Cheers is dedicated to delivering hospitality professionals the information, insights and data necessary to drive their beverage business by covering trends and innovations in operations, merchandising, service and training.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/598044
DRINK CULTURE www.cheersonline.com 7 November/December 2015 • As part of its annual Flavors of the World campaign, Omni Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Wines of Chile to bring the essence of Chilean food, drink and culture to the guest experience. In addition to a Chilean dinner menu paired with hand-selected wines from the region, Omni will also feature two signature cocktails made from Chile's Capel pisco. To ensure the offering is authentic, Omni sent its chefs to Chile this past June for a three-day immersive training in Chilean cuisine and cooking techniques at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio. Then in September, 30 of Omni's food and beverage directors from properties across the U.S traveled to Chile. They spent a week tasting wines in multiple regions and engaging with the winemakers for a compre- hensive wine education and exploration of varietal pairings. The hotel chain's Destinación Chile! menu offers traditional Chilean fare including empanadas and choritos (spicy steamed mussels), as well as specialties such as Costillar con Pure Picante (pork ribs cooked slowly in beer and palm honey with potato puree, smoked Chilean chili pepper, $23); and Bacalao con Tomaticán (seared sea bass with braised tomato, yellow corn, cilantro salad, $35). The Chilean desserts ($7) include tres leches cake and arroz con leche. Each participating hotel will feature eight to 11 Chilean wines in its bars and restau- rants throughout the promotion. Wines represented include Apaltagua, Los Vascos, Montes and Vina Cono Sur; prices range from $9 per 6-oz. glass (many selections are also available in a 9-oz. pour) to $38 a bottle. Hotel guests can also book the ¡Destinación Chile! package, which includes deluxe room accommodations, a bottle of Chilean wine, the traditional Chilean spice merquen and an empanada recipe card. Omni's Wines of Chile promotion, which began in October, runs through Dec. 31. OMNI OFFERING GUESTS A TASTE OF CHILE When bars or restaurants are failing, it generally comes down to one key reason: horrible owners, according to Brian Duffy. The Philadelphia-born chef should know—he's made several appearances on Spike TV's Bar Rescue and seen too many bad bosses in action. Cheers sat down with Duffy on Oct. 3 at the Sun Brewfest beer bash at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT, to talk food, beverage and restaurant trends. First off, what's the best way to avoid being one of those owners who needs a Bar Rescue intervention? You need to be accountable. "As the own- er, you set the standard for what you do," Duffy says. So if an employee isn't performing up to expectations, you need to do something about it rather than just blame his or her incompetence. Before you fi re workers, though, make sure that you have provided the tools and training to succeed and given them the chance to improve. IT'S A BUSINESS You also need to run your operation like a corporation. That means a business plan, Duffy says, along with a mission statement and a list of core values. Use your plan to defi ne the end result you hope to achieve, and as a map of how you plan to get there. Understand what you're spending and what you're selling throughout the business. "So many bars and restaurants are so focused on the bar and liquor that they don't know how much they're spending on food—or how much food they're selling," Duffy notes. Documentation and organization can help keep your business on track, Duffy says. "When I look at a bar, I want to see the cleaning list, the inven- tory, the employee manual, the protein counts" and so on. If you do have the business manage- ment basics in place, it's an exciting time to be in the bar/restaurant busi- ness. For one thing, Duffy says, "Chefs today have so much more creativity. We've gotten away from pretentious fi ne dining and are not locked into French or Italian cuisine." The more casual approach to din- ing out typically results in consumers eating out more frequently, adds Duffy, who specializes in "new Celtic" cui- sine. Customers will go to a gastropub three times a month vs. once a month to a formal restaurant. IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES Duffy is also seeing interest in new takes on comfort food such as mac and cheese and barbeque, and Mexican at all levels—from taco trucks to fi ne-dining concepts. Behind the bar, mixologists are rein- venting the classics and incorporating new techniques such as barrel aging cocktails. "These are things that can give average bars an edge," Duffy ex- plains. "Consumers are so much more educated about food and beverages, and they're interested in learning more." Millennials in particular are keen on interactive dining such as share- able plates and watching food and drinks being prepared. They're also concerned about what they put in their bodies, Duffy says. "They want a cleaner product, and we all need to step up to the plate." CHEF BRIAN DUFFY ON FOOD TRENDS, BAR BUSINESS PLANS AND HORRIBLE BOSSES