Spirited Magazine - Fall 2012 Issue

FALL 2012

The Official Magazine of the World Class Beverage Program

Constellation Brands

Constellation Brands has leveraged commitment to quality and a heritage of small-business values to become the world’s leading premium wine producer.

Talking F&B with Bob Morse The Chief Operating Officer for the Americas chats about his wide-ranging interest in food and his passion for a great red wine.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Hotel Indigo Culinary Conference

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Thriving in the Big Easy

IHG Bartender Academy

World Class Beverage Program Supplier Profile: Constellation Brands

Coca-Cola & Arctic Home

InterContinental New Orleans:

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Talking F&B With Bob Morse

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Owner Profile: Mike Hembree

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U.S. Bartenders’ Guild

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Fall Promotions: Hotel Indigo & Holiday Inn

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Chef Profile: Serge Devesa at The InterContinental New York Barclay

Beverage Briefs

Achieving ‘Best in Class’ “My tastes are simple. I am easily satisfied with the best.”

That famous Winston Churchill quote comes to mind for me each Fall as we prepare for the Americas Investors & Leadership Conference. The ultimate goal of the conference is to help move IHG’s overall performance closer to absolute excellence. For food and beverage, “best in class” means having every one of our bars, restaurants and banquet departments focus on being BrandHearted with each F&B experience. Though the brand differentiators vary, the result is the same—food and beverage that stands out against the competition and delivers on our commitment to Great Hotels Guests Love every time. See you in Orlando!

Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray Vice President, Food & Beverage, Americas InterContinental Hotels Group

“ The Culinary Conference was a great way for our brand’s food and beverage leaders to share ideas and success.

We have implemented a new roomservice program that has significantly increased guest satisfaction and revenues while keeping food costs below 26 percent.”

Ryan W. Burkart General Manager Hotel Indigo Scottsdale

Hotel Indigo® Culinary Conference

Building F&B Strength F

or Hotel Indigo hotels, it’s all about the properties’ neighborhoods and communities. IHG’s successful upscale boutique brand is committed that each hotel evoke the individual tastes and culture that make up the place it calls home.

The brand’s F&B Directors had the chance to strengthen their own community, as well as expand their knowledge and sharpen their skills, at the fourth annual Hotel Indigo Culinary Conference in June.

Representatives of 28 properties in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America met in Atlanta for three days of workshops, discussion sessions, networking and engaging with the Hotel Indigo brand team. The group stayed at the new Hotel Indigo Atlanta Airport College Park.

“The agenda was designed to expose the hotels’ F&B leaders to the business side of the business—long-term brand goals, primary focus areas, guest feedback, menu mechanics—as well as provide the chance to get some practical hands-on kitchen and bar training,” says Dianna Stoffer, Manager, Food and Beverage Program for Hotel Indigo.

The Coca-Cola Company hosted the group on Day One at the corporation’s world headquarters in midtown Atlanta, where the program reviewed F&B trends and branding. The entire second

day took place at the Atlanta test kitchen of Alto-Shaam, a leading foodservice equipment manufacturer. Amping up breakfast was the topic of the a.m. sessions, which covered the breakfast habits of travelers, products consumers seek out when on the road, trends and menu ideas that deliver results.

The balance of the day was devoted to interactive culinary and mixology sessions and included how to’s on topics such as creating a great seasonal cocktail menu and ways to tweak standard, simple dishes to make them shine.

On the closing day, attendees broke into groups to brainstorm and present ideas aimed at improving success in four key areas: breakfast capture, growing banquet/catering sales, increasing average check and how to win recognition for the second straight year from J.D. Power & Associates for highest guest satisfaction among upscale full-service hotels.

“Our goal was to provide a lot of useful information and experiences that the attendees could take back and implement to make a real difference,” says Stoffer. “Each hotel has an action plan. We will follow up with the F&B directors regularly to support them in implementing the items identified that would make their hotels better, based on what the guest wants.”

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A self-described “nondiscriminate eater,” Bob Morse delights in almost any kind of food that’s prepared and served impeccably, from the appetizer at a five-star restaurant to the burger at a neighborhood chain outlet.

In a recent interview, we asked the Chief Operating Officer for the Americas about his F&B preferences, including selecting and serving great wine.

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TALKING

F&B WITH BOB MORSE

Any foodservice experience in your background?

“Yes. I started in the concessions business when I was 10 years old.

My best friend’s father operated the concession stand at the stock car races near Framingham, Massachusetts, where I grew up, and I worked there on Saturday evenings in the summer. The specialty was hamburgers with onions, and sometimes I would slice 300 onions in one night. By the time I was 15, I was managing the stand.

“I helped put myself through school by working at the Framingham Sheraton every summer while I earned my degree in Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. I kept working there after I graduated, and my first job after college was receiving the hotel’s food purchases and doing the meat-cutting. Eventually I became Beverage Manager, then F&B Manager and finally Assistant GM. My career from that point has primarily been on the operations side of the business.”

What does a great dining experience look like?

“It depends on the price point. Dining expectations are set primarily by what you are paying for the meal. The common denominator is that the food should always be prepared well, taste right and live up to those expectations, whether it’s perfectly prepared and presented foie gras as part of a fantastic, $300 meal at a top restaurant in New York City or a fresh and properly toasted bun at an In-N-Out Burger.”

What’s your favorite food?

“I like to go to different restaurants and try different types of food, like various ethnic cuisines. That said, my favorites include Chilean Sea Bass and steak cooked Pittsburgh-style, medium rare. I also like to ‘eat geographically’—barbecue in Kansas City, a nice piece of fish with fresh steamed vegetables if I’m on a coast.”

How about your favorite beverage?

“I’m a big wine guy—I enjoy learning about, talking about and drinking wine—French white Burgundies, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Sonoma Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels, and I’m a huge fan of California Cabernets. My tastes run the full gamut, depending on what I have to eat and the temperature outside.”

Favorite restaurant?

“One of my regular favorites is Citronelle in Washington, D.C., which is an award-winning restaurant owned and operated by celebrity chef

Michel Richard. The hotel where it’s located was part of the portfolio when I was COO of Interstate Hotels, and the corporate office was just around the corner. So, I ate there a lot and got to know Michel, who is an amazing chef.”

Any recent standout meals at an IHG property?

I’ve had several really great ones recently. Chef Alex Feher at the InterContinental Miami prepared an outstanding prix fixe menu for a small group luncheon in Table 40, the private dining room located right in the hotel’s kitchen. Other fabulous meals were in Miel, the brasserie at the InterContinental Boston, Ça Va at the InterContinental New York Times Square and the Crowne Plaza in Alexandria, Virginia, where the F&B team prepared a fantastic, casual group dinner featuring everything from appetizers to steak to sandwiches.”

Any F&B “pet peeves?”

“Dishes that are not prepared correctly—like vegetables that are soft and soggy, overcooked meat or fish and anything that comes out salty, not allowing great flavors to come through. No restaurant should put a dish on the menu that it can’t do well. Another thing that bothers me is red wine served at room temperature when room temperature is 75 degrees. If the wine tastes warm, that doesn’t work for me. Unfortunately, too many restaurants don’t know how to serve and store wine at the proper temperature.”

Do you cook yourself at home, and if so, what are your specialties?

“My wife, Karen, is a fabulous cook, so she does most of the cooking.

I handle anything on the grill—meat, fish or vegetables. I also like to cook breakfast, though I don’t do it often. I fix pancakes, French toast and thick bacon baked in the oven.”

What role will food and beverage play in the future of IHG brands?

“I’m a big believer in the importance of food and beverage as a differentiator for our brands, particularly Holiday Inn. The primary competition for most Holiday Inn hotels is select service and limited service properties. As long as our hotels have full kitchens and banquet capabilities, why not spend the time and effort to make them really good?

“For our upper upscale brands, F&B sets the tone in the market for the entire hotel. Even for Staybridge Suites and Holiday Inn Express, where meals are part of the room price, it’s important that the food be done well, with an appealing presentation and items at the right temperature.”

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Constellation Brands’ focus on quality has produced a bevy of industry awards for its brands and people, including being named Supplier of the Year for Best Large Wine Company from the Cheers Beverage Group for the second year in a row in 2012.

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Elevating Life with Every Glass Constellation Brands:

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ncork a bottle of a popular premium wine and chances are very good it will be one in the portfolio of Constellation Brands, Inc. The company is the leading premium wine producer in both the United States and the world, as well as the No. 1-selling wine company in Canada and a top supplier in New Zealand.

Its powerful, diverse holdings include more than 100 wines, beers and spirits. The selection included in the World Class Beverage Program comprises such well-known names as Robert Mondavi Private Selection, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Wild Horse, Ravenswood, Kim Crawford Unoaked and SVEDKA, the fastest-growing spirits brand in the U.S. Through its Crown Imports joint venture with Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, Constellation Brands is the leading beer importer and marketer in the U.S., behind such powerhouse brands as Corona, Modelo and Pacifico.

Success has been a constant since the company’s founding nearly 70 years ago. When 21-year-old Marvin Sands launched Canandaigua Industries Company in upstate New York in 1945, he had only eight employees and a strategy for selling bulk wine in barrels to bottlers in the East. The approach was a winner: within six years profits hit $1 million, and the company began acquiring wineries and production facilities across the country. In 2000, the name was changed to Constellation Brands to better reflect its scope.

Today Constellation Brands is a Fortune 1000 company with sales in 125 countries and operations at 40 facilities worldwide. It continues to steadfastly hold true to the core values and small-business philosophies that are the cornerstone of the company’s heritage— intelligent brand-building, staunchly upholding industry-leading standards of quality and investing in innovation.

A Commitment to Sustainability and Excellence The company’s leaders maintain that Constellation Brands’ longterm success is tied directly to its assuming ongoing responsibility for the care of the land, people and communities where it operates.

That commitment to sustainability translates to much more than lip service—Constellation Brands has the largest solar footprint in the U.S. wine industry, anchored by the installation of 17,000 solar panels at four of the company’s wineries that cover virtually all of those facilities’ energy needs.

Constellation Brands’ focus on quality has produced a bevy of industry awards for its brands and people, including being named Supplier of the Year for Best Large Wine Company from the Cheers Beverage Group for the second year in a row in 2012.

Teamwork with Customers Creative collaboration with retail partners is another critical element behind the company’s sustained strong performance. “We highly value the great relationships we enjoy with each hotel and manager,” says Nora Lee Smith, Tampa-based Strategic Accounts Manager for Constellation Brands. “Through them we are able to deliver the finest brands, programs and services possible.”

Her counterpart in Atlanta, Megan Frawley, agrees, noting several recent joint efforts with IHG hotels. “We’ve been pleased to codevelop and support programs such as Robert Mondavi Wines at Table 40 at the InterContinental Miami, SVEDKA Vodka infusions at the InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta and educational programs with Constellation’s Academy of Wine for Hotel Indigo and InterContinental Hotels,” she says. “The Constellation Brands vision is ‘to elevate life with every glass raised.’ By sharing knowledge and ideas with the F&B teams at IHG properties, we move toward realizing that goal, resulting in success for us all.”

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InterContinental New Orleans

T H R I V I N G

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The Big Easy F

ew cities in the world can boast a culinary culture as rich and deep as that in New Orleans, and arguably none is as unique. So how does the food and beverage team of a grouporiented hotel located two blocks from Bourbon Street in the heart of the city’s tourist district compete?

A simple answer—they don’t. Instead, the team at the InterContinental New Orleans has carved out a highly effective niche for each of its restaurants and bars that fits perfectly within the city’s gustatory traditions and meets the needs of hotel guests and local clients alike.

“People visiting New Orleans want to get out and experience the nightlife and the terrific restaurants with their exceptional chefs,” says Food & Beverage Director Jonathan Emerson, who has been with the hotel since 2007. “We don’t attempt to fight that—it’s important for them to get to know our city. We try to capitalize on other opportunities, such as being a home away from home for our business travelers and taking care of the tourists who are tired and may want to stay in one evening.”

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Keeping It Real

A top priority, and a common denominator among all the hotel’s outlets, is a staunch commitment to provide food and drink that deliver an authentic New Orleans experience while staying true to theme, Jonathan says.

Case in point: Soiffaim, an open restaurant/lounge situated in the second-floor lobby area, whose name was created from the French words for hunger and thirst. The menu offers fusion cuisine with a heavy Mediterranean and Arabic influence (think India, Turkey and Italy’s Amalfi coast) but uses unexpected, south Louisiana ingredients such as Gulf oysters and crawfish.

Champagne is the theme for the bar, which features a variety of styles and price points, an innovative champagne cocktail list and a knowledgeable staff.

Soiffaim was created two years ago in an area previously used as a lobby lounge, Jonathan notes. The new configuration fluidly blurs the boundaries between restaurant and lobby and is the first thing guests see when they step off the hotel’s escalator from busy St. Charles Street below. “We tried to make everything open and visible. Our customers don’t have to seek out F&B when

“There’s a uniquely personal aspect to the service in New Orleans,” he says. “At its best, it’s a combination of Southern hospitality and professionalism. But while the service here is more relaxed, it’s important that it not come across as lackadaisical or too familiar.

Training our team regarding that requires a particular skill set on the part of our F&B leaders.”

Pete’s Pub on the street level is an English-style bar with New Orleans overtones.

they arrive and check in—the experience is all around them,” he says. “People—primarily our in-house guests—start enjoying Soiffaim as soon as it opens in the early afternoon each day, and they continue to gather there late in the evening.”

Jonathan also acknowledges the support provided by fellow InterContinental Hotels. “At our property, we leverage traditions and trends from New Orleans standalone restaurants and strive to be creative in our own right. But we also follow the trails blazed by our InterContinental colleagues,” he says. “For example, we are installing our own beehive this fall, and we do a lot with our herb garden on the fifth-floor roof. It’s great to be part of a brand where copying each other’s good ideas, sharing best practices and celebrating success is encouraged.”

A second restaurant on the hotel’s main level, Veranda, serves breakfast and lunch under a glass roof in a garden-like setting and boasts the city’s most popular jazz and champagne buffet brunch.

The two outlets on the lower, street level cater particularly to local business clientele. Jonathan describes Pete’s Pub as a New Orleans version of television’s popular “Cheers” bar. Mardi Gras murals adorn the walls, and a simple, flavorful menu and traditional atmosphere draw a solid happy hour crowd, primarily from the PanAmerican building next door.

Nearby Sweet Car—the name a twist on New Orleans’ famous streetcars—offers pastries in the morning and dessert in the afternoon, as well as a caliber of coffee that measures up in a city that knows its brews. “When we redefined the concept from ‘coffee shop’ to quick-serve restaurant a few years ago, we were careful to keep enough of its tradition to maintain the loyalty of our regulars,” Jonathan says. “There are some patrons who have been having their morning coffee and Danish with us for 23 years.”

The F&B team: (left to right) Banquet Manager Louis Blache, F&B Director Jonathan Emerson and Executive Chef Alex Wolf.

Culinary Leadership When asked for the key to the F&B program’s ongoing success, Jonathan points to his strong leadership team, headed by Executive Chef Alex Wolf and Banquet Manager Louis Blache. “Because food is everything here, it’s critical to have culinary leaders who recognize that fact and don’t take shortcuts,” he says. “Alex and Louis understand and respect the New Orleans traditions and the high standards they set.”

That sensitivity is especially important to the hotel’s banquet business.

With 33,000 square feet of function space, corporate meetings and events are an important revenue driver. The Big Easy’s more casual approach to service requires special handling to ensure consistent delivery of the desired customer experience, Jonathan notes.

Soiffaim is an open restaurant and Champagne lounge situated in the lobby.

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The Coca-Cola/World Wildlife Fund 2012 Arctic Home Campaign Will Again Feature...

POLAR BEARS R E A L

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Among the many iconic images of the holiday season, perhaps none warms the heart quite like the lovable Coca-Cola polar bears. The computer-generated, furry family has starred periodically in television commercials for World Class Beverage Program partner The CocaCola Company over the past 19 years, creating an enormous fan following along the way.

Last year, Coca-Cola put the popular bears to work in support of the environment—specifically, to help protect their real-world brothers, the polar bears of the Arctic region, whose habitat has been disappearing at an alarming rate.

Coca-Cola joined forces with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to launch the Arctic Home campaign, which ran from October 2011 through March of this year and raised more than $2 million for WWF’s polar bear conservation efforts. The Coca-Cola bears played an important supporting role in the integrated marketing program behind the initiative. The success of Arctic Home has prompted a reprise for 10

I M A G I N A R Y the 2012 holiday season, according to Bruce McDonald, Vice President, Strategic Partnership Marketing, for The Coca-Cola Company.

“Coca-Cola has great affection and concern for the polar bears,” he says. “This campaign is our way of raising awareness for their plight and helping preserve their Arctic habitat, as part of our company’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and the environment.”

Saving the Species The high-visibility 2011 campaign was Year One of Coca-Cola’s five-year, $2 million commitment toward WWF’s goal of raising approximately $10 million to create a safe haven for the polar bears.

WWF experts note that, without intervention, the changing Arctic environment could mean the extinction of the polar bear. The organization’s vision is to work with local residents to manage an area high in the Arctic where the summer sea ice will likely persist the longest, helping keep the bears, along with other species, in existence.

To call attention to the cause, Coca-Cola introduced limited-edition “Arctic Home” Coke® cans last November featuring the image of a mother polar bear and her two cubs making their way across the Arctic. Consumers were invited to text a special package code or go online to make an individual donation of $1, which Coca-Cola matched up to $1 million.

The supporting holiday media campaign featured both the polar bears and Coca-Cola’s iconic Santa Claus in point-of-sale displays as well as television, cinema, print, digital and out-of-home advertising. A similar approach will be used for the 2012 campaign, McDonald says.

As a further show of support, Coca-Cola created new Coca-Cola polar bear ads that aired during Super Bowl XLVI in February of this year.

Media Icons The Coca-Cola polar bears have maintained media star status since their creation, even being inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame for popular icons and slogans in 2011.

They are not, however, Coca-Cola’s first use of a polar bear in its advertising—that took place in a print advertisement in France in 1922, and polar bears appeared sporadically in the company’s print advertising through the years after.

In 1993, Coca-Cola debuted its “Always Coca-Cola” campaign, and one of the commercials, “Northern Lights,” introduced the nowfamous polar bear family, watching the aurora borealis and drinking from bottles of Coca-Cola®. They were an immediate hit, and the adorable, mischievous, playful characters have appeared in many Coca-Cola TV spots since.

“We’re passionate about our team efforts with the WWF in support of the polar bears, and are pleased to be able to once again use our Coke brand and the Coca-Cola polar bears to appeal to Coke fans and lovers of the environment in support of this cause,” McDonald says.

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In this issue, we’re introducing a new occasional feature highlighting the F&B connections of some of our IHG owners.

First up: Mike Hembree, Chairman-elect 2012-2013 of the IHG Owners Association.

Mike Hembree BRINGS AN F&B VOICE OF EXPERIENCE

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The hospitality business—food and beverage in particular— is in Mike Hembree’s blood. The incoming IHG Owners Association Chairman grew up working in his parents’ restaurant. He owned and operated a couple of restaurants himself before moving into the limited-service hotel arena.

Mike currently owns the Holiday Inn Express Oklahoma City Northwest-Quail Springs and is building a Candlewood Suites next door scheduled to open in 2014.

While he enjoyed his years running restaurants, Mike is now focused on promoting great service in IHG hotel brands where the food operations are simpler.

“Great restaurants deliver consistently for their customers.

I respect and admire them for that, because it’s tough to make a restaurant work really well,” he says. “It takes a particular skill set to do it and do it right. Adding rooms to the equation complicates things further. But when you dine in a great restaurant or at a well-done banquet event, it’s a magical experience.”

He ventured into the hotel industry in the late 80s, joining his father and other family members to invest in and operate economy and limited service hotels, beginning a new chapter in his career.

Though F&B is no longer a major part of his professional life, Mike enjoys cooking for his family, friends and hotel teams, and hosting tailgating feasts prior to watching his beloved University of Oklahoma Sooners play football.

“My specialties are ribs and smoked pork,” he says. “This summer, we held the Owners Association annual planning meeting at my sister’s home in Oklahoma City. I baked the cakes and smoked the ribs.”

Restaurant Legacy Mike started learning the food and beverage business in the 1960s in his folks’ innovative and highly successful restaurant in Edmond, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City situated on historic Route 66 and home to the University of Central Oklahoma.

Recognizing the market potential of the town’s location and demographics, Mike’s parents opened a big, family-style restaurant that featured an unheard-of novelty: telephones were placed at each booth so customers could place their orders, and the kitchen buzzed them back when their meals were ready to pick up at the service counter.

“The menu favorites were quarter-pound hamburgers and chicken-fried steaks with Texas toast,” Mike remembers.

“The pricing was right, and we sold them by the boatload.

By the time I graduated from college, I thought I was done with smelling like food.”

With a marketing degree in hand, Mike went to work for Gilbert Robinson managing Houlihan’s, Annie’s Santa Fe and Bristol Bar and Grill locations around the Midwest. He opened his own restaurant in 1985, later adding a second in the location of his parents’ original place, and operated them until 2002.

Commitment to Consistency As he takes up the reins of the Owners Association, Mike reflects on the food and beverage accomplishments and challenges for IHG’s brands.

“Maintaining consistency of quality and experience around F&B is crucial for IHG brands, and that’s especially true for the Holiday Inn brand,” he says. “Holiday Inn was the pathfinder for the commercial hotel brand, back when Kemmons Wilson played such a big part in creating our industry. Today, most Holiday Inn restaurants don’t get the customer attention they should. We gave up some ground in this area, and it is now time to get it back.

“The IHG teams have the skills we need, and the ownership, as represented by the Association, is committed. Together we’ll reach our goal of having food and beverage offerings for each brand that appeal to our guests and differentiate them from the competition.”

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ollout of the IHG Bartender Academy to full-service hotels in the U.S. and Canada is scheduled to get fully under way in the fourth quarter of this year. However, the curriculum for the groundbreaking initiative is already being expanded and enhanced.

Designed to define, elevate and distinguish the role of bartenders in delivering a superior guest experience, the IHG Bartender Academy is aimed at full-service hotels across all brands and for both companyowned/managed and franchised properties. Its cornerstone course offers training and testing to earn a proprietary Certified Bartender designation. All bartenders at CMH hotels will be required to take and pass this course.

Additional courses and supporting tools in the pipeline for the Bartender Academy include: •E ssential Skills of Bartending—This introductory course covers the fundamentals and was created for entry-level bartenders or those returning to the craft who want to brush up on the basics. Taking only about two hours to complete, this course, for some, will serve as a precursor to the more comprehensive Bartender Certification course, which requires 9-10 hours. The Essential Skills offering will be made available free of charge and will be introduced before year-end 2012.

• A dvanced Bartender Certification—The second of three certification courses that will comprise the foundation of the IHG Bartender Academy curriculum, Advanced Bartender training will be developed and launched in 2013. This course is for Certified Bartenders desiring a greater level of skill and more recognition in the bartending craft.

•B artender Hiring Tool—Designed for food and beverage directors or others with responsibility for hiring bartenders, this tool will help assess whether a candidate has the competencies required to tend bar. The Hiring Tool is targeted for delivery in the first half of 2013.

•E xpanded visual guides—The existing World Class Beverage Program rolodexes—which consist of fingertip references and guides for standards, program requirements and drink recipes—will be incorporated into the IHG Bartender Academy. These will continue to be updated and enhanced; a new visual guide for use in instructing servers on how to open and pour all types of wine will be added in 2013.

“The goal of the IHG Bartender Academy is to deliver best-in-class training that helps build a culture of excellence within the IHG beverage service community,” says Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of Food & Beverage, Americas. “We will continue to add depth to the curriculum as we refine and enhance its offerings.”

C O M I N G AT T R A C T I O N S F O R T H E

IHG Bartender Academy

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Upping the Game THROUGH MEMBERSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES BARTENDERS’ GUILD IHG is a company that places a high premium on leadership throughout the organization, and that’s certainly true for the World Class Beverage Program and the F&B community in the Americas.

For this reason, achieving the Certified Bartender designation within the new IHG Bartender Academy comes with a special bonus: one year of free membership in the United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG), compliments of IHG. The USBG is the largest network of professional bartenders in the United States, with chapters in 37 U.S. cities and regions. Founded in 1967, the organization is dedicated to the continued refinement of the bartending craft, through advanced product education, original hand-crafted cocktail competitions and aggressive involvement with other professionals within the beverage industry. The USBG is affiliated with the International Bartenders’ Association (IBA), which has a presence in more than 50 countries.

“IHG’s Food & Beverage management team is a strong supporter of the USBG,” says Brittany Chardin, IHG Beverage Specialist, who founded the Atlanta chapter three years ago and serves as its current president.

“Wearing the membership pin of the USBG represents a particular level of individual professionalism and signifies to the industry and the world that you take your craft seriously.”

She adds that local chapter activities generally center around monthly, working-lunch meetings featuring educational programs on specific topics, such as a designated spirit or industry trends. These are often led

by visiting brand ambassadors, distillers or mixology experts. Networking is an added draw. Along with involvement in their local chapters, members have access through the USBG to additional educational resources and other association benefits.

The USBG offers its own three-part Master’s Accreditation (MA) Program that is an advanced degree equivalent of the education that will be provided through the IHG Bartender Academy, Chardin says.

“Only 139 bartenders in the country have passed Level One of the MA Program, and five have passed Levels One and Two. The only Level Three or Master Mixologists to date are honorary titles. The Program involves a very focused, rigorous process, similar to the Court of Master Sommeliers process for certifying wine professionals. The USBG leadership is quite excited about the curriculum of the IHG Bartender Academy; they believe that achieving Certified Bartender status in the IHG program would definitely set a bartender up for success in passing the first level of the USBG MA Program.”

The various local, national and international mixology competitions that the USBG is involved with are an exciting way to build skills and confidence, Chardin says. “The contestants learn by watching other experts and sharing best practices , tips and tricks. It impacts their behavior once they step back behind the bar.”

Her advice to IHG bartenders across all full-service brands who achieve Certified Bartender status: jump in! “No other company in the industry is providing a benefit like this. Qualifying bartenders should take full advantage of all that being a part of USBG offers.”

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We continue our series celebrating leading IHG Executive Chefs in the Americas

“A chef must be a leader first, and Chef Serge brings everyone together to create a positive atmosphere in the kitchen. Before you can be a great chef, you must be a great cook, and Serge is exceptional. His first goal is to please the customer, then himself. He’s always looking for new things guests would like, while making sure to stick to the basics, and he can do a lot with a little. He delivers French food with an American twist and vice versa.”

Boris Burtin Restaurant & Bar Manager InterContinental New York Barclay

Chef

Serge Devesa of the InterContinental New York Barclay

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T

aste the fragrant delights of Chef Serge Devesa’s signature Bouillabaisse, and you’re instantly transported to the sunny southern coast of France and the chef’s hometown of Marseille.

The journey from the kitchen where he worked beside his mother as a young teenager to his current role as Executive Chef for the InterContinental New York Barclay has covered a considerable amount of geography. His early love of cooking led to enrollment at a French culinary academy, and upon completing his studies, Serge left home to cook in a variety of hotels around the world, many of them with the Sofitel hotel group, where he has spent the majority of his career.

He worked his way up from sous chef to chef de cuisine in properties located in Paris, Marseille, Martinique, Canada, Vietnam, the Middle East, Miami, New York and Minneapolis.

He also managed organization-wide chef services for Sofitel, providing world-class French and international cuisine to guests and visiting dignitaries.

Serge joined the InterContinental New York Barclay in mid2011, bringing with him the innovation, culinary artistry and kitchen and service team management skills gleaned from his globetrotting experience. Since arriving, he has implemented a reorganization of the kitchen and its processes, introduced innovative new menu items and increased the use of local, natural and organic products in all the hotel’s outlets.

“Our Natural Power Breakfast daily buffet is 90 percent sustainable and organic,” he says with pride. “Customer response has been extremely positive.”

L E A D I N G

Spiced, Roasted Crispy Duck Breast with Asian Relish and the InterContinental Barclay’s Rooftop Honey & Soy Glaze

The herbs in his dishes and some of the produce are grown in the hotel’s rooftop garden. Serge also helps maintain the property’s seven honeybee colonies (the dishes shown on this page were made using honey from the hotel’s own hives).

Bringing about change in an iconic hotel like the Barclay can be challenging, Serge notes, but he relies on honest communication and careful listening to build a sense of team and support.

“In order to break down walls in front of you, it’s critical to believe in what you want to do and trust yourself,” he says. “Then, you must pay close attention to your team, make them accountable and help them to know what they are capable of. Giving people the chance to try their own ideas, even if they don’t work, is very motivating.

“I know they’re truly working as a team when they tell me, ‘Chef, don’t worry—we will take care of you.’”

C H A N G E

Pan-Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras on Toasted Focaccia, with Fig Compote and Honey Lavender Reduction

Honey and Cinnamon Organic New York Apple Tartlet with Honey & Calvados Chocolate Sauce

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Something Classic, Something New Crisp autumn air brings renewed energy for finishing out the year, and consumers seek libations to match that spirit. Holiday Inn® and Hotel Indigo® have introduced promotions that approach Fall from two very different directions.

Cocktails for the Americas A list of essential, classic cocktails would undoubtedly include the three featured in the fall promotion for the Holiday Inn brand: the Cuba Libre, Mai Tai and Bay Breeze. The IHG Food & Beverage team joined with World Class Beverage Program partner Bacardi Rum to implement the first-ever, all-Americas spirits promotion featuring the well-known drinks. Holiday Inn hotels from Canada to Brazil and the Caribbean are participating in the promotion, which runs from October through year-end.

The cocktails were selected in part as a tip of the hat to the 150th anniversary of Bacardi, makers of the world’s best-selling rum, but also because the drinks will be easy to make and use ingredients most hotels already have in-house or can easily source in most locations.

Supporting materials include table tents, menu inserts and an implementation guide, all available online via Hotel Merlin. These are being translated by region into Canadian French, Spanish and Portuguese, along with English.

Dessert in a Glass Chocolate, coconut and rum with cream—can a drink get any better than that? Hotel Indigo joined forces with OneBar USA, parent of the unique RumChata liqueur, and the Coca-Cola Company, makers of ZICO premium coconut water, to create a decidedly delicious fourth quarter promotion. The centerpiece is a specialty drink called the CocoChata, which combines RumChata—a yummy blend of premium Caribbean rum, dairy cream from Wisconsin and a special selection of spices—with tasty ZICO Chocolate coconut water, finished off with toasted coconut on 18

the glass rim. The promotion’s implementation guide includes several additional delectable recipes using both RumChata and ZICO Chocolate coconut water, such as a Cappuccino Chata and a Minty-tini.

All Hotel Indigo hotels in the U.S. are offering the cocktails. Along with using the promotional coasters, table tents and menu cards being provided, the hotels are encouraged to tie in to local events and create their own to introduce the unusual new beverages.

Adding Zip with ZICO The Hotel Indigo promotion leverages the runaway success of CocaCola’s ZICO Coconut Water product line, which includes a host of flavors and offers the health benefits of all-natural, premium coconut water. To make it an even sweeter treat for the brand’s promotion— ZICO Chocolate coconut water contains only half the calories of the average chocolate bar and one-fourth the fat.

For more information on the Bacardi promotion, contact Scott Chapman at scott.chapman@ihg.com or 770-604-8035. For more information on the RumChata/ZICO promotion, contact Dianna Stoffer at dianna.stoffer@ihg.com or 770-604-2633.

Green Success!

IHG Receives TIPS Award

It’s official—the InterContinental Hotels brand has become the first hotel company in the world to have all its owned/managed properties’ restaurants and bars certified by the Green Restaurant Association.

The achievement came well before the brand’s year-end 2012 goal.

Health Communications, Inc. (HCI), providers of the TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) program, has named IHG one of 10 recipients of the 2012 TIPS Award for Excellence. IHG was recognized for its responsible alcohol service program, which includes its own trainer incentive and recognition component. The IHG program goes above and beyond the standard TIPS offering, HCI noted, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to the safety of guests and employees. The award was chosen by an internal committee based on both volume of TIPS training and feedback from TIPS Trainers and student participants.

Restaurants and bars at all 18 of the InterContinental Hotels in the United States and Canada have earned at least a Two-Star Green Restaurant® certification. Those properties most recently achieving the designation were: •Veranda Restaurant and Soiffaim Champagne Lounge at the InterContinental New Orleans •Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse at the InterContinental Chicago •Stephen F’s Austin Bar & Terrace at the InterContinental Austin •Q de Cheval Restaurant & Bar at the InterContinental Dallas “Earning the Green Restaurant® certification was a joint effort at each hotel that included the Food & Beverage team and the Engineering department, together with strong management support,” says Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of Food & Beverage, Americas. “Congratulations and thanks to the many people who worked very hard to help the brand achieve this important accomplishment. We are especially proud to have completed the brand-wide certification in less than a year.”

Through the World Class Beverage Program, IHG requires all employees who serve alcohol to be certified in the TIPS for OnPremise program. As a result, more than 5,500 employees have been certified since IHG began using TIPS in the late 90s. To reinforce the importance IHG places on TIPS certification, the World Class Beverage Program developed a special certificate of commendation which is sent, along with a professional wine key, to each IHG associate who successfully completes the course.

In accepting the award, Vice President of Food & Beverage Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray said, “The success of our program rests squarely on the shoulders of our TIPS Trainers, so I accept this award on their behalf.”

Welcoming A New F&B Commando: Tobias Gessner A new member has been named to the IHG Food & Beverage Commando Committee for owned and/or managed full-service hotels in North America.

Tobias Gessner is F&B Director for the InterContinental San Francisco Moscone. He has more than 15 years of hotel food and beverage experience and an extensive background with InterContinental Hotels. Tobias held a series of progressively more responsible F&B management positions at the InterContinental Dallas, Willard InterContinental, InterContinental Mark Hopkins, InterContinental San Francisco and InterContinental Toronto Centre before rejoining the InterContinental San Francisco Moscone in 2011 in his current role.

The other members of the F&B Commandos are Danny Estevez, InterContinental Miami; Edoardo Caneri, Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach; Douglas Wu, Holiday Inn San Diego, and Dianna Stoffer, Hotel Indigo.

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The Official Magazine of the World Class Beverage Program Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray | Vice President, F&B Americas Laura Hammer | Office Manager, F&B Americas

Larry Light’s 10 Elements Required to Generate Sustainable Trust in Your Brands

1 2

Stand up for what you stand for.

3 4

Provide extraordinary guarantees.

5 6 7 8 9

Be a trusted information source.

10

Support causes.

Promise what you intend to deliver and deliver what you promise.

World Class Beverage Program Contact/Support:

770.604.8283 | laura.hammer@ihg.com

The World Class Beverage Program Family

Simplify choice complexity—we live in an “over-choiced” world.

Educate consumers.

Be open and transparent.

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on’t speculate, collaborate. Collaboration D is better than confrontation.

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Pamela Tweedell | iMi Agency Ann Wilson | Writer & Editor Silvermoss Partners | Art Direction & Layout

Stay perpetually unsatisfied...but in a positive way.

Quality! Quality! Quality!

SPIRITED SPIRITED

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Sweat the details.

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