a mascarpone with pineapple chip and mint lemongrass sauce. The Regency Hotel New York’s popular chicken Paillard with grilled vegetables now bears the P¢ symbol.
Meanwhile, the new Rafael Ananda Resort & Spa, located in the Himalayan Uttar Pradesh region of India, offers “rejuvenation cuisine.” The meals feature whole grains, high-fiber carbohydrates, and an abundance of fresh fish and vegetables, while avoiding high-cholesterol items.
To guarantee freshness, the resort supplies organic produce from its own farm. A certified nutritionist supervises the development of menus and meal plans. And guests are encouraged to eat anything, in moderation, of course.
New Neighbor Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in Beijing in the China World Trade Center, adjacent to the Shangri-La’s China World and Traders hotels. As in the United States, Starbucks sports its green and black trademark. Fourteen beans are available, along with the full range of beverages and pastries served at Starbucks locations throughout the world. A Grande (medium) regular drip coffee is RMB 15 (US$1.88) and a Grande latte is RMB 24 (US$3.00).
While Starbucks attracts street traffic that might otherwise frequent the China World Hotel’s gourmet shop, the hotel’s lower prices and refined service continue to satisfy guests. Because it attracts curious customers, Starbucks draws additional leisure traffic to the area, traffic that has increased visits to the hotel’s entertainment center.
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