While many restaurant chains strive for uniformity, with as little deviation from theme as possible in units around the world, one size does not fit all when it comes to Marriott menus. Just ask Brad Nelson, vice president of culinary and corporate chef for Marriott International Inc. in Washington, D.C. He says he’s responsible for “strategic direction leadership for all things culinary for all brands globally,” which means he oversees food at about 2,900 properties under Marriott’s eight existing hotel brands and is involved in a recently announced partnership with Nickelodeon for new resort development.
“We provide direction and design components and trend awareness and examples of trend-appropriate items that each one of the properties can then in some way interpret and adjust accordingly by market,” he says.
While Marriott establishes “a very sophisticated set of standards” for criteria such as quality of food procurement, handling, preparation and serving, individual Marriott properties have great autonomy in terms of flavor profile and menu items, Nelson explains, “because, quite frankly, the properties know their market best in most cases.”
“So what I do with my, frankly, pretty small group here in the corporate office is with our test kitchen, we do a lot of development that is strategic development,” he says. “In other words, it’s recipe development, but it’s not necessarily, ‘Hey everybody, you have to use this recipe; here is the new whatever item we’re working on.’”
While consistent quality is important, Nelson says, localized menus are an important aspect of hotel dining.
“To me, there is this sense of place,” he says. “When guests go to restaurants or go to hotels, they want to be able to experience that sense of place even if they don’t get out of the hotel. It’s really up to us to be able to provide the traveler…with some emotional takeaways for him to be able to take back, and much of the time, those emotional takeaways are food.”
Nelson says Marriott tracks trends through as many different sources as possible, including industry publications, extensive travel and communicating with Marriott chefs around the world. Nelson describes a recent conference call with chefs from Marriott properties in Brazil, London, Berlin, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Chicago.
MARRIOTT
HEADQUARTERS: Washington, D.C.UNITS: approximately 2,900 properties total (415 outside of the U.S.), comprising eight hotel brands; in addition, Marriott recently announced plans to develop 20 resort properties internationally by 2020 in partnership with NickelodeonREGION: 69 countries and territories on six continentsPRICES: vary widely depending on venue and region; each location has its own menu; venues range from poolside snack stands or grab-and-go lobby kiosks to white-tablecloth diningMOST POPULAR ROOM-SERVICE ITEMS: burgers, club sandwiches and chicken Caesar saladsMOST POPULAR BANQUET DISH: filet mignonLATEST MENU ROLLOUT: Bar Arts program emphasizing fresh fruits and fresh juices for beverages
“We talk and share ideas,” he says. “We find out kind of what’s happening in the cool restaurant that opened down the street in São Paolo and share some of those ideas, and many times that’s how we stay abreast.”
Noting a trend doesn’t mean that Marriott will follow it, however, Nelson says.
“We don’t necessarily blindly follow the latest and greatest new cool thing,” he says. “We acknowledge them, we recognize them, we learn what we can from it. But that doesn’t mean that we have all of our hotels in bubbles and foams. We’ve got to remain realistic and grounded to what our guests appreciate from us—great, great-tasting food that is executed perfectly, knowledgeable and [with] solid ingredients.”
Nelson believes the most important restaurant industry trends today center around high-quality ingredients. His group is currently working on strengthening the chains’ organic and sustainable local-food component. Still, he believes that a balanced approach is best and that there are times when it’s better to source the best ingredients, even if they aren’t local, especially in locations with limited indigenous foods—like at the Marriott in Dubai, for example—or in regions with shorter growing seasons.
“I think there is a clear trend toward the more robust and interesting and in-depth flavor profiles of some of the Latin American and Mediterranean [cuisines],” says Nelson, who also sees Asian cuisines as increasingly mainstream.
“Sushi is as American as pizza is now,” he continues, predicting an even greater role for high-quality, Asian-theme fast-casual restaurants, especially the hot-sour-spicy flavors of Thailand, Vietnam and Southern China. A promotion this summer at many of Marriott’s Renaissance Hotels, “Retro to Metro,” reflected this trend and featured such Asian-inspired items as Chicken Satay, Asian Noodle Salad and Thai Spiced Meatballs.
Other summer specials played on more traditional American flavors. “From Classics to Cool” at Marriott Hotels celebrated the hotel’s origins as a root beer stand that evolved into Hot Shoppes. On the menu: root beer floats, Mighty Mo double cheeseburgers, deviled eggs and other blasts from the past.
Marriott Hotels in the United States and Canada are currently featuring “Burke & Beer,” recipes developed in partnership with chef David Burke specifically as accompaniments to beer. The promotion gives a gourmet twist to French fries and meatloaf, with Asiago truffle fries and an updated miniature version of classic meatloaf served with lager-infused gravy.
While acknowledging that steakhouse steaks still will be large, Nelson says, in general, “we’re moving away from the gargantuan portion sizes that were so common in some places, but I wouldn’t say everything is going tapas and small plates.” Instead, he says, look for larger portions intended as shared appetizers but other dishes that give value in an “appropriate” size portion.
Earlier this year, Marriott received a lot of press after it became the first major hotel chain to eliminate trans fats, other than those that occur naturally.
In Nelson’s view, when considering how health fits into hotel restaurant cuisine, food safety and integrity of food and sourcing also matter a lot. He sees a trend towards increasingly high-quality ingredients in all aspects of hotel-restaurant services. The emphasis extends to beverages, too, as demonstrated with the recent launch of a “Bar Arts” program that uses fresh fruits and juices, rather than shelf-stable products, in drinks.
A trend Nelson says he sees that is specific to the hotels “is coming up with different, more unique ways to provide food and beverage in places that were maybe not typically food and beverage areas, like expanded lobby areas, or rooftop bars and restaurants, expanded pool areas, and kiosks for coffee and grab-and-go things in lobbies.”
8trends for ’08
RISING INFLUENCE OF ASIAN FLAVORS, ESPECIALLY THAI, VIETNAMESE AND SOUTHERN CHINESE
INCREASING USE OF ROBUST MEDITERRANEAN FLAVORS
EXPANDING USE OF NONTRADITIONAL VENUES FOR FOODSERVICE
HOTEL RESTAURANT MENUS THAT OFFER GUEST A “SENSE OF PLACE”
FRESH FRUITS AND JUICES FOR BAR BEVERAGES
NEW CHOICES FOR KIDS, INCLUDING MORE HEALTHFUL OPTIONS
SENSIBLE PORTION SIZES
EMPHASIS ON HIGH-QUALITY INGREDIENTS
FAD ABOUT TO FLOP?
GRASS-FED BEEF. “There’s an expectation of flavor and tenderness, but more importantly flavor, that you’re not going to be able to reach without some form of grain finishing.”
When it comes to planning for the youngest travelers, Nelson says he sees a trend toward more healthful choices. Marriott menus now offer kids a choice of apples and carrots as alternatives to French fries and potato salad.
“Kids have a great passion for trying new things, if put in a format and in a way that isn’t intimidating,” says Nelson, who is the father of three young children. “It needs to be straightforward. In many cases, it just needs to be portioned right, so it’s not an adult-sized portion.
“We’re doing things like frozen grapes, we’re doing a lot more around sliders. …It’s kind of more fun for a kid to eat three little tiny burgers than one adultsized burger.”
