WHI Food and Beverage

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Harvest Menu 2011 CMHAM

House made apple strudel with a bourbon cream

pumpkin ceanberry bash

Spinach apple salad

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Two Beet Salad

Ohio raised strip loin

cherry stuffed pork tenderloin

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

New Bar Appetizers CMHAM

Greek Pizza

Maryland Crab Fritters

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Arrancini with spicy marinara

Braised Beef Minis

Chipotle Lime Glazed Grilled Wings

Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork

Tapas Trio

Monday, August 8, 2011

A couple of turn down amenity ideas;

Be creative, World Market or the Limited
can be a source for thoughtful and inexpensive
welcoming gifts. Aroma products, chocolates, mints paired with a thoughtful card will brighten anybody's day.

Think outside the box, plant a tree in their name, donate in their name...above all have fun with it...It is the thought that counts...CMHAM

Monday, July 25, 2011

Taste of Ohio 2011...Columbus Airport Marriott; a second great year

Summer is my favorite time in terms of food, and it's because Ohio turns out a bounty of produce. Farms all over the state turn out fresh herbs, haricot verts, corn, many different types of tomatoes, lettuces, fruits and vegetables of all kinds. Ohio raised beef, pork, lamb, poultry have grown and hit the market. Fisherman bring in Walleye, Perch, Brown Trout, Salmon and Sturgeon from lakes and rivers. Other farms raise Tilapia, Rainbow Trout and Shrimp in ponds all over the state...yes Ohio raised shrimp. Shrimp grows very quickly and can grow to market spec, by summer's end.

In addition Ohio has many skilled brewers, mead makers, wine makers and distilleries turning out high quality
beverages to match with her bounty of foodstuffs. Artisans are turning out cheeses, breads, honeys, jams, salsas, and ice creams that ar

e of very high quality and defy the imagination.

What is a chef to do with all this inspiration? How does he translate his passion into something beneficial for the guest? Why a summer/seasonal driven promotion of course. We had done past seasonal menus, but starting in the spring of 2010 we decided we would focus on Ohio and everything great within her borders. Taste of Ohio was born at the Columbus Airport Marriott. Staff and guests were immediately excited by the offerings. Flash to a year later and it was too good not to bring back.

The menu making it's way to guests should be appealing, varied and and present a value. We

managed to cover those bases with our $28 three course tasting menu. Ideally the guest will try a soup or salad, an entree and a dessert, but some guests just purchase items individually and pair them with other items on our main menu. Whatever their choice they are happy that there are local offerings on a value oriented menu. Our offerings include Yellow tomato gazpacho, grilled Caesar salad, Insalate caprese (fresh tomato and mozzarella salad, Lake Erie Walleye, Prime top cap Sirloin steak that eats like a dream from northern Ohio, Apple Butter BBQ glazed pork ribs...all herbs, vegetables, and meats are locally sourced. Desserts including Peach Buckle with Graeter's premium Vanilla Ice cream and fresh Strawberry Shortcake, with whipped cream and mint..again herbs and fruits locally sourced...all in all about 90% of the product is sourced locally. This is a pride point for us as a Culinary Department and as Chefs. Doing something different also keeps the staff interested. Definitely a learning opportunity for all involved.

What's next.....why a Fall Menu is just around the corner

thanks for reading...Any questions or comments feel free to email at tony.layne@marriott.com or tonlayne@gmail.com ....to view photos/menus larger simple click on them

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Marriott Franchise Weekly Update Idea

A great idea to energize the Concierge Lounge in your hotels....

JW Executive Lounge Guests Enjoy Champagne Workshops
Continuing to find ways to engage key and repeat guests, the JW Chicago Marriott created and hosted their first GM’s cocktail reception in the Executive Lounge. Brittany Hollins, Guest Experience Manager, invited all Elite members in-house to participate in a themed evening cocktail.

The theme for this first time was the JW Wine Ambassador program and focused on Champagne and sparkling wines. Chefs Michael Reich and Pettorossi prepared an upgraded hors d’oeuvre presentation that paired well with champagne/sparkling wine. Throughout the cocktail, the chefs engaged the guests to discuss the local and crafted meal items. The menu included Heirloom tomato gazpacho, a selection of local cheeses; tri-colored potato chips with truffle and parmesan; and petite feast grilled beef tenderloin and soufflé béarnaise. Dessert selections included assorted truffles, chocolate dipped strawberries and petite mini pastries.

To entertain and educate guests, there were two separate workshops (duration 30 minutes, 5-6 guests at a time), facilitated by the hotel’s wine ambassadors. Additionally, a local Moet & Chandon representative facilitated a tasting of three champagnes and gave a great talk about the wines’ histories, the story of the champagne houses, and champagne making in general. There was a wine and food pairing workshop, where the wines on the JW Wine Ambassador tasting mats were being tasted with amuse-bouche portioned food items done in a private media room. Enjoy some photos of the event.

Friday, July 22, 2011

WHI sales training seminar at the Columbus Airport Marriott

We had the privilege to host the WHI sales training seminar in early July 2011. What would we do? How would we display it? Where would we source the food? Well as with any special event we begin with our initial brainstorming session. Everybody involved would throw many ideas against the wall and see what sticks. After that we break it up into smaller pieces easier to digest, culinary gets their assignments, banquets gets their assignments and so on.

The theme chosen was "Wellness". That could mean many things to different

people. We chose the concepts of refreshment, renewal and revitalization...the menu and beverages should be light, as locally sourced as
possible, healing in their nature, yet satisfying to eat and not totally unfamiliar. Each day's menu would include breakfast and lunch with light refreshing breaks between meals and after lunch

Now that we had a framework, we decided go a seasonal and local route. Cooper's farm smoked turkey hash with poached egg, strawberry pancakes with Ohio maple syrup, yellow and red tomato gazpachos,yogurt parfaits, Ohio raised lavender smoked beef carpaccios and smoked beef sandwiches, grilled lemon chicken and vegetable cous cous, roasted corn salads, grilled Caesar salads, cherry tomato and locally raised English cucumber in a mint creme fraiche. Breaks that included traditional s'mores as well as a savory s'more consisting of tomato and basil jam, fresh mozzarella on a flat bread, organic milks, old fashioned sodas, Jeni's ice cream three ways with a refreshing cucumber water to cleanse

the pallet.

Next we had to decide how to deliver this food to the guest, we

wanted them to try everything , so smaller portions became important. We got creative with our plating using stemless martini glasses, espresso cups, fluted ramekins, parfait glasses and square ramekins. We used rounds, rectangles, and squares to vary the design of the buffet lines. We stayed away from traditional table cloths in favor of stainless steel table tops. Food and drink was raised to different levels throughout the buffet. We used fresh fruit and juices as table settings. We kept food out of chafing dishes by using alternative heating sources, runners and smaller batch cooking. All in all the team realized the goal we had set out for. To feed, give lighter balanced nutrition, varying offerings, textures , colors while leaving the attendee satisfied, refreshed and with a feeling of wellness and along the the way ...we even got a few wows.