A Trendy Affair

chillibreeze writer — Sneha Bhat

The unique essence of a hotel can be captured in eclectic trends that cater to the current taste of tourists. So in their quest to combine luxury and innovation, hotels around the world have begun incorporating various culinary trends.

Nowadays, organic food, eco-friendly services, and sustainable products are in vogue. Hotels are no longer shying away from playing with exotic flavors or experimenting with traditional recipes. A pleasant blend of these two and you have some very interesting and exclusive food and beverage (F&B) trends.

Hotels have raised the bar to meet heightened guest expectations and preferences. Experimentation is the keyword in the F&B industry worldwide that needs to keep up with contemporary trends. Local customization of dishes is passé. Authentic and novel experiments are always welcomed by tourists who are constantly seeking adventure and are now well-traveled, well-read, and well-educated.

Chefs unleashing their creativity, menus undergoing makeovers, and bars being revamped…all are part of the F&B industry’s quest for tweaking all that is old and familiar. Bartenders are also getting creative by making cocktails using organic fruit juices, fresh herbs, and exotic spices. Ethnic cuisine has become exceptionally popular as a way of unearthing a society’s cultures and traditions.

At the drop of a (chef’s) hat

The large influx of international cuisines reflects the changing palates of people. For instance, a French dish can become something quite different with the use of five-spice sauce. Or an American dish can taste different with a sprinkling of aromatic herbs. Similarly, southeast Asian flavors are used extensively by chefs all over the world by making them part of traditional cuisines.

With the current fascination for health food, tourists are pleased when hotels offer an array of healthy dishes. Organic food and natural drinks are the preferred choice nowadays. An exemplary step in ‘healthy’ direction has been taken by Park Hyatt Zurich with a ‘healthy delegate meeting’ food package meant for professionals on the go. Guests who have to attend continuous business meetings can get their energy and vital nutrition from the ‘brain food’ package comprising wholemeal bread, grilled vegetables, fresh juices and organic yogurt. These dishes are proven to successfully alleviate stress, increase concentration, and keep blood sugar levels low.

‘Music is the shorthand of emotion’, so articulates Leo Tolstoy. For most of us, music is an appealing and therapeutic. This form of art is taken to new heights, when fused with the other essential – food. Hilton Toronto launched a lethal combination of opera and food to impress guests at their restaurant, Tundra. The ‘Appetite for Opera’ was a gourmet event, which succeeded in tantalizing the taste buds by presenting a menu inspired by a renowned Opera composer, its story and setting and passion that is part of every stage performance. Guests were able to enjoy Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, Tosca in the form of a delicious fare. They were given the rare opportunity of exploring the Roman cuisine of early 19th century, against a classic backdrop.

Delectable, bitter, dark, sweet, sensual….this is chocolate for you. If you thought chocolate was not meant to be played around with, think again. On the tropical island of Lana’i in Hawaii stands the Four Seasons Lodge. Here, guests can indulge in a haven of chocolate, with their customized hot chocolate menu. They can also opt for unique accompaniments which lend a Hawaiian flavor to the chocolate drink.

Why should drinks be left behind?

Food aficionados would pair a particular wine with a particular dish to tickle their taste buds. The Master Chef of Garden City Hotel in Long Island takes the blissful combination of alcohol and food a step ahead with his special menu pairing beer with food. Beer tastes better when paired with pâté, as endorsed by the numerous hotel guests that loved this combo. Beer-focused entrées also feature among the recent experiment-turned-trends of the Garden City Hotel. The serving staff is trained to be knowledgeable about the correct beer and food pairings, which goes a long way in impressing and assisting guests.

Something light and sweet is the perfect ‘happy ending’ to an appetizing dinner. Guests staying at Conrad Bangkok are given the opportunity to drink their dessert with the divine Tiramiglu experience. Tiramiglu is essentially the liquid version of popular dessert Tiramisu, introduced by a star chef from Veneto, Italy during a culinary event at Conrad Bangkok. Tiramiglu not only has a special custom-made glass, but must also be drunk in an unusual way, resulting in an explosion of sweet flavors in the mouth.

Hotels across the globe are making wholehearted efforts to meet the ever-evolving demands of tourists. In a bid to please all five senses of guests, chefs are going the whole nine yards to create and recreate, blend and concoct recipes. As Franklin Roosevelt rightly puts it, “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in December, 2009. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Sneha says, "A Mumbai-based freelance writer and editor, I have completed my post graduation in Sociology from Mumbai University. Owing to my passion and enthusiasm for languages, I found myself in language editing and content writing in the past two years. My professional experience has been mainly in creative content writing. Currently, I am a Research Intern with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. My other areas of interest include art, music, French, yoga, cooking, film, travel and photography. My dream job is to work with Discovery Travel & Living!"

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