Spirited 2014 fall

FALL 2014

The Official Magazine of the World Class Beverage Program

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

The premier Washington state wine producer views its extensive portfolio of wine estates as a “string of pearls.”

Talking F&B with Jimmy Taylor The Vice President, Operations & Sales, for Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites® talks about Kentucky bourbon, comfort food and his insistence on a frosty glass of milk to go along with any dessert.

IN THIS ISSUE

EVEN®Hotels F&B

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3

7

Exploring West Coast Wines

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World Class Beverage Program Supplier Profile: Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

Hotel Indigo Summer & Fall Promotions

12

InterContinental Hotels Culinary Clash

16

6

14

8

Talking F&B with Jimmy Taylor

F&B Leader Profile: Jonathan Wood Global F&B Council Update

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New F&B Websites

Building A Global Food and Beverage Community The language of food and beverage transcends borders, cultures and even brands, speaking not just to basic needs but to the hearts and souls of our guests. Maybe that’s why those of us who have chosen F&B as a career are so passionate about it!

IHG’s leadership has recognized this and chosen to focus on F&B as a strategic priority and competitive differentiator. Strengthening the connections among our food and beverage colleagues in every region is key to fulfilling on this priority, and several important new initiatives address this. The Global F&B Council, created last year, is focused on developing a global F&B community and culture. IHG has relaunched the F&B and Culinary Commando committees, extending this advisory function beyond the Americas to the rest of the IHG system. And, we have launched two new Americas F&B websites that make resources more readily available and provide a virtual space for communicating and developing our community. You can read more about each of these exciting initiatives in this issue of Spirited. Enjoy!

Crowne Plaza Los Angeles International Airport

Introducing the New Commandos

Helping Guests

EatonWell the Road The opening of the first two EVEN® Hotels this summer in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Rockville, Maryland, raised the profile of IHG’s groundbreaking, wellness-focused brand even higher by bringing it to life.

Guests at the new properties have the opportunity to experience first-hand the innovative EVEN Hotels offerings designed to meet their wellness needs in four key areas: Keep Active, Accomplish More, Rest Easy and, importantly, Eat Well.

Along with such amenities as a three-zone Athletic Studio, In-Room Training Zone and comfortable and calming work spaces, all EVEN Hotels will also feature the proprietary Cork & Kale™ Market and Bar food and beverage platform, focused on simple, natural and good ingredients. The brand team collaborated with leading culinary nutritional consultants to develop the concept, which is based on the brand’s commitment to offer guests a variety of healthy and greattasting menu options that elevate their hotel experience while helping them maintain their routine on the road.

The Signature Kale Salad and Prosciutto and Fig Flatbread are two featured items on the Cork & Kale evening menu.

Cork & Kale Market and Bar is an upscale, fast-casual food and beverage outlet featuring freshly prepared food and beverage items, as well as grab-and-go items and retail-style products. The selection is designed to accommodate guests’ individual requirements and offers everything from heart-healthy, gluten-free and low-fat options to paleo or vegetarian-friendly dishes.

“The EVEN Hotels brand is unique in that we are approaching guests’ wellness from a holistic perspective. Our food and beverage concept is a perfect example of that,” says Dianna Stoffer, Corporate Manager, Food & Beverage—Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels. “The Cork & Kale Market and Bar offerings provide what guests need when they need it, whether they are gearing up for a long business day, refueling after a workout or relaxing with our less-than-426-calorie desserts and cocktails. The emphasis is on good tasting, good-for-you foods that are freshly prepared and fully customizable.”

The approach extends to the beverage arena as well. The EVEN Hotels brand participates in the World Class Beverage Program and the hotels offer a full, upscale Cork & Kale bar experience.

“The centerpiece is a collection of eight hand-crafted cocktails, made using organic spirits from well-known producers such as Fruitlab and TY KU, along with fresh herbs and natural mixers,” says Bob Midyette, Corporate Manager, Beverage. “There’s also a selection of top-shelf beers, wines and spirits from the World Class Beverage Program. All are designed to help guests maintain their balance while traveling.”

Mary in the Garden of EVEN is one of the brand’s signature cocktails, made with TRU Organic Garden Vodka, Zing Zang mix, fresh lime and herb garnish.

Underpinning the brand commitment to supporting wellness-minded travelers’ routines is a training and certification process for hotel F&Bfocused team members. “The training covers the nutritional content and health benefits each menu item offers, such as those that are calming, contain superfoods or boost brain power,” Dianna says. “It’s designed to help our hotel teams better understand guests’ specific requirements and match our F&B offerings to their needs.”

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Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

Nurturing a Collection of

Viticultural Pearls

4

M

ention Chateau Ste. Michelle and what comes to mind for many is the premier winery that defined the Washington state wine industry more than 45 years ago.

W hat’s perhaps less well-known is that this leading wine producer is just one of a collection of 33 distinctive estate wineries that comprise its parent company, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, and produce some of the best wines in the world.

“We refer to our portfolio as our ‘String of Pearls,’” says Maureen “Mo” Kennedy, Director, Global Accounts, Hotels, for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. “Our company’s philosophy is to consider each winery a unique ‘pearl’ whose luster is best revealed when the vineyard and wine-making decisions are made on-site by the people who grow the grapes and make the wine. The Ste. Michelle Wine Estates company is just the ‘string’ for the pearls, providing administrative and financial support for our extraordinary wine properties.”

Celebrating Individual Terroirs

The flagship pearl in the collection is the first, Chateau Ste. Michelle, which is Washington’s oldest winery, with roots dating back to the repeal of Prohibition in 1934. A line of premium vinifera wines was introduced in 1967 under the Ste. Michelle label, and in 1976 the company built a French-style chateau outside Seattle in Woodinville, Washington, which still serves as the headquarters for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the few premium wine producers in the world with two state-of-the-art wineries, one for white wine (in Woodinville) and one for red, made at the company’s Canoe Ridge Estates winery in Eastern Washington.

Over the years the company has developed or acquired other wineries that adhered to its standards of quality and whose wines are distinctive. The portfolio today includes well-known brands from California and Oregon as well as Washington, among them Columbia Crest, Conn Creek and Erath.

“We’ve expanded our vineyard holdings to more than 3,700 acres in Washington and California, and we own 99 percent of the wineries in our portfolio in the United States,” Mo says. “Our wines reflect the place where they are grown. We focus on combining Old World winemaking traditions with New World innovation, and believe in allowing each winery to explore to the fullest extent the unique growing conditions and individual winemaking practices that give the wines their extraordinary character.”

International Scope

Though the company’s domestic properties are impressive, its reach is global. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates has winemaking partnerships with two esteemed European vintners: Col Solare

is an alliance with Tuscany’s Piero Antinori, and Eroica Riesling is a partnership with Ernst Loosen of Germany’s Mosel Valley.

The company also co-owns Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars with the acclaimed Antinori family.

In 2006, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates became the exclusive U.S. importer for the Antinori wine company as well as for Chile’s Haras wines, adding representation of Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte of France in 2009 and New Zealand’s Villa Maria Estate in 2010.

“We’re proud of our standing as the premier Washington State producer,” Mo says. “Our goal is to be the most highly recognized premium wine company in the world, and we are definitely getting close.”

Sampling the Collection

The selection of wines from the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates portfolio that is included in the World Class Beverage Program gives an indication of the breadth of the company’s U.S. offerings: • 2012 Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon—The “two vines” refers to the method of vine trellising which positions grape clusters for optimum sun exposure, resutling in richer fruit flavor and brighter color. This wine is one of the Holiday Inn brand selections.

• 2011 Seven Falls Wahluke Slope Merlot—Inspired by seven waterfalls that flowed along Washington’s Columbia River, this silky red was specially selected for InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo hotels.

• Michelle Columbia Valley Brut—The company’s new sparkling wine, made using the traditional méthode champenoise, debuted nationwide in late 2013, and is a program requirement for InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo hotels.

• 2012 Hot to Trot White Blend—Named for the small horses that once roamed the hills of eastern Washington state, this lively white blend is featured by the glass for all IHG brands in the World Class Beverage Program.

• 2012 Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling— Sourced from throughout Washington’s Columbia Valley, this is the No. 1-selling Riesling by the glass in restaurants, hotels and bars. The IHG wine program includes this selection for all brands.

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A Quick Tour of the West Coast’s

Tantalizing Terroirs T

he first commercial vineyard in the western United States was established in the mid-19th century outside Los Angeles by an immigrant from Bordeaux. Production soon shifted to Sonoma and Napa Valleys in northern California, where the excellent growing climate produced wines that were winning international awards by the late 1800s.

Here’s a very brief overview of the major wine-growing regions of the West Coast:

• Washington State’s short, warm summers and sparse soil produce wine characterized by bright fruit flavors and crisp acidity. While there is some viticultural activity in the cooler, wetter western half of the state, more than 99 percent of wine grape production takes A series of disasters over the next 40 years—the infestation of the place in the drier, more continental climate of the eastern half. The phylloxera louse which killed Vitis vinifera (grape varieties suitable for Washington wine industry totals more than 750 wineries and wine production) vines, the San Francisco earthquake that destroyed 43,000-plus acres of vinifera vines, making it America’s second an estimated 30 million gallons of wine in storage, and Prohibition largest (behind California) producer of classic wines. from 1920 to 1933—left the American wine industry in a shambles.

• Oregon’s cooler climate and mineral-rich soil create the perfect Revival came in the 1970s, along with a system (similar to that used environment for the top two grapes grown here, Pinot Noir and in Europe) to identify appellations of origin or American Viticultural Pinot Gris, and in fact Oregon is regarded as one of the premier Areas (AVAs). An AVA guarantees that a minimum of 85 percent of Pinot Noir-producing areas in the world. The state has three main the wine in the bottle comes from grapes grown in that AVA. Using wine-producing regions, the largest and best known of which is the an individual vineyard name guarantees that 95 percent of any wine Willamette Valley, which is home to the majority of the state’s 300using that name must be made from grapes grown in that vineyard, plus wineries and the heart of its thriving wine tourism industry. and from within a recognized AVA. Of the 206 currently recognized • California—The foremost producer in the United States, California AVAs, 118 are in California. has more than 1,200 wineries and grows over a hundred grape “California, Washington and Oregon are the most productive varieties. The large North Coast AVA outside San Francisco regions, though there are AVAs across the country with much includes the state’s best-known growing regions—Napa Valley and smaller output that is not as readily available,” says IHG Beverage Sonoma Valley—where the complex soil and long, hot summers Specialist Brittany Chardin. “West Coast wines tend to be higher create a unique Mediterranean climate that produces California’s in alcohol and more fruit-forward than European wines, but this world-renowned Cabernet Sauvignon and a wide range of other is shifting as a growing number of wineries adopt more of the Old well-regarded wines. Other growing areas include the Central and World winemaking processes.”

South Coasts and the Central Valley, California’s largest wine region, producing almost 75 percent of its wine grapes.

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SummerintoFall Easing from

The Hotel Indigo® brand has developed a pair of beverage promotions designed to help guests at hotels in the U.S. transition from the wistful end of summer into the first crisp days of autumn.

Crafted to be Refreshing

Bourbon Infusion

What better way for guests to enjoy the warm days of the late summer/ early fall season than relaxing with a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle’s popular Columbia Valley Riesling? This flavorful, medium-dry wine is a blend of 2013 vintage Riesling from throughout Washington state’s Columbia Valley and offers ripe white peach and apple aromas with subtle mineral notes.

One of the hottest current beverage trends is infused bourbons, and the Hotel Indigo® fourth-quarter promotion will take full advantage of this flavorful new way to enjoy the spirit.

The hotels are promoting this “everyday Riesling” by the glass and the bottle as a pleasure to drink and the perfect accompaniment to a variety of foods, from fresh fruit and mild cheese to crab or chicken. The wine was selected for the brand’s third-quarter promotion in part because of the robust 2013 growing season, which, coupled with Chateau Ste. Michelle’s exacting quality standards, produced a delightfully refreshing and drinkable off-dry wine.

Teaming up with World Class Beverage Program partner Beam Suntory, the Hotel Indigo team has created a promotion that invites guests to explore the unexpectedly delightful flavor of Knob Creek small-batch bourbon infused with apples, cinnamon and cloves.

A special infusion kit for the hotels will include a large glass jar/decanter for making the infusion that doubles as an attractive back-bar display. Freshsliced apples, cinnamon sticks and cloves are kept covered with bourbon in the jar throughout the promotion, which runs from October 30, 2014, through Launched in late July, the promotion runs through September 30, 2014. Hotels January 30, 2015. The infusion ingredients were carefully selected to enhance received a promotion kit containing a program execution guide and marketing the distinctive maple sugar sweetness and rich, woody caramel flavor of the Knob Creek bourbon. materials including coasters and table tent inserts.

For more information on the Crafted to be Refreshing promotion, contact Dianna Stoffer at dianna.stoffer@ihg.com or 770-604-2633.

el le C h at ea u S te . M ic h ie sl in g C o lu m b ia V al le y R fro m thr ou gh ou t A ble nd of Rie sli ng s bia Va lle y. Th is Wa sh ing ton ’s Co lum rfu l, me diu m- dr y is a ref res hin g, fla vo Rie sli ng .

The hotels will also receive a promotional kit containing a program execution guide, frontand back-of-the-house posters, table tent inserts and coasters. The guide will feature a selection of cocktail-as-craft recipes made with the infused bourbon as an alternative for guests to enjoying it neat. The perfect warm-up for autumn!

For details about the Bourbon Infusion promotion, contact Bob Midyette at 770-604-5206 or bob.midyette@ihg.com.

a va rie ty of foo ds , Ea sy to ma tch wi th fla vo r pro file s of it co mp lem en ts the ld ch ee se s an d fre sh fru it, cra b, mi su ch as ch erv il, ch ick en an d he rbs rsl ey. co ria nd er, dil l an d pa ibly

Please enjoy respons

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Arkansas-born Jimmy Taylor may joke about knowing how to “grill possum,” but he enjoys cooking and is passionate about Southern food and culture. In a recent interview, the Vice President, Operations & Sales, for Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, weighed in on his F&B preferences, including the delights of a perfectly prepared ribeye and the importance of having fully engaged servers to ensure a memorable meal.

Down Home and Down To Earth TALKING F&B WITH

JIMMY

TAYLOR

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ANY FOODSERVICE EXPERIENCE IN YOUR BACKGROUND?

ANY RECENT STANDOUT MEALS AT AN IHG PROPERTY?

“Growing up in Forrest City, Arkansas, I had a couple of jobs working in grocery “One of the best experiences was a holiday dinner for some of the IHG senior stores. I had one real F&B job one summer in Nashville, when I worked as a operations team members at Southern Art in the InterContinental Buckhead in server at the Commodore Club for alumni at Vanderbilt.

Atlanta. The chef prepared lots of small dishes—I remember the lamb chops in particular—all delicious. It was one of those meals where you looked at what the “My hotel career started in sales, then operations. I opened many Candlewood people sitting next to you were eating and said, ‘I’ve got to try that next.’”

Suites and Staybridge Suites hotels as a General Manager, including the first Staybridge Suites hotel here in Alpharetta, Georgia. Then I moved into ANY F&B “PET PEEVES,” OTHER THAN WARM MILK? regional sales for IHG and eventually headed Hotel Sales for the Americas “Yes—it’s back to service again. It drives me nuts if I’m ready to go and can’t before taking on my new role in operations and sales with Staybridge Suites get the waiter’s attention. I usually walk to the front of the restaurant. A welland Candlewood Suites. I’ve been with the company for 16 years.” trained server will be paying attention and know when the dining experience is over and it’s time to bring the check.”

WHAT DOES A GREAT DINING EXPERIENCE LOOK LIKE?

“It’s important to have a server who actually wants to be there. When your server comes to the table, you instantly know whether the person is passionate about delivering a great experience, or just working the job to pay the bills. A good server will also judge the crowd and pace the speed of service accordingly. Are the diners hurried, or do they just sit, talk and not even open the menus right away? Being sensitive to that helps create a dining experience, versus just eating.”

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? “I’m a diverse eater, not picky at all. Choose the restaurant or tell me what you want—I can cook it or find a place where it’s on the menu. That said, I do have some favorites.

“Because I am from the South I love vegetables and comfort food, like soup.

I eat soup whenever it’s available and wherever I am, from Chick Fil-A to Holiday Inn to almost any restaurant.

YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU COOK. WHAT’S ONE OF YOUR SPECIALTIES? “I do cook a lot, mainly on weekends. I’m a grill man—I can fix anything on the grill. Whenever I cook, I make big quantities because I have three boys—15, 18 and 22—who are always in a contest for who can eat the most. And we don’t want anyone to go hungry!

“One of my more unusual specialties is bacon spaghetti. A German friend of mine gave me the recipe more than 30 years ago, and everyone who tries it loves it.”

WHAT’S THE ROLE OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE FOR IHG’S SELECT SERVICE BRANDS? “It’s important for each of our brands—full-service or select service—to make sure the food and beverage they offer is absolutely the best it can be. That’s essential to ensure an extraordinary guest experience.

“My very favorite food is steak, preferably a medium rare ribeye with perfect “For Staybridge Suites the challenge is to keep the food offerings different and marbling. I enjoy a good filet as well, but the flavor is better, I believe, on a ribeye. interesting for breakfast and for the Social and cookout on weeknights, so that extended stay guests aren’t served the same thing every day. Really making “Finally, I absolutely love milk. I have to have it with any sweets or dessert. Did an effort to have the items be visually appealing is key, also. you know that in 1985, the Arkansas General Assembly designated milk the state’s official beverage? For me, it has to be ice cold. One of my pet peeves is warm milk.”

“At Candlewood Suites, we’ve worked with area vendors to expand the Candlewood Cupboard offerings to include items with regional flair, along with the basics. So now the properties in New Orleans may have chicken HOW ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE BEVERAGE? gumbo and in New England, clam chowder. We want to make sure our hotels “For spirits, I’m a bourbon drinker, and I have quite a few favorites, like Maker’s have available what people in the area expect, and importantly, that the Mark and small batch Kentucky bourbons. When I was growing up, my dad’s freezers and shelves stay well-stocked.” favorite drink was Seagram’s 7 and 7Up, but instead of ‘7 and 7,’ we called it an ‘Arkansas 15.’ That was my favorite, too, when I reached drinking age. As I got older, I drank less and less 7Up.”

FAVORITE RESTAURANT? “It depends on what cuisine you have in mind. I still crave ribs from the famous Rendezvous in Memphis, and whenever I go to Arkansas to visit family, I have to stop over in Memphis and have dinner there.

“I also love Hal’s in Atlanta, which I’ve been enjoying since it opened more than 20 years ago. They have the best filet anywhere, even better than well-known Atlanta steakhouses like Bones or Chops. It has a piano bar and friendly atmosphere, a great spot for grownups.”

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CROWNE PLAZA LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

‘Outstanding!’

Going From ‘Good’ to

It’s

time-honored advice: play to your strengths. That is the approach the food and beverage team at the Crowne Plaza Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) elected to take for an extensive, just-completed modernization of the hotel’s F&B outlets.

Introducing A Contemporary Vibe That was accomplished through a sleek, modern design, opening up and unifying all the F&B areas and featuring clean lines, a neutral color palette and warm wood accents. The previous restaurant and bar were reconfigured to provide more flow among dining and entertainment areas, allowing for easy multipurpose use.

Refurbishing the dining and entertainment areas was the final piece in a two-and-a-half-year, $18-million renovation of the entire property, The primary bar area is now the Century Taproom (with a nod to the which was built in 1984. Located less than a mile from the Los hotel’s street address on Century Boulevard), which capitalizes on Angeles International terminals, the hotel received a stem-to-stern another market opportunity surfaced by the survey. makeover that also included guest rooms, public areas and function space, as well as a freshening of the exterior with new paint, signage “Despite our location in one of the most concentrated hotel corridors and landscaping. in the country, the research results showed only one hotel in our area with a craft beer bar,” says Food & Beverage Director David Nader, Before starting on the F&B outlets, the team hired a consulting firm who has been with the hotel since 2005. “Craft beers are at the that conducted extensive online research to determine what guests height of their popularity—that’s what’s causing buzz in the market. felt the hotel was already doing well.

So we decided to make our bar beer-centric.”

“We saw an opportunity to capture more in-house business, as well The team developed an extensive beer menu of more than 30 draft as to increase traffic from office building tenants in the area,” says Paul Gibbs, a 22-year veteran of IHG who joined the Crowne Plaza as and bottle beers from the best local craft and microbreweries around the world. A complementary, broadened food menu includes the General Manager on the day renovations began. “The survey results hotel’s guest favorites plus other tried-and-true items such as steaks, validated our thinking. We were known and liked for our pasta, pizza, seafood, pizza, rotisserie chicken and a new, handmade burger that is jazz and sushi. But the restaurant and bar looked like the ‘80s. So we opted to keep what was working for us, but obtained approval to give already a bestseller. The result: beer sales made up 60 percent of the outlet’s total revenue in the first two months following completion of our outlets a current look and feel.” the renovation, and overall revenue grew by more than 30 percent.

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“The Taproom has a lively, hip West LA vibe, with music and lighting that help create the right atmosphere,” David says. “Our regular customers have been blown away by the transformation, and our F&B scores continue to go up.”

The adjacent restaurant is now The Landing, which features a sumptuous breakfast buffet. The space is occasionally used for lunch or dinner for corporate clients or for “air drops,” when major international air carriers have delayed or canceled flights and the hotel is selected to accommodate several hundred stranded passengers for meals. The area can also be set to handle overflow crowds from the Century Taproom.

The Landing Restaurant features a full breakfast buffet.

Sushi and the Coffee Experience Nearby in the lobby, another outlet has a regular following among frequent guests and local office workers. Yokoso Sushi Bar began more than 10 years ago as a lobby kiosk, but its popularity prompted the F&B team to create a dedicated space with adequate seating and to staff it with master sushi chefs. Now open seven nights a week, the sushi bar even draws patrons from other nearby hotels.

The sushi bar area seating flows into the Boulevard Market Cafe, a grab-and-go offering centered around a display kitchen that services all the hotel’s food outlets as well as room service. The Cafe’s seating comprises booths and community tables well-equipped with outlets for electronic devices and even purse hooks. The delectable fare, arrayed in attractive display cases, includes healthy snacks and drinks, baked goods, gourmet sandwiches, wraps and salads. A signature feature is the self-service Coffee Experience, where guests can use a credit card to get a fresh-brewed, top-drawer custom coffee drink any time of the day or night.

“Combined revenues for the sushi bar and cafe were up 47 percent in the first two post-renovation months,” Paul says. “Updating our food and beverage outlets has been a real game-changer for us.”

General Manager Paul Gibbs

F&B Director David Nader

The Boulevard Market Cafe offers a wide range of sandwiches, snacks, pastries and beverages.

A Fresh Approach The hotel’s 14,000 square feet of function space also underwent an overhaul. The majority of the meetings and events business is corporate, and the property positions itself as an expert in providing first-class service to small groups.

Paul and David note that, along with the physical changes to the property, the food and beverage organization has undergone a major restructuring that includes a new management team—executive chef, sous chef and outlets manager. A new position—“runners”— has been created to transport food from the kitchen to the various outlets, allowing servers to stay in their respective locations to attend to guests. Among many other changes are new uniforms, all-new operating equipment and two rounds of training that included role playing in areas such as standards, sequence of service and service recovery. New menus are also in the works.

“Having new players on the team is exciting,” David says. “We have an excellent group of servers, but we want to take the guest experience to the next level, to offer fine-dining service without the stuffiness. That has meant a lot of work for us all, but it’s having a positive impact, and it really is satisfying and fun. Some nights I love watching it all come together so much, I hate to go home!”

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InterContinental Hotels Culinary Clash 2014

Battle of the Best T

he stakes were high and so was the tension as five confident but slightly nervous culinary students competed in the first-ever InterContinental Hotels Ultimate Culinary Clash at the InterContinental San Francisco in May.

The local events were organized as a scholarship fundraiser for a cooking school in the respective cities.

The Culinary Clash began three years ago as a local annual cooking school competition at the InterContinental San Francisco hotel’s Luce restaurant and featured Michelin-star Executive Chef Daniel Corey. Its success prompted expansion of the event this year into a five-month series of local Culinary Clash competitions, held in five markets and sponsored by InterContinental Hotels and Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

All six participants in each local competition received scholarship money, and the first-place team had their winning menu showcased and offered as a special in the InterContinental hotel’s restaurant for a night.

Each school’s students submitted menus and corresponding recipes reflecting the cuisine of the local InterContinental hotel’s When the kitchen steam had cleared, the competition’s panel restaurant. The school then held a mini-Clash, with the top of celebrity judges declared a winner: Victor Bonano Ortiz, a six menu winners forming teams of two—executive chef and culinary student at the José A. (Tony) Santana International sous chef—to compete against each other and cook with the School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts in San Juan. The prizeInterContinental hotel executive chef on a designated evening. winning dish: Apple Sage Roasted Pork Belly with Butternut Patrons bought tickets to the dinners with proceeds benefitting Squash, Lobster and Chanterelle Saffron Torteloni, Charred Petit the school’s scholarship fund. The menus were judged by a panel Pois and Hickory Smoked Pork Jus (above). InterContinental San of hotel executives, local personalities and food writers, along Juan Executive Chef Efrain Cruz assisted Victor in the preparation. with the restaurant guests.

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The student chef and hotel’s executive chef then moved forward to the Ultimate Culinary Clash event to compete as a team for the grand prize of a $5,000 scholarship.

The Ultimate Clash At the championship event, the students created a small plate version of their award-winning entree, each of which was scored on creativity/originality, taste/execution, presentation and wine pairing.

The panel of judges comprised seven accomplished culinary experts and included: Chef Todd English, creator of Ça Va Brasserie at the InterContinental New York Times Square; Chef Tim Bodell, Executive Chef at Francis Ford Coppola Winery; Chef Nenad Stefanovic, Executive Chef at the InterContinental San Francisco Mark Hopkins; Jean-Pierre “JP” Etcheberrigaray, Vice President of IHG Food and Beverage, Americas, and three local San Francisco food personalities.

Victor’s winning creation was the featured entree during the first week of June both in InterContinental Hotel restaurants across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico and on the InterContinental Kitchen Cookbook iPad app.

Executive Chef Efrain and culinary student Victor create Lobster and Chanterelle Saffron Torteloni.

“The InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Culinary Clash competition is designed to help inspire the next generation of culinary stars, by providing student chefs a platform where they can cook in a professional hotel restaurant environment alongside our award-winning chefs,” says JP. “The project not only gives our hotels the opportunity to support their local culinary communities through continued education, but it also give the chefs of tomorrow an opportunity to learn outside the culinary classroom.”

Clash Competitors

The judges observe as the San Juan team plates their entree.

The finalist contestant teams in the Ultimate Culinary Clash 2014 represented these InterContinental hotel restaurants and culinary schools: • InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta hotel’s Southern Art and Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta • InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile hotel’s Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse and Le Cordon Bleu Chicago • InterContinental San Francisco hotel’s Luce and Le Cordon Bleu San Francisco • InterContinental New York Times Square hotel’s Ça Va Brasserie and Culinary Institute of America • InterContinental San Juan hotel’s Trattoria Italiana and José A. Santana International School of Hospitality and Culinary Art

Winning student chef Victor Bonano Ortiz holds his scholarship check and Executive Chef Efrain Cruz displays the crystal Ultimate Culinary Clash 2014 trophy. With them are, from left: JP Etcheberrigaray, Vice President, F&B, Americas; Pablo Rosa Texidor, also of the InterContinental San Juan team; Debbie Grant, Vice President, Full-Service Hotel Sales & Marketing Support, Americas, and Peter Koehler, Regional Director of Operations 13 and General Manager of the InterContinental San Francisco Moscone.

We continue our series celebrating IHG F&B leaders in the Americas.

Doing

Jonathan Wood Director of Food & Beverage and Executive Chef InterContinental Los Angeles Century City at Beverly Hills

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Double Duty J

onathan Wood considers himself a lucky man. As both Food and Beverage Director and Executive Chef for the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City at Beverly Hills, he gets to indulge his passion for cooking as well as his keen interest in management and operations.

“Taking on these two senior management roles at the same time is the most challenging thing I’ve done in my career, but also the most satisfying,” he says. “When I was doing culinary jobs, I just loved to cook. But now I have the opportunity to dig deeper, to mine even more of the depth of this industry.”

Jonathan is a true champion—a respected leader, hard worker and optimistic thinker who gets things done. We call him ‘Superman’ for his ability to move between his F&B Director and Executive Chef roles with grace and poise. He’s had a huge positive impact on the hotel’s business.

— Steve Choe

General Manager InterContinental Los Angeles Century City at Beverly Hills

The affinity for food and beverage began early. Growing up outside Kansas City in the suburban town of Manhattan, Jonathan was introduced to authentic Korean dishes and preparation methods by his mother and grandparents. He was

fascinated by the fresh ingredients and fragrant flavors, which would later influence his own dishes and cooking style. “I always loved food. At the family dinner table, I was so focused on the meal and eating, I didn’t make a sound,” he says.

A part-time job as a dishwasher at the local Holiday Inn when he was in high school led to a promotion to line cook, and Jonathan was hooked. He gave up his original career plans to be an architect and, with his parents’ support, applied and was accepted to the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, from which he graduated with honors.

After cooking in the kitchens of some of the finest restaurants in Boston and Kansas City, he joined the staff of the Fairmont in Kansas City, which later became the InterContinental Hotel at the Plaza. He rose through the ranks quickly, moving up to become restaurant chef and then executive sous chef before transferring to the InterContinental Century City in 2008.

Within a year and a half, he was promoted to executive chef.

The hotel was without a food and beverage director at the time, so Jonathan stepped up to help out in the front of the house. He was officially given the dual Executive Chef/Director of Food and Beverage title and responsibilities in July of 2011.

So how does he manage to make it all work? “I certainly don’t do it by myself,” he says. “I’ve hired the right people and built a great team, with good camaraderie. Together we’ve strengthened the hotel’s food and beverage reputation in the area as well as its F&B financial results.

“My priorities are to communicate well and keep our operations organized and focused. I really like to see other people succeed in their own jobs and careers. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I stay humble—I remind myself every day how fortunate I am.”

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Food& Beverage Charting the Future of

at IHG

The goal

is simple and straightforward, but not easy: to tap into the enormous potential of food and beverage at IHG hotels such that in our brands become No. 1 in F&B within the hotel industry.

F&B

That’s the challenge the IHG Global F&B Council took on when the group was formed in 2013. IHG leadership has designated food and beverage as one of the company’s key priorities, and the Council, which is comprised of F&B leaders from each IHG region, proceeded to develop a three-year strategic plan to realize the objective.

Global Purpose & Perspective

The plan identifies four major areas of focus and the F&B purpose and major initiatives within each, as well as an overarching global framework for the IHG journey to F&B excellence.

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This structure designated 2013 as the year for building the foundation and positions 2014 for building the platform and 2015 for driving performance, with IHG F&B coming into its own as the industry leader in 2016 and beyond. The Global F&B Council continues to refine and measure progress against this plan at each of their twice-yearly meetings.

The four key areas of the plan are:

•B rands : The emphasis is on providing clarity about what F&B feels like for each brand, in order to ensure consistent, customer-focused delivery that helps drive brand preference. Initiatives include honing the F&B philosophies and F&B standards by brand and region, managing and influencing other functions to deliver against these, centralized concept development, and positioning full-service IHG hotels as the place to dine and entertain.

• People : This area comprises defining a winning F&B culture and having IHG pride itself on being a great F&B employer, in order to increase employee engagement and attract the best talent in the industry. Among the key initiatives: aligning F&B leadership globally (with the Council as an important initial step), building a strong global F&B community and high-performance F&B culture, and delivering on an effective communications plan that encompasses training, opportunities for interaction with colleagues, development of a talent pipeline and an enhanced public profile.

F&B marketing. One important specific called out in the plan is institutionalizing breakfast basics for all regions.

•R esponsible Business : Operating F&B in a responsible manner, from health and safety practices to local sourcing and employee wellbeing, will facilitate protecting and building the IHG F&B reputation.

This arena covers such initiatives as sustainable seafood, water and coffee policies, establishing a position for the IHG health agenda, and F&B corporate responsibility certification options.

“The overriding mission of the plan is to develop and implement an • Delivery : By combining international standards with local expertise agenda for a winning global food and beverage culture,” says Gretchen and knowledge, IHG-brand hotels will increase guest satisfaction. And by Hazel, Corporate Director, Food and Beverage Programs, Americas. She partnering with owners to run great outlets and deliver desired financial and Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President, F&B, Americas, have returns, IHG F&B will drive revenue performance and owner advocacy. represented the Americas region in the strategic plan development process. “The three-year plan is built on sharing successes and best C onsistent F&B delivery encompasses implementing consistent, practices across the regions, and our F&B teams worldwide are already effective processes, systems and performance metrics, revenue and beginning to experience the benefits.” profit optimization, leveraging IHG scale advantage, and sharpening

In The Americas The plan is unfolding in the Americas through a range of initiatives and projects in each of the four priority areas, such as:

Brands •D evelopment and testing of a children’s menu for InterContinental Hotels • Continuing the F&B standards revision process with the Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo and Extended Stay Brands.

• Enhancing the banquet and catering offering and delivery.

People • Exploring holding regional F&B conferences.

• Strengthening and expanding the Americas F&B community through the global, Merlinbased AMER F&B website and the new F&B Americas website (see the related article on P. 18).

• Translating the existing Bartender Academy Program “Essentials” and “101” courses to a global platform for use by the other regions.

“Our F&B colleagues both within the Americas and across regions are experiencing firsthand that we can do more together than individually.

As the communication increases, their enthusiasm is building,” says

Delivery •D eveloping, testing, refining and rolling out an array of F&B concepts and programs such as Burger Bar, Signature Bars, Pizza Now!, Holiday Inn Sunset Occasion and the Coffee Experience.

• Expanding the World Class Beverage Program to franchised hotels.

Responsible Business • Testing an Americas-initiated wellness certification program across brands and regions.

• Exploring expanding Green Restaurant Certification to other brands and regions.

• Supporting other regions’ corporate responsibility efforts.

• Testing an enhanced Holiday Inn Breakfast program.

Gretchen. “Our priority for 2015 will be to enhance the metrics we use to measure performance, so that we can better mark our progress with both financial results and the guest experience.”

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F&B in the Americas INTRODUCING

NEW

ONLINE

RESOURCES

FOR

“How is this new program going at other hotels within my brand?”

“Are there guidelines available to help me re-engineer our restaurant’s menu?”

“Is this wine one of our brand requirements for the World Class Beverage Program?”

Q

uestions about food and beverage brand standards, operations, training and programs arise every day, in virtually every IHG full-service hotel. To provide answers to those questions and ready access to the tools and resources available, IHG has introduced a new food and beverage website in each operating region. The AMER F&B Community Portal, accessible through Merlin, is designed to inform hotel operators and F&B teams about the initiatives Americas F&B is implementing, as well as to serve as a central site for communicating with each other, sharing best practices and solving problems.

“The AMER F&B Community Portal will serve as the virtual social gathering place for the F&B community in the Americas,” says Pamela Miller, CorporateManager, IHG Food and Beverage Programs, Americas. “It’s the place to go to find out the latest industry news and F&B developments in the region, to exchange comments with colleagues and to provide feedback.”

To supplement the new regional site, the Americas F&B team has enhanced the World Class Beverage Program website, expanding its scope to include food as well as beverage and making it available to the F&B teams at franchised as well as CMH hotels in the Americas. This expanded site has been renamed IHG F&B Americas (www.ihgfbamericas.com), and the content on the site now addresses all IHG brands that offer food and beverage.

“The IHG F&B Americas website will serve as a complement to the AMER F&B Community Portal, existing as a comprehensive repository for any member of the F&B community needing a deeper dive into specific areas,” Pamela says. “Another change is that the World Class Beverage Program’s Spirited magazine has been moved to its own dedicated website, www.spiritedmagazine.com, which will feature the current issue online as well as archives of all past issues.”

The expanded IHG F&B Americas site is fully mobile-optimized, using responsive design that makes for easy viewing on any handheld device.

The content now encompasses the World Class Beverage program as well as food management, operations, training, service, promotions and marketing tools and information. The material in each section is organized according to brand and linked additionally to a separate Brands section of the website.

“We have a wealth of food and beverage information and resources to offer our hotel teams, but it isn’t always easy to find,” Pamela says. “The new AMER F&B Community Portal, coupled with the IHG F&B Americas site, pulls everything together so that hotels will always know where to get answers.”

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ACCESSING THE NEW SITES Check out both the AMER F&B and IHG F&B Americas sites via Merlin: • Through the Applications section • Through the Departments section • As individual Hotel Solutions applications The two sites also are linked to each other and to the new Spirited magazine website. The IHG F&B Americas site may also be accessed by anyone who has applied for and been granted a login and password for the site.

The New

Commandos Relaunching the Americas Food & Beverage and Culinary Committees

T

he IHG Global F&B Council is reintroducing the Food & Beverage and Culinary Committee program, expanding the original F&B and Culinary Commandos concept begun several years ago in the Americas to every region. The new Commando teams in the Americas are comprised of representatives of IHG’s four core, full-service brands—InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn hotels. The candidates were chosen because they represent the top performers in the field. They have been endorsed by their respective General Managers and Regional Directors of Operations.

F&B Directors and F&B Managers make up the majority of the F&B Committee; the Culinary Committee consists mainly of Executive Chefs or Head Chefs. A few Corporate F&B team members are also a part of each committee. Responsibilities for all the newly appointed panelists include being involved in reviewing current F&B best practices, test and pilot programs, future F&B standardization by brand and market, and eventually, F&B brand rollouts. The Culinary Committee will also work with IHG Procurement on product cuttings, specifications and standards. The two committees will participate in monthly conference calls as well as one or two regional F&B meetings per year.

The Corporate F&B team is also developing a list of of operation specialists to support the two committees who will be engaged in various initiatives from time to time depending on the current focus.

These specialists will include representatives from the Americas F&B community who are outstanding trainers, talented bar staff, banqueting experts, hygiene specialists and accomplished pastry chefs, among other specialty areas.

“The Commando Committees are one of our Global F&B corporate initiatives, designed to engage our F&B teams within the existing IHG estate,” says Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President, Food and Beverage, Americas. “These individuals were selected because they are highly capable in all regards— skilled, innovative, influential, able to generate high levels of engagement, and passionate about the brands they operate in. Through them, we intend to energize the F&B teams in the field on an ongoing basis. They will have a huge impact on our new IHG Global and Americas F&B transformation.”

Over the next four pages we introduce, or reintroduce, you to these leaders of the IHG food and beverage community in the Americas.

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AMERICAS FOOD & BEVER AGE COMMITTEE

Rodrigo Aguila

Corporate Manager Food & Beverage, Mexico Rodrigo has worked in restaurants in Houston and France, taking on his first hotel position as part of the opening team for the Holiday Inn Express World Trade Center Mexico City in 2006. He was a professor at Mexico City’s Colegio Superior de Gastronomia for two years, also overseeing the school’s restaurant.

Rodrigo joined IHG in 2008 and took on his current position in 2013.

Danny Estevez

Food & Beverage Director InterContinental Hotel Miami Danny became Food & Beverage Director of the InterContinental Miami in 2011. Before that he was Area Director of F&B, over the InterContinental Hotels in both Houston and Austin. In 2010 and 2012, he received IHG’s “Best of the Best F&B” award. Earlier, Danny held F&B leadership positions with InterContinental Hotels in Manila, San Juan and New Orleans.

Curtis Crawford

Director of Food & Beverage/ Executive Chef Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Curtis began his career as a private chef for a high-profile family, traveling around the world to cook for ex-Vice Presidents, senators and athletes and supervise events with up to 300 guests. In 2009, he joined the Hotel Indigo in the San Diego Gaslamp District, where he has overseen the remodeling of the property’s Level 9 Roof Top Bar.

Shawn Hagen

Assistant General Manager/ Food & Beverage Director Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center Fargo, North Dakota Shawn joined the Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center in Fargo as Food & Beverage Director in 1999. Among his accomplishments over his 15 years with the property was negotiating a license agreement with Domino’s Pizza to offer the concept on-property, a first for any hotel. In 2010, Shawn took on the additional role of Assistant General Manager.

Jason Deville

Food & Beverage Director InterContinental Buckhead, Atlanta

Jason became Director of Food & Beverage for the InterContinental Buckhead in November 2012, after serving as F&B Director at the InterContinental Harbor Court in Baltimore. Earlier, at the InterContinental Miami, he was Assistant Restaurant and Bar Manager, Bar Manager and then Assistant Director of Food & Beverage. Before joining IHG, Jason worked for Intrawest Resorts in Destin, Florida, and Colorado.

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Roberto Laurel

F&B Manager Crowne Plaza Santiago, Chile Roberto is a 19-year veteran of IHG. He started as a barman at the InterContinental Buenos Aires in 1995 and has held positions in virtually every F&B area. In 2006, IHG transferred Roberto to the Crowne Plaza Santiago to serve as Food & Beverage Manager. He participated on the opening task force for the InterContinental Mendoza in Argentina in 2010.

Armand Macias

Food & Beverage Director Holiday Inn Torrance, California

For the past 28 years, Armand has been F&B Director or Director of Operations at four-star resorts and mid-size hotels in California for major hotel chains. He joined the Holiday Inn Torrance in 2005.

Over the course of his career, Armand has implemented restaurant, bar and nightclub concepts, spearheaded training programs and served on a number of opening teams.

Jerry Soles

Assistant General Manager/ Food & Beverage Director Holiday Inn Westshore Airport Tampa, Florida Jerry’s 23-year foodservice career has been with management services company Quorum Hotels and Resorts, which operates the Holiday Inn hotel where he is both Assistant General Manager and F&B Director. He has assisted in Quorum’s F&B Division by acting as General Manager for properties the company manages in Florida, Virginia, Arizona and California.

Adam Peterson

Food & Beverage Manager Holiday Inn Downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Adam’s 18-year hospitality career began with back- and front-of-the-house restaurant jobs, which soon led to management positions. He was general manager for a large brew pub in Calgary and a restaurant/nightclub and casino, both in Saskatoon. He became F&B Manager for the downtown Saskatoon Holiday Inn in 2011. The property is owned

by P.R. Hotels.

Jonathan Wood

Food & Beverage Director/Executive Chef InterContinental Los Angeles Century City Los Angeles, California

A 16-year culinary industry veteran, Jonathan cooked for some of the finest restaurants in Boston and Kansas City before joining the InterContinental Kansas City as Executive Sous Chef. He transferred to the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City in 2008 and was soon promoted to Executive Chef. Jonathan took on the additional responsibilities of Food & Beverage Director in 2011.

Mike Rhodes

Food & Beverage Director Holiday Inn Airport South Atlanta, Georgia A 30-year hospitality industry veteran, Mike joined the Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport South in 2013 as Restaurant Manager and soon became F&B Director. Prior to this, he was Food & Beverage Director for Holiday Inn hotels in Texarkana and Little Rock, Arkansas. Earlier in his career, Mike held food and beverage management positions in the foodservice and healthcare fields.

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AMERICAS CULINARY COMMITTEE

Luiz Barbosa

Executive Chef Holiday Inn Parque Anhembi São Paulo, Brazil Luiz has been in food and beverage more than 30 years, serving as Executive Chef for leading hotel chains in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, including the InterContinental Hotel Rio. In 2005 he became Executive Chef at the Crowne Plaza Manágua, Nicarágua, and he took on the top culinary role for the Holiday Inn Parque Anhembi São Paulo in 2008.

Alex Feher

Executive Chef InterContinental Miami Miami, Florida

2015 will mark Alex’s 45th year with IHG. He has been Executive Chef at the InterContinental Miami since 2000.

Earlier he was Executive Chef for the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel and has held culinary positions with InterContinental Hotel properties in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Beirut, Dubai and Tehran. He has received numerous awards and honors, including a 1976 Culinary Olympics gold medal.

Christopher Culp

Corporate Manager, F&B and Culinary Atlanta, Georgia Christopher’s 27-plus years of food and beverage experience include eight years as an Executive Chef with food and facilities management leader Sodexo, serving major corporate clients. He joined IHG in his current role in 2007 and has responsibility for managing and implementing all areas of culinary concept innovation, development and evaluation for corporate F&B programs.

Tony Fernandes

Group Executive Chef Food & Beverage Director Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport Toronto, Ontario Tony is Group Executive Chef and F&B Director for Royal Equator, Inc., which owns and operates the Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport. He and his Canadian chef teams have won more than 40 medals in culinary competitions worldwide. Earlier in his career, Tony was Executive Chef for five-star hotels in India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Bertrand Eginard

Executive Chef InterContinental Buenos Aires Buenos Aires , Argentina Bertrand’s food and beverage career has spanned three continents. He has held culinary positions in his native France, where he worked at the Michelin three-star Restaurant Georges Blanc, and has worked in both restaurant and hotel kitchens in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Spain, Chile and Argentina. Bertrand has been Executive Chef at the InterContinental Buenos Aires since 2008.

22

Angel Garcia

Executive Chef Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk San Antonio, Texas

Angel has been Executive Chef at the Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk since 2013. Before this, he was Executive Chef for the Holiday Inn San Antonio Airport for 15 years, earning IHG’s 2011 and 2012 F&B Manager of the Year awards. Earlier, Angel held banquet and sous chef positions with several leading high-end hotels and restaurants in San Antonio.

Didier Lailheugue

Executive Chef InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, Georgia

Didier joined the InterContinental Mexico City in 2005 as Executive Chef of its Au Pied de Cochon restaurant, becoming Executive Chef for the InterContinental Buckhead in 2009. Earlier he held a variety of culinary roles with Relais & Châteaux hotel/restaurant group. He was named a Maître Cuisinier de France in 2012, an elite group of 300 of the world’s best French chefs.

Omar Plunkett

Executive Chef Holiday Inn Airport South Atlanta, Georgia Omar’s 28-year career began as a server in his native Jamaica. He then worked for a number of restaurants in New York, including the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group. In 2005, he became Executive Sous Chef for the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Airport and was soon promoted to his current role in the top culinary spot at the Holiday Inn Airport South.

Mike Lewis

Corporate Manager, Food & Beverage Atlanta, Georgia Mike creates food and beverage concept platforms and operational systems for hotels in the Americas. He joined IHG in 2000 as Executive Chef then F&B Director for the Holiday Inn Opryland in Nashville.

He led Holiday Inn hotel field operations in the western U.S. before stepping into his current role. Earlier in his career Mike held executive chef positions in the northeast.

Stephane Thomas

Executive Chef Presidente InterContinental Mexico City Mexico City, Mexico Stephane has been Executive Chef for the InterContinental Presidente Mexico City since 2010. Before that he was Executive Chef for the property’s Au Pied de Cochon restaurant and also served as Executive Chef for the InterContinental Presidente Los Cabos. Stephane’s 28-year career began in restaurants and hotels in Tunisia, Luxembourg and his native France.

Didier Montarou

Executive Chef InterContinental Boston Boston, Massachusetts

A 21-year InterContinental Hotels veteran, Didier has been Executive Chef at the InterContinental Boston since its 2006 opening. Before that, he was Executive Chef at the InterContinental Cleveland, leading his team to a coveted AAA Five Diamond Award in 2004. He has overseen culinary operations for InterContinental properties around the world, including those in Madrid, Spain; Cartagena, Colombia, and Valencia, Venezuela.

Abby Houseworth Whitener

Executive Chef/Food & Beverage Director Holiday Inn Blytheville Blytheville, Arkansas

Abby has been Executive Chef/Food and Beverage Director for Houseworth Hotels and Restaurants, owner/operator of the Holiday Inn Blytheville, Arkansas, since 2005. She manages the hotel’s upscale Bistro Eleven 21 and the onsite Perkins Family Restaurant as well as events, banquets and catering. In May 2014, Abby made her television debut as a contestant on the Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen” program.

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The Official Magazine of the World Class Beverage Program

Thank you to all our World Class Beverage Program Partners!

• Anheuser-Busch-InBev (ABI) • Bacardi, USA Inc. • Beam Suntory • Boston Beer Company • Brown Forman • Constellation US • Constellation Brands Beer Division

Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray | Vice President, F&B Americas Bob Midyette | Corporate Manager - Beverage, F&B Americas Laura (Hammer) Luley | Office Manager/Communications, F&B Americas Mark Greenhalgh | iMi Agency Ann Wilson | Writer & Editor Silvermoss | Creative Direction & Layout World Class Beverage Program Contact/Support: 770.604.5206 | bob.midyette@ihg.com 770.604.8283 | laura.luley@ihg.com

The World Class Beverage Program Family

• DFV Wines (Delicato Family Vineyards) • DIAGEO • Duckhorn Vineyards • E & J Gallo • Folio Wine Estates • Francis Ford Coppola Winery • Heineken USA

The World Class Beverage Program Family of Bra

FBamericas.com

FBamericas.com

The Official Website of the IHG F&B Community The Official Website of the IHG F&B Community IHGBeverage.com has been updated and expanded and is now at:

www. IHGFBamericas.com

• Hess Collection Family Estates

Wor

World C

• The Mark Wine Group • Miller Coors • Moët Hennessy • Palm Bay International • Patron Spirits • Pernod Ricard USA • Phillips Distilling Co. • Porton Pisco • RÉMY COINTREAU USA, INC.

SPIRITED SPIRITED

The Official Magazine of the World Cl

The Official Magazine of the World Class B www. fbconfitdential.com

• Shaw-Ross International Importers • Ste. Michelle Wine Estates • Tito’s Handmade Vodka • Treasury Wine Estates • William Grant and Sons • W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd. And a special Thank You to Three Ravinia Drive Suite 100 Atlanta, Georgia 30346 www.ihg.com