Spirited 2008 - Volume 1

Winter 2008 | Volume 1

PERNOD RICARD USa: Targeting the Top-End Consumer

HAPPY NEW YEAR! >> PAGE 2

IHG Americas COO Tom Murray looks back at 2007’s World Class Beverage Program successes and previews what’s in store in the coming year.

Talking F&B wiTh >> PagE 6

DAVID GREYDANUS >> PAGE 4

David Greydanus has been around the food and beverage business nearly his entire life, and that long-time association will play a key role as he leads the performance of the HMG portfolio in North America. Our series of F&B interviews with the Americas leadership team continues through a conversation with the new SVP, North America Operations.

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F&B Leadership Summit

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Happy New Year!

I hope you and your families had a wonderful holiday season! Before turning our attention to the fresh new year that’s waiting for us, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the 2007 achievements of the World Class Beverage Program and our HMG food and beverage community.

And there are many accomplishments to point to, headlined by our first-ever Americas Food and Beverage Leadership Summit, where we celebrated innovation, shared best practices and recognized our outstanding performers. During the year, a number of members of our hotel F&B teams took home awards for inventing new cocktails, fielding standout wine programs and other marketing efforts.

One of our World Class Beverage Program promotions won a prestigious Cheers award.

We added numerous HMG hotels to our portfolio in 2007, and the World Class Beverage Program team provided support for the F&B efforts of these incoming properties as well as ongoing consultation to our existing hotels.

In 2008, you can count on continuation of that support, as we introduce new F&B promotions across all our brands through the World Class Beverage Program and usher more of our tremendous hotel pipeline into the system. And we know we can continue to rely on you to keep delivering creative and exceptional service to our guests.

Thanks to each of you for your part in making last year an excellent one. Here’s to our continued success in 2008!

Tom Murray Chief Operating Officer The Americas 3

David Greydanus joined IHG in December 2007 as Senior Vice President, North America Operations, after a 17-year career with Hilton Hotels Corporation. Most recently he was Senior Vice President, Brand Management for The Waldorf Astoria Collection for Hilton. David shared some of his F&B expectations, likes and dislikes in a recent interview.

Are LikeTheater The Best Restaurant Experiences

According to David Greydanus

Any foodservice experience in your background?

“A lot. I started at age 12 in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, cleaning meat lockers for a local restaurant. In high school and college, I held just about every conceivable restaurant job—washing dishes, busing and waiting tables, lunch cook, bartender, sommelier. I graduated with a degree in English literature and didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.

I had a job in a restaurant that I liked, so I went to work there full time.

Later I worked for a few years managing a Mobil Four Star restaurant in Grand Rapids that unfortunately is no longer there. Eventually I got into the hotel business on the rooms side.”

What does a great dining experience look like for you?

“To me, restaurants are as close to theater as any non-theater business can be.

You have to have a terrific stage set, excellent lighting and sound, and talented, well-trained actors and actresses—the serving and preparation staffs.

A successful restaurant is a symphony of all these things, with great service and great food at the core. When all the elements are in place, the experience is magical, in the same way that theater is magical.”

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What’s your favorite food?

“That’s almost impossible to say, but fish and seafood would be at the top of the list.”

How about your favorite beverage?

“Wine, definitely…I like red and white wines from all over the world, and it seems wine has always been a factor in my life. It was a part of our family meals when I was growing up, and at one point I was the wine purchaser for a restaurant I managed.

My wife and I even went to Napa Valley for our honeymoon—she was somewhat aghast that we were tasting red wine at 10 in the morning.

Favorite restaurant?

“It’s difficult to single out just one, but Le Bernardin in New York City is exceptional.

It’s a French restaurant that serves 99.9 percent seafood, and it’s always beautifully done.

Chef Eric Ripert is famous for his extraordinarily fresh and innovative cooking. I try something different every time, but the abalone steak is especially good.”

When you dine at an IHG hotel, what do you usually order?

“I probably would order scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast and whatever is quick on the room service menu for dinner.”

Do you ever order room service?

“Yes. I frequently arrive late when I travel and so sometimes order dinner through room service. I also use it occasionally for breakfast—I like being able to pre-order using the door hanger card and have it arrive at the time I specify. In the room service experience, I’m looking for good, fresh food arriving on time and still hot.”

Mineral water or tap?

“Mineral water, with no bubbles. Evian and Panna spring water from Tuscany are my favorites.”

I do expect an innovative, exceptional fine dining experience. It’s important not to have a typical ‘hotel’ restaurant.

Customers have a built-in bias against these, and we must break the stereotype with something creative and original.

When you stay at an IHG property, what are your expectations regarding F&B? “Because I just joined the company, I haven’t stayed in that many IHG hotels yet.

But my expectations will vary according to the profile and personality of the brand for each property I visit. For example, right now I’m staying at a Staybridge Suites hotel while we relocate to Atlanta, and they are doing a nice job. I expect things to be quick and easy in the morning—a nice variety of food and a really great breakfast, whether I have 30 seconds or 30 minutes to spend enjoying it. On the three nights a week they offer heavy hors d’oeuvres and red wine, I don’t expect a fine dining experience, but it’s perfect for what the brand offers, and the guests love it.

“When I’m staying at an InterContinental Hotel, I do expect an innovative, exceptional fine dining experience. It’s important not to have a typical ‘hotel’ restaurant. Customers have a built-in bias against these, and we must break the stereotype with something creative and original.

“Each restaurant should be appropriate for its particular brand, but across all the brands, the food should always be fresh, the service helpful and friendly and the environment clean and inviting. The overall experience should consistently meet or exceed the guest’s expectations for that brand.”

Any F&B “pet peeves?”

“Empty restaurants. There’s nothing worse for customers than sitting in a nearly deserted dining room. Also, when no one comes to your table immediately to take your drink order after you’re seated. It’s particularly exasperating when the service is bad right at the front end of the meal.”

Do you cook at home yourself, and if so, what’s your specialty?

“I do cook at home on the weekends.

I grew up cooking and love it, and my wife loves for me to cook—I make a pretty mean bouillabaisse, which she requests often. Cornish game hen is another favorite thing to prepare, and I also make fruit meringues for dessert that I’m told are delicious.

And of course, I do anything grilled— steak, fish, kebobs.”

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Enhancing the Strong

Staying Ahea Thom McCorkle, National Accounts Manager

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We’ve aimed at providing consumers affordable luxury by creating new, super-premium marques for our brands.

Name the best-known premium brand in most spirits categories and chances are, it’s part of the Pernod Ricard USA portfolio.

A leading producer, importer and marketer of prized spirits and wine brands in the U.S., Pernod Ricard USA is the largest profit contributor to the world’s No. 2 spirits company and No. 4 wine company, Paris-based Pernod Ricard, S.A. Permod Ricard USA is a preeminent whiskey purveyor, with arguably the most sought-after premium brands in the world, including Jameson, The Glenlivet, Chivas Regal and Wild Turkey.

Its broad product portfolio includes an array of other prominent brands, among them Seagram’s and Beefeater gin, Martell cognac, Kahlúa liqueur, Malibu rum, and Mumm and PerrierJouet champagne, along with the U.S. distribution rights for Stolichnaya vodka.

“We’re focused on operating as a ‘pure player’ in wine and spirits,” says Thom McCorkle, National Accounts Manager. “Our business efforts are concentrated solely on growing our comprehensive portfolio and continuing the rich tradition behind our brands.”

Growing Through Acquisitions That tradition had its U.S. beginnings with Austin Nichols & Company, founded in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, in 1855 as a grocer specializing in teas, coffees and spirits. Nichols himself is credited with first marketing the legendary recipe for Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

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Tradition of Its Brands,

ead of Current Trends

Comprise the Focus for Pernod Ricard USA

In 1980, Pernod Ricard S.A. bought Nichols & Company, acquiring five brands including Wild Turkey, which would become the flagship for the company in the United States. Twenty years later, Pernod Ricard’s successful bid for an almost 40 percent stake in the Seagram’s distilled spirits and wine business doubled its U.S. market share and added prestige Seagram’s brands such as Chivas and The Glenlivet.

Austin, Nichols & Company was reorganized and renamed Pernod Ricard USA, with headquarters in Purchase, New York.

The completion of Pernod Ricard’s acquisition of Allied Domecq in 2005 vaulted Pernod Ricard USA to the forefront of the U.S. spirits market. Under the final terms of the transaction, in the U.S., select Allied Domecq brands were sold to Fortune Brands. The completed acquisition again doubled Pernod Ricard USA’s sales volume and market share in the U.S. and complemented the company’s already strong portfolio of wine and spirits with the addition of well-known champagne, rum, cordial and liqueur brands. Pernod Ricard USA today is third largest in the U.S. spirits industry by sales value and fifth largest by sales volume.

A Winning Strategy The company has a proven track record for generating organic growth as well as revitalizing the brands it has acquired. Its strategy for success consists of maximizing its strong portfolio through marketing and innovation, introducing new on-premise initiatives and focusing on “premiumization”— targeting the high end of the market where the growth is.

“People today are drinking somewhat less but drinking better-quality spirits,” Thom says. “As a result, we’ve aimed at providing consumers affordable luxury by creating new, super-premium marques for our brands, such as Stoli elit, Chivas 25YO, The Glenlivet 1969 and 15-year-old American Spirit from Wild Turkey.”

To keep a fresh edge on the continued interest in new and diverse cocktails, Pernod Ricard USA also has introduced flavoring and brand extensions for many of its classic spirits. Among these are French vanilla and hazelnut Kahlúa, Malibu Tropical Banana rum and a variety of flavored schnapps—including the newest, pumpkin and melon—from Hiram Walker.

Other key elements of the company’s successful strategy are continually enhancing its strong brands through breakthrough marketing and placing a high priority on its people and culture.

“Pernod Ricard USA utilizes a decentralized structure, mirroring the approach that our parent company has used with great success,” Thom notes. “Shifting resources and accountability to the field allows our team to collaborate with major accounts and local distributors on distinct programs tailored to meet the needs of diverse customer groups.”

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SlEEk & SOPhiSTiCaTED i n T E R C O n T i n E n Ta l S a n F R a n C i S C O

interContinental San Francisco’s F&B Program will Set the Pace for Style, Elegance and CuttingEdge Chic The new InterContinental San Francisco is situated adjacent to the city’s magnificent Moscone Convention Center, its 32 floors shimmering above the vibrant South of Market neighborhood. The elegant property is a short, scenic stroll from the city’s financial, entertainment and premium shopping districts.

The hotel is the largest built in San Francisco since 1987, but its sleek tower has only 22 guest rooms per floor.

These feature—along with a host of guest-pampering and technological amenities—floor-to-ceiling windows that offer jaw-dropping views of the City by the Bay. In terms of expectations for every aspect of the hotel, including its food and beverage operations, the bar is set quite high.

But Food & Beverage Director Sean Olmstead believes he and the team he is building will be more than equal to the task when the hotel begins welcoming guests in February of this year.

“We have a fantastic location, next door to the Moscone Center and as the anchor for the still-gentrifying South of Market area,” says Sean, who was executive chef and then F&B Director at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins for nine years. “Our product is unique, and we expect to draw local business as well as in-house guests.”

:: the 550-room InterContinental San Francisco will be 100 percent smoke-free. ::

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Food & Beverage Director Sean Olmstead

Italian Tradition, California Sensibility That unique product is built around a contemporary, all-day, street-level restaurant called “Luce”— Italian for “light”— that offers a bright, casual ambience and American fare for lunch and at dusk morphs into a more elegant, California/ Italian-style destination dining room. The restaurant will feature a show kitchen, fireplace and outdoor terrace seating, designed to capture the color and excitement of South of Market.

The adjacent Bar 888 completely defies the ordinary hotel bar stereotype. Its theme is grappa—the fragrant, clear, grape-based brandy long-known and loved in Italy that has continued to gain worldwide favor with spirits aficionados since large-scale exporting begin in the 1970s.

“Nobody else in America has done a grappa bar,” says Sean.

“We feature nearly 100 different grappas on our menu and have called on well-known master mixologist Francesco Lafranconi to help with the inventory selection, training and development of grappa-based cocktails.”

:: Bar 888 completely defies the ordinary; its theme is grappa—the fragrant, clear, grape-based brandy long-known and loved in Italy. ::

Fabulous Function Space The hotel’s show-stopping exterior is matched by its contemporary, well-thought-out public spaces, Sean says.

“We have the best and most beautiful banquet facilities in San Francisco,” he asserts. “Our more than 40,000 square feet of space encompass two large ballrooms, smaller banquet rooms with windows and lots of natural light and two large open-air terraces. It’s all designed with a true F&B focus that makes for easy logistics and will allow us to concentrate on executing fantastic food.”

Getting Ready to Open

:: More than 40,000 square feet of meeting space encompass two large ballrooms, smaller banquet rooms with windows offering lots of natural light and two large open-air terraces. ::

As the February opening date approaches, Sean’s priorities are on hiring and training a first-rate team, creating exquisite menus to complement the restaurant and bar, and making sure the build-out of all the F&B areas is on track.

“I’m working to assemble a diverse group of extremely talented, focused individuals who are both professional and passionate about what they do,” he says. “And we are receiving great support from our General Manager Peter Koehler and a team of experts from within the InterContinental and IHG families as we develop our F&B outlets and source, hire and train the talent to run them. We’ll be ready when we open the doors, and by the time of our grand opening later this year, we’ll be working together like a well-oiled machine.”

:: The hotel’s show-stopping exterior is matched by its contemporary, well-thought-out public spaces. ::

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Celebrating

Style in

{ Without the Alcohol }

Soon patrons of InterContinental Hotels in North America will have a new treat in store when they pop in for cocktails— a whole new menu of creative, tasty non-alcoholic specialty drinks.

These delectable concoctions are a far cry from the Shirley Temples and Virgin Marys of old. Colorful and elegant, the half-dozen cocktails feature healthful ingredients like blueberries, pomegranate juice and green tea and sport names such as Blueberry Nojito, Creamy Orange Slush and Jade Smoothie.

“Today’s consumers want to do more than just quench their thirst— they are more informed and educated about beverage choices and interested in healthful alternatives,” says culinary expert Virginia Willis.

“An increasing number of InterContinental Hotel guests were requesting non-alcoholic beverages, so we decided to add them as a signature item,” says René van Camp, Corporate Beverage Director, The Americas.

To do this, the World Class Beverage Program team turned to vendor partner The Coca-Cola Company and its regional specialty beverage chef, Virginia Willis.

Virginia is a noted cooking expert, author and culinary television producer whose credits include the new cookbook Bon Appétit, Y’All! Three Generations of Southern Cooking and serving as kitchen director for Martha Stewart Living Television.

“Today’s consumers want to do more than just quench their thirst—they are more informed and educated about beverage choices and interested in healthful alternatives,” Virginia says. “As a result, top-end restaurants and bars are hiring mixologists and creating their own elixirs, essences and extracts.

“Business travelers in particular are accustomed to good food and wine, so it was important for me to create complex, sophisticated beverages appropriate for InterContinental Hotel guests.”

The results speak for themselves—health-conscious, tasty and refreshing, the beautiful collection is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

MASTER MIXOLOGIST Francesco Lafranconi

Hot2008 Not and what’s

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Traditional Cocktails and Lots of Salsa Will Make Drink Menu Headlines in ‘08

What hot trends can we expect in the world of cocktails this year?

A continuing surge in the popularity of Latin-influenced drinks and a return to the classics, according to master mixologist Francesco Lafranconi.

A frequent consultant to leading restaurants, bars and hotel companies, Francesco is the National Director of Mixology and Spirits Educator for Southern Wine & Spirits of America. He created all of the signature drinks at the InterContinental Boston’s Rumba bar and is providing guidance and training for the beverage program at the new InterContinental San Francisco.

Francesco is also a sought-after industry trend-spotter.

“The nuevo Latino craze has been invading the U.S. cocktail market over the past couple of years, mirroring the growing American passion for Latin music and culture,” he says. “At the cutting edge are drinks like the Caipirinha, made with cachaça, a trendy Brazilian spirit distilled from sugar cane.

We’re also seeing greater interest in higher-end offerings of traditionally Latin spirits such as pisco, tequila and rum.”

Among these is 100 percent de agave tequila in the extra añejo style— aged at least three years (more than the typical, less-expensive types) and designed for sipping rather than mixing. “This tequila appeals to a more sophisticated and aware consumer,” Francesco notes. “Nowadays, bottles range in price from $100 to $1,000.”

The connoisseur-oriented, high-end trend extends to rum as well, with prestige labels such as Ron Zacapa Centenario, Montecristo and English Harbour winning accolades and growing in popularity both for mixing and savoring neat.

Are rum and tequila about to unseat vodka as the reigning champ among cocktail spirits? Hardly, though tastes are shifting, Francesco says.

“Vodka still leads, but its mention on cocktail menus is slowing down, as bartenders and mixologists who are tired of the same old drinks embrace more complex and interesting offerings.”

Though purists, particularly those in Poland and Russia, may shudder, flavored vodkas continue to hold strong appeal for Western tastes, with the assortment ranging from the well-established vanilla and citrus and the ever-popular berryflavored to newcomers like pear and grape.

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“What’s Hot, What’s Not In 2008” (continued...)

20th Century Cocktails Trend-seekers are beginning to hark back to spirits that were at their modern peak in the middle of the last century, launching a revival of many classic cocktails, Francesco says.

“We’ve seen a lot of gin brands and gin-based drinks popping up virtually overnight. In the U.S., rye whisky is starting to make a comeback, as are the drinks in which it is an ingredient, such as the Sazerac— one of the oldest known cocktails, originating in New Orleans in the 1850s.”

The Pisco Sour is a cocktail beginning to make an appearance on the North American beverage scene that reflects both the Latin and classic trends.

Originally created in 1915 in Lima, the flavorful drink is made with un-aged grape brandy called pisco, a spirit made only in Peru and Chile.

The martini is, of course, the most classic of classic cocktails, never really going out of style since its introduction in the late 1800s.

Don’t Forget the Martini!

The stalwart martini is still holding strong as part of the interest in classic drinks, according to Francesco, though the trend today is to mix in a wide variety of non-traditional ingredients.

“The ‘martini’ is a very broad category, generally encompassing anything served in a martini glass,” he says. “It’s still very much in demand, but there’s been a shift toward muddling chunks of fresh fruit and serving with ice, creating a drink category called ‘Smash.’

“Because today’s consumer is more health-conscious, we’re seeing lots of natural ingredients and fruits known to be anti-oxidants, such as blueberries, pomegranates and açai, from a palm tree native to Central and South America.

Following the ‘green movement,’ organic spirits are starting to appear on the market as well.”

Innovative bartenders also are challenging palates by making cocktails and other drinks with unusual syrups, homemade bitters and savory herbs, such as fresh basil, rosemary and thyme. Some are even incorporating vegetables along with herbs into their recipes, such as the refreshing flavor of cucumbers and the stronger, zestier taste of ginger and yuzu, a citrus fruit from East Asia.

The martini is, of course, the most classic of classic cocktails, never really going out of style since its introduction in the late 1800s. Francesco says he is seeing a comeback of other alcoholic beverages often associated with the late 19th/early 20th Century, such as Campari, vermouth and even absinthe.

3 Ravina Drive Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30346 www.ihgbeverage.com

Banned in the U.S. and many other countries since the early 1900s, absinthe gained its notorious reputation as an addictive hallucinogen during the Belle Époque in Europe. Today’s commercially available product contains insignificant amounts of the toxic compound thujone that caused the problems, and several brands were approved for sale in the U.S. in 2007.

Trendy restaurants and bars across the country are beginning to offer the table-side preparation ritual: using a traditional absinthe fountain, ice water is poured over a sugar cube set atop a slotted spoon that in turn rests on a glass of the potent (100-120 proof ) anise-flavored spirit.

Likeable Liqueurs The classic cocktail trend is finding its way into after-dinner drinks as well, Francesco says. Fortified wines such as Madeira and sherry—first popularized in the late 1800s—are starting to be incorporated onto drink menus and as cocktail ingredients.

Two long-time traditional drinks from Italy have recently been gaining devotees in other parts of the world. Grappa—a by-product of winemaking that had a reputation as being strong and rough when introduced to the U.S. in the 70s—now is being made with highly refined ingredients that make it palatable to a wider range of tastes. These improvements, together with stylish packaging and shrewd marketing, are making grappa an increasingly popular alternative to grape brandies.

The Amalfi Coast’s signature liqueur, limoncello, is the current darling among patrons of trendier bars and restaurants in North America and Europe, according to Francesco.

Made from an infusion of lemon peels in neutral alcohol that is then sweetened with sugar, limoncello has long been a refreshing summer drink in Italy that is being used with increasing frequency in cocktail recipes outside the country.

The bottom line, says Francesco, is that the trends will continue to center around recipes that incorporate fresh ingredients and embody style as well as novelty. “Every cocktail will only taste as good as the ingredients used in the making,” he says, “and the very best are those that also make for great conversation, entertainment and learning.”