Spirited 2008 - Volume 3

Summer 2008 | Volume 3

PROFILE:

Talking F&B with

PAUL SNYDER >> PAGE 2

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A self-described “foodie,� Paul Snyder knows, and enjoys, cooking and dining from the inside out.

Our series of F&B interviews with the Americas leadership team continues in a conversation with the Vice President, Operations Branding and Business Development for North America.

Paul Snyder’s role as Vice President, Operations Branding and Business Development, takes him to IHG properties far and near throughout the Americas to promote development deals and management contracts for the Hotel Management Group.

Along the way, he gets to indulge one of his passions—learning about, experimenting with and enjoying food.

In a recent interview, Paul talked with us about his F&B expectations, pet peeves and life as a “foodie.”

Successful Food & Beverage Experiences Are

All About the Snyder Believes Any foodservice experience in your background?

“Yes—I did a little bartending while I was in college, and officially started out in the hospitality business as a bartender at the Holiday Inn in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, near my hometown of Wilmette. So, I’ve served my share of chicken quesadillas.

The General Manager there later seconded me over to the rooms side, and my career followed that path from that point.”

What does a great dining experience look like for you?

“It’s built around the people you are with. Enjoying food and drink is a shared experience, and the meals I recall most fondly are those with friends and family.”

What’s your favorite food?

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“It’s hard to choose. My wife Amy and I are both foodies, and we enjoy all kinds of cuisines. We especially love French food—they take such care in the use of ingredients and creation of sauces. There’s good reason to look to them as leaders among cuisines.

We also enjoy sushi very much.”

How about your favorite beverage?

“Wine. Amy and I collect wine—we have about 400 bottles. My favorites for reds are the Oregon Pinot Noirs, and for whites, I like the ones from Burgundy or Bordeaux.”

Favorite restaurant?

“My favorite in Atlanta is the Woodfire Grill. They use lots of fresh ingredients and have a great wine list. It’s casual and relaxed— never snooty. And the best dinner I’ve ever had was at the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia. Many people feel it’s the finest restaurant in the country, and I would agree. Start to finish, it was superb.”

When you stay at an IHG property, what are your expectations regarding F&B? “That depends on the brand. InterContinental Hotels have a legacy of unique food and beverage concepts and service delivery, so that’s what I expect there. And outlets like RumBa and Miel at the InterContinental Boston and the restaurants at our InterContinental hotels in Atlanta and San Francisco really deliver a fresh, exciting experience. At the other brands, I expect—and enjoy—great camaraderie with the staff and a good meal into the bargain.”

People, “An attentive and engaging server has a huge positive impact on all the patrons in the restaurant. It’s a positive energy that flows throughout the room, and it’s the difference between night and day when it comes to a customer experience.”

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

For breakfast, poached eggs and rye toast. For lunch and dinner, I look for things that are new and different—I’ll try interesting dishes the hotel has created.”

Any recent standout meals at an IHG property?

“Amy and I, her sister and my brother-in-law had a magnificent meal at Miel recently. The food was wonderful, but our server, Paul Segesdi, really added some special touches that made the meal outstanding. For example, learning how much we are ‘into’ food, he brought us an incredible artisanal olive oil to try.”

Do you ever order room service?

“Yes. I always have breakfast when I travel and often I order it in my room.

Occasionally I also use room service for dinner.”

Mineral water or tap?

“Mineral water—no particular brand favorites.”

Any F&B “pet peeves?

“It’s a big pet peeve for me when I see servers who are just going through the motions to get orders out the door rather than truly interacting with their customers. I pay a lot of attention to the guests in the restaurant when I’m dining out and how they react to servers. I feel dismayed when a server misses the opportunity to engage customers and be proactive. An attentive and engaging server, on the other hand, has a huge positive impact, not only on the party he or she is serving, but for all the patrons in the restaurant. It’s a positive energy that flows throughout the room, and it’s the difference between night and day when it comes to a customer experience.”

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

“Amy and I both like to cook. She says I can prepare my sautéed scallops dish any time I want to. I love her stir fry.”

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Win

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ne Is Our Life We believe winemaking is an art, and the Folio Winemakers’ Studio was created as a place where that art can be shared by enthusiasts at all levels.

Jamie Conahan, National Accounts Sales Manager-U.S. for Folio Fine Wine Partners

Luce—the casually elegant California/Italian-style restaurant in the

new InterContinental San Francisco—is named after a Super Tuscan wine produced by the Frescobaldis, one of the oldest winemaking families in Italy.

When IHG’s corporate food and beverage team was searching for the perfect concept for the restaurant during the design phase, they decided a terroir cuisine approach—using fresh, local ingredients in unique but honest dishes—was the way to go. The distinguished wines from the Frescobaldi family’s Luce della Vite estate seemed to embody the concept.

The Luce winery was created through a joint venture of the Mondavi and Frescobaldi families in the early 1990s. Although solely owned by the Frescobaldis today, Luce wine is imported and represented in the U.S. by the Michael Mondavi family’s Folio Fine Wine Partners.

IHG reached out to Folio and the Frescobaldis, and the result was a license agreement for use of the trademark Luce name and signature gold and umber colors—a first for the prominent Florentine family, who have been producing wine since the Middle Ages.

“The Frescobaldis are thrilled with the design of the restaurant and the support of the Luce della Vite brand throughout,” says Jamie Conahan, National Accounts Sales Manager-U.S. for Folio Fine Wine Partners.

“We were pleased to serve as the conduit between IHG and the Frescobaldi family to see this venture come to fruition.”

A New Direction Involvement in such unique ventures is the norm for Folio Fine Wine Partners, which was founded by the Michael Mondavi family in 2004 following the sale of Robert Mondavi Corporation to Constellation Brands.

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for the Mondavis and Folio Fine Wine Partners

The company is a full-service importer that provides sales, marketing and PR support to more than 30 wines from both premier and emerging wine regions around the world. Michael Mondavi and his immediate family own several of these, including I’M (Isabel Mondavi) Wines, Spellbound, Medusa and the soon-to-be-released M by Michael Mondavi.

The portfolio comprises an impressive import range, from the estimable Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi wines to small but impressive family producers from Spain, New Zealand, Austria and Argentina.

Folio Fine Wine Partners is a true family affair. Mondavi’s wife Isabel, son Rob and daughter Dina all play active roles in the business. With a commitment to bringing the joy of wine to a wider audience, the Mondavis created Folio Winemakers’ Studio in Napa where a number of wines— including I’M Wines, Oberon and Hangtime—are produced. The winery also serves as a custom-crush facility to other Napa producers. On the first Friday of the month, the winery hosts an open house and complimentary wine tasting to debut a new art exhibit by local Bay Area artists.

“We believe winemaking is an art, and the Folio Winemakers’ Studio was created as a place where that art can be shared by enthusiasts at all levels,” Jamie says.

Folio continues to focus on fairly small, carefully crafted production and to look for opportunities to introduce fresh, entrepreneurial product and marketing ideas—such as the agreement for Luce. In addition to Folio’s facilitating the use of the name and trademark, the company also was involved in planning the 130-seat restaurant’s concept and wine list.

“The clear direction for Folio from the Mondavi family is to keep things manageable and fun as we work toward our mission of bringing one-of-a-kind wines to the public through our retail partners,” Jamie noted. “We’re all dedicated to maintaining our passion for this great business.”

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InterContinental Chicago F&B Team are putting

Sustainability on the Menu

The hotel’s Renaissance Room was meticulously restored to its level of grandeur when the building opened as the Medina Athletic Club in 1929.

The term “green” has taken on a double meaning at the InterContinental Chicago these days, and that’s especially true for the hotel’s food and beverage program.

For the past two years, the staff of the historic and lovingly restored hotel on downtown’s Magnificent Mile has made sustainability its focus. Under the leadership of GM Edward Andrews, the property’s team has implemented a wide-ranging program involving aggressive recycling in every department, innovative energy and resource management, waste minimization efforts and environmentally responsible purchasing.

Department of Energy. The designation indicates it is among the top 25 percent of facilities in the country for energy performance.

The sustainability initiative has taken on a life of its own in the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, producing another kind of green—the color of money. Dinner menus in the hotel’s Zest restaurant have been redesigned—and produced on environmentally friendly recycled paper, of course—to showcase a host of dishes featuring locally, and usually organically, grown produce, cheeses and meat from Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana farms within only 200 miles of Chicago.

Recently the InterContinental Chicago, which is housed in a building constructed as the Medina Athletic Club in 1929, became the first hotel in the city to earn an Energy Star rating from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S.

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F&B Director Tamas Vago

And consumers are responding. “We’ve had quite a lot of interest in our green menu options— so much so that we’re considering purchasing an interest in a small farm in Michigan to give us an even more direct connection to the source of our ingredients,” says Food and Beverage Director Tamas Vago. A nine-year InterContinental Hotels veteran, Vago joined the Chicago property as an executive sous chef in 2003, was promoted to Assistant F&B director a year later and moved into the top spot in March 2006.

Green Meetings The F&B team’s comprehensive, eco-friendly approach extends to the meetings and banquet side of the business as well, where the hotel’s innovative ideas are also getting considerable attention.

The property offers “green breaks,” “local breaks” and “organic breaks” featuring a range of wines, cheese and other items that reflect the sustainability commitment.

Dinner menus at Zest have been redesigned to showcase a host of dishes featuring locally, and usually organically, grown produce, meats, and cheeses.

The hotel’s elegant function rooms make it a popular wedding venue, and Tamas and his team even offer a green wedding package.

For all functions, the F&B staff use cloth napkins wherever possible as well as glass and china serving ware. Table scraps and leftover food items are donated to local farms or composting sites.

Cocktails for Trees “Green” features star in the hotel’s other two F&B outlets as well.

Eno is a unique wine-cheese-and-chocolate-only tasting room, boasting a cellar of 7,000 bottles and more than 700 varietals, 35 artisanal cheeses from around the world and an ever-changing menu of more than two dozen truffles and chocolates. Among the selections are products from area chocolatiers and dairies as well as organic wines—including “Eno Select” organic wines from California, available almost exclusively in the InterContinental Chicago. The intimate, 43seat outlet and its new, adjacent patio are popular with both locals and guests and generate 250 to 300 covers each Friday and Saturday.

In The Bar on the hotel’s ground level, revamped drink menus leverage the current trend toward classic cocktails, featuring Side Cars and Rob Roys along with a couple of selections comprised of organic ingredients.

Eno boasts a cellar of 7,000 bottles and more than 700 different varietals.

Purchases of Treetinis support the environment.

One of these is the “Treetini,” made with VeeV, a new organic liquor from Brazil distilled from the açai fruit. For every Treetini sold, the InterContinental Chicago donates 50 cents to Live It Green, a company that develops sustainable products and services, who in turn plant a tree. When an entire bottle of Veev is sold, the spirits manufacturer contributes a dollar to efforts to sustain the Brazilian rainforest.

Teamwork to Manage Change Despite the current economic uncertainties, a challenging budget and a strategic reshuffling of outlets among the hotel’s existing spaces to accommodate a new licensed Starbucks unit near the Michigan Avenue entrance, business is up, says Tamas. “We moved Zest from the lobby to what was previously a reception area on the second floor and combined two kitchens in the process. The cutover took place in a single night. It was a huge change in our operations, but after two months of fine-tuning, overall business has increased.”

Successfully handling that kind of upheaval in day-to-day operations requires a talented, tightly knit team, which Tamas appreciates.

“We have a very, very great staff. They run things, not me,” he says. “You can have the best quality facility, but if you don’t have the right people, you will fail. My job is to be open, to listen and to support them in balancing their work here with their private lives. When they are happy, the guests feel it and that helps make them happy, too.”

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What’s Your New World Class Beverage Program’s Astrological Libations Offer the Perfect Drink for Every Birth Date

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Whether you’re a believer or not, who can resist the occasional urge to read one’s horoscope?

An exciting new World Class Beverage Program cocktail promotion taps into the public’s nearly universal fascination— albeit at varying levels—with astrological signs and the personality traits assigned to each.

Featuring elegant point-of-sale materials that entice with a

Sales materials being provided to InterContinental hotels carry

colorful array of new drinks, the promotion launches at the end

the theme, “Adventure lies within the constellation of a starry

of summer at company-managed InterContinental Hotels and

night,” while the Crowne Plaza version of the printed pieces asks,

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts in North America and will run for at least a year.

The idea is the brainchild of Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President, Food & Beverage, the Americas. The World Class Beverage Program team worked with master mixologist

“What’s in the Stars?” Components include astrological wheelshaped menus, unique posters, bartender’s guides and colorful take-home booklets featuring drink recipes and photography.

“The promotion is innovative, eye-catching and has universal appeal,” says René van Camp, Corporate Food & Beverage

Francesco Lafranconi of Southern Wine & Spirits of America to

Director for HMG, the Americas. “We expect it to be a hit and to

create a unique and appropriate cocktail for each astrological

drive beverage sales within our World Class Beverage Program

sign, using products from vendors across the spectrum of the

partner portfolio. If that proves to be the case, we’ll extend it

program’s beverage portfolio.

beyond the one-year mark.”

For example, the drink for Virgo (August 23—September 22) is a “Blushing Bride,” made with Maso Canali Pinot Grigio, Cointreau and a splash of Campari, topped with sparkling water.

Aires patrons (March 21—April 19) may select a “Twisted Horn,” concocted with Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum, Grand Marnier, cranberry juice and Angostura bitters.

“The idea is to intrigue the guests and get conversation started about the drinks from the moment they walk into the bar,” says Jean-Pierre. “The concept of astrology translates and entertains across cultures and age ranges. Even if you don’t believe in it at all, it’s still fun.”

Sign?

IHG’s René van Camp Will Participate in Grappa Seminar at New Orleans Cocktail Conference Where else but New Orleans—birthplace of the cocktail— would one expect to find a festival celebrating the culture of this most creative of libations? Now in its sixth year, Tales of the Cocktail is a five-day event set in the Crescent City that bills itself as “the most spirited event of the summer.”

This year’s festival takes place July 16-20 and is open to connoisseur and amateur alike. Attendees are invited to experience— see, taste and learn about—cocktail culture in New Orleans and around the world. Activities include “Spirited Dinners” at well-known restaurants, a seminar series and classic and contemporary cocktail parties, featuring the country’s hottest mixologists, authors, bartenders, chefs and designers.

On the agenda is a seminar called “Grape Expectations,” centered around the rapidly expanding world of grappa, the fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy that has skyrocketed to global prominence over the past two decades. The session will be led by world-renowned mixologist Francesco Lafranconi, who will moderate a discussion including René van Camp, IHG’s Corporate Food & Beverage Director for HMG, the Americas, as well as representatives from two of Italy’s foremost grappa producers. René will bring the retailer perspective to the seminar, focusing on the evolution and success of Bar 888 in the InterContinental San Francisco, the only bar in the U.S. that specializes in grappa (see the related article on the facing page.)

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For both the aficionado and the novice, Bar 888 in the new InterContinental San Francisco is proving to be the touchstone for all things grappa in the United States.

Each evening patrons pack the chic, intimate horseshoe-shaped bar and surrounding seating area to sample some of the nearly 100 grappas on the Bar 888 menu. The offerings include vintage grappas from legendary Italian producers displayed in their exquisite crystal bottles above the bar. Guests may sample the grape distillate neat as a digestivo or after-dinner drink, in caffé corretto or “corrected coffee” with espresso, or as an ingredient in any of a number of delectable house cocktails, created by master mixologist Francesco Lafranconi. Regardless of how they experience it, however, a good deal of learning about grappa is taking place.

“The bar has been extremely busy since the hotel opened in February, and it’s drawing a mix of conventioneers and local grappa connoisseurs,” says Food & Beverage Director Sean Olmstead.

“The common denominator is an interest in exploring and being exposed to something out of the ordinary. As the first grappa bar in this country, Bar 888 fills the bill.”

BAR 888

Offers An Entertaining Education About Grappa Given the San Francisco market’s savvy and sophisticated food and beverage culture, the bar staff must be highly knowledgeable and the inventory impressive, Sean notes. In addition to grappa notables such as Nardini and Paolo Marolo, Bar 888 also offers products from a few local distilleries. The most popular cocktail on the menu is the Italian Mojito, made with well-known and popular Jacopo Poli honey grappa.

“Whether the customer is a visitor in town for a conference at the hotel who is not very familiar with grappa or a true aficionado, Bar 888 tends to draw people who ‘collect’ experiences, and who are interested in adding to their stories about those experiences,” Sean says.

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BEVERAGE BRIEFS (continued...)

Italy’s Wine Regions Encompass A Wide Range of Both History and Selections

Resurgence of a Classic: Gin Is Back In Vogue Gin has a rich and colorful history, and the current resurgence of the cocktail culture has generated renewed interest in the spirit. The martini— that most classic of gin drinks—has reached unprecedented popularity, and other gin staples such as the Gin & Tonic and Gimlet are back in style as well.

“In this new cocktail era, gin is being rediscovered by consumers looking for new flavor experiences,” says Simon Ford, Brand Relations Manager for Plymouth Gin. “It’s the quintessential white spirit, with character that allows it to stand on its own in mixed drinks.”

Though the ancient Greeks and Romans distilled juniper berries for medicinal purposes, modern gin originated in the Netherlands in the 1600s.

The product was known as jenever or genever and was sold in pharmacies to treat various medical problems.

Wine is a way of life in Italy, and the country is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Etruscans and Greek settlers were making wine in what is modern-day Italy nearly three millennia ago. In the second century B.C., the Romans began developing their own vineyards, pioneering organized production and such storage techniques such as barrelmaking and bottling.

Today, Italy remains one of the world’s foremost producers, responsible for about one-fifth of world wine production. The country has more than one million vineyards under cultivation. The extensive latitudinal range of Italy allows wine-growing from the Alps in the north to almost within sight of the African continent in the south.

Italy’s wine classification system has four major categories, two that are regionally based and two classified as “table wine.” The 20 geographic regions are concentrated in Piedmont and Tuscany and include such wellknown appellations as Barolo, Brunello and Chianti Classico. Within the table wine category are Vino da Tavola, generally indicating an inferior quaffing wine, and Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT), an appellation created for the “new” wines of Italy such as the Super Tuscans, tied to a more specific region of the country and made with processes that break strict, old winemaking laws but produce wines of exceptional quality.

Italy’s wine varietals comprise more than 350 grapes granted “authorized” status. Some well-known members of the Russo (red) category are Sangiovese, Italy’s claim to fame and the pride of Tuscany; Nebbiolo, the most noble of Italy’s varietals, and Barbarea, the most widely grown red wine grape of Piedmont and Southern Lombardy.

Among the whites are Trebbiano, the most extensively planted white varietal in Italy and Pinot Grigio, a hugely successful commercial grape characterized by crispness and cleanness.

An ever-growing number of travelers are discovering that a wine tour of Italy is one of the best ways to experience the true essence of the country, from winding down idyllic wine roads and exploring the castles of Tuscany to rambling about the delightful fishing villages on the Amalfi Coast.

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

In the early 17th century the British discovered jenever—later shortened to “gin”—during military engagements abroad and found it gave them “Dutch courage” before battle. By the end of the 1700s, distillers in England had begun producing what are now the world’s great gin brands, including Plymouth, introduced in 1793. As the British empire expanded, British gin was exported worldwide. During the Roaring 20s, gin was king and stayed at the spirits forefront until the rise of vodka in the 1960s.

There are three distinct styles of gin: Dutch gin, distilled from grain or molasses and sometimes aged in wood, giving it a slight resemblance to whisky; London dry gin (such as Tanqueray, Beefeater and Bombay Sapphire), the most common type and typically used for mixed drinks, and Plymouth gin, produced only in Plymouth, England, which is smoother and has more earthy character than London dry gins.

“The unique flavor and wonderful aroma of gin make it an exceptional base for a wide range of cocktails,” Ford says. “Bartenders today are so much more skilled than they were a decade or so ago—they can handle more complex spirits like gin and the sophisticated, classic drinks that can be made with it.”