Thirty years ago, the age of wellness arrived with the spa, if your hotel had a pool, offered massages, facials and body wraps, alongside low-fat, low calorie morsels, it was leading edge; 

Enter the year 2015 – While spa experiences are critical, they just aren’t enough to woo the health-conscious traveler.

Those living a wellness lifestyle are well-informed about nutrition and expect more from their hotel’s food and beverage offerings. 

Low-fat is out.  Nutrient-dense foods are in. To stay leading edge, your food and beverage programming must keep abreast of health and nutrition trends.  It must accommodate guests that view healthful eating as essential to their overall wellness. 

According to The Global Spa & Economy Monitor for 2014 (SRI International), healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss is a $574 billion industry.  Want a piece of that revenue?  Why not integrate wellness into your food and beverage offerings?   

Travelers that eat healthy at home want to do so when away from home.  Results don’t lie. In response to a 2012 TripAdvisor health and fitness on vacation survey of 1400 US travelers, 69% of respondents revealed that healthy eating is important to them while travelling.

To capture and retain the wellness traveler, hotels must give priority to helping guests eat for wellness. 

Here are three hotels putting wellness at the heart of food and beverage:

1. Westin Hotels and Resorts:

To find out what “well-being” is worth, in February 2014, Westin Hotels and Resorts partnered with SurveyLogic LLC and interviewed 6,402 business travelers from 5 different countries.  It discovered that “well-being” is today’s status symbol.  Global travelers more than ever, are interested in improving their overall well-being, and nearly half (49%) of travelers are willing to pay a premium for fresh, locally sourced food options.

As part of its global Well-being Movement, launched in March 2014, Westin introduced SuperfoodsRx menus offered at its hotels and resorts world-wide.  Imagine you’re staying at a Westin.  Want to enjoy a healthy breakfast at leisure? You’re covered.  Just dine at one of the Hotels’ restaurants and order from the SuperfoodsRX items.  At Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, breakfast at Mizzen restaurant might include the Organic Pastel Egg White and All Natural Turkey Omelet – laced with arugula, cheddar, tomato and avocado salad. Don’t feel like eggs?  How about Steel Cut Cinnamon Scented Oatmeal served with green apples, walnuts, and honey drizzle?

Whatever the choice, guests can leave breakfast feeling good about their selection.

2. Chicago Marriott O’Hare:

Chicago Marriott O’Hare has been testing an innovative way to deliver healthy food options to travelers at all hours of the day.  In partnership with Farmer’s Fridge (a healthy vending machine and catering company based in Chicago), the Hotel has installed a healthy food kiosk in its lobby.

Staying at Chicago Marriott O’Hare? There’s no issue if you’re super-rushed, yet hungry for a healthy lunch.  Simply head for the Hotel’s lobby vending machine and choose The Detox Salad (also known as the Junk Food Eraser).  It’s made with organic Kale and Quinoa fortified with fennel, fruits and beans, served in a white balsamico vinaigrette.  Want some extra protein? It’s a cinch.  Just select the Lemon Pepper Chicken.  It’s humanely raised without the use of antibiotics—just lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper

Lunch done.  No guilt.

3. Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village:

Eating well has never been easier if you’re a guest at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, California. In partnership with the California Health and Longevity Institute, the Hotel has created Sustained Living menus and a Wellness Kitchen.

At the helm of both the Sustained Living menus and the Wellness Kitchen is Paulette Lambert, Director of Nutrition, R.D., CDE of California Health and Longevity Institute.  Lambert, is not only a registered dietician, but an accomplished chef.  She and Executive Chef Alexander La Motte have crafted mouth-watering food choices based on Lambert’s plant-based nutrition approach: consume a controlled amount of carbohydrates, small amounts of lean protein, and let fruit and vegetables shine.

Take a seat at the Lobby Lounge Restaurant and enjoy Sustained Living menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  What can you expect for lunch?  Start off with Chilled Thai Coconut Carrot Soup with Pine Nut and Citrus Relish, or perhaps, the Red Lentil Walnut Spread with Heirloom Carrot daubed onto 9-Grain Crostini.  Take your pick.  Want to squeeze even more fruits and vegetables in your meal?  Try the Scarborough Farms Greens – Toybox Tomato, Shaved Market Vegetable Crudités misted with a Champagne & Herb Vinaigrette.  Entrees continue the plant-based, lean protein theme.

At the Wellness Kitchen, you can spend time in a sunlit interactive kitchen and learn about healthy eating from Nutritionists-Chefs.  Classes and private group events cover menu planning, shopping, cooking techniques, and practical tips for those already living a wellness lifestyle or those on-the-road to a healthier diet.  Both classes and private group events centre on eating well and helping you continue these habits when you return home.

Safe & Sturdy Floors Without Closing Your Doors

In the hospitality world, every second of downtime is a dollar lost that could have gone towards wages, utilities, rent or potential profits; so it’s no surprise that closing for renovations is a dreaded thought. Now there is a new German Resin System from ReadyFloor that can help.

Renovations or other upgrades can be costly to venue owners, but the time taken for them to be completed can worsen the blow even more. And on top of all of this, losing customers to nearby competitors is the last thing any venue wants in the ultra competitive industry that is food and drink. 

When it comes to the areas that experience the most foot traffic and thus require the most attention paid to safety and cleanliness, the floors behind bars and in commercial kitchens stand out.

The busier the area, the higher the risk for damage, employee slip accidents and hygiene issues; three headaches venues experience that can be largely reduced with the fast installation of a flooring surface that serves to combat each of them; with no downtime required.

Developed in Germany and widely used across Europe for the last 20+ years in various restaurants, MMA (Methyl Methacrylate) technology is fast becoming a go-to product in the flooring industry worldwide; especially in bars, restaurants cafes and bathrooms due to its non-slip, seamless and fast curing qualities.

The resin-based technology of GRS (German Resin System) offers a variety of non-slip grades to choose from which means that floor surfaces that are exposed to water, grease and oil spills as well as continuous foot traffic from employees moving at maximum speeds, provides them with a safe workplace that adheres to WH&S standards.

On top of its non-slip benefits, one of the vital elements of the product, paraffin, repels water, oil and grease as well as coffee, bubblegum and other sticky nuisances to flooring in kitchens and behind bars. It is also seamless which means that when it comes to cleaning up, there are no grout gaps for food substances to get caught in, cleaning becomes a fast and easy process, and health inspectors struggle to raise an issue.

Instead of having to remove a concrete or tiled floor which can require grinding it back or completely taking out and replacing an entire kitchen; a process that can close businesses for days or even weeks, GRS Rapid Resin can be laid down on top of any surface while maintaining a consistent level, around appliances.

With well-organised, calculated and executed installation, the GRS Rapid Resin is ready to go in just two hours and able to stand up to the rough and tumble of continuous traffic.

The installation process that requires accurate quantities and particular timing of the fast-curing substance is the key to its success. Australian-based ReadyFloor duo, Peter Armstrong and Daniel Chapman have perfected the art of GRS Rapid Resin installation after specialising in it within their business for the last few years.  

After a dinner trade of 180 people at the Travelodge Sydney Hotel, the ReadyFloor GRS Rapid Resin experts were in and out before the breakfast service of 300 people at 6 am; no time or trade lost.

Shimmers and shines: latest trends in glassware

The hospitality industry, perhaps more than most, is at the mercy of consumer trends. Whether it’s a particular cuisine, a style of eating (small plates anyone?) or even an ingredient, chefs and venue managers have to constantly be on the ball, aware of what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to diner delights.

But food isn’t the only fickle element on tabletops today. The vessels that carry our food and wine are also subject to changes in fashion and flair, and in regards to glassware, it’s a case of old is new again, with retro designs making a comeback.

Both diners and restaurateurs are less concerned about elegant tabletops with perfectly matched tableware and glassware, adding that retro, quirky items such as those in Phillip Lazarus’ Wichester and Speakeasy ranges are part of the industry’s return to the “vintage, art deco era.”

Tim Russell, sales manager at Crown Commercial, another commercial glassware supplier to the hospitality industry, agrees.

“Retro styling has been a growing trend. It started with a few individuals searching markets and old wares shops for interesting, original, old glassware to serve their cocktails in and to give an edgy style to their venue,” he said.

In regards to shape however, Russell says most people are opting for more traditional styles.

“We’re finding most of our clients steer towards the classic [style] – a not-too-long stem, so the glass fits into the dishwasher, with a nicely rounded belly and a cut rim. There’s still a big pub/hotel for rolled rims, but thesedays the cut edge, which has a more, upmarket look than the rolled edge is appearing on glassware that’s still very reasonably priced.”

No stem to stand on
Russell and Donnison also agree that the stemless trend is a long way from subsiding, especially considering how versatile this style of glassware is.

Donnison told Hospitality magazine, “I don’t think that trend’s disappearing at all. It’s quirky for some people. If you’ve traditionally had stemware, you look at it [stemless glassware] and you think it’s quirky. Plus you get a double use out of it. You don’t have to have all your money tied up in 20 different lines for your menu. You can use stemless glasses for a savoury entree, for water, for candles or for wine.”

James Sexton, restaurant manager at Sydney’s Oscillate Wildly restaurant, is less convinced of stemless glassware’s popularity, arguing that the trend is done and dusted.

“I think there’s finally been a move away from stemless glasses. I think that was a bad fad. In my opinion, they make great water glasses and I guess in the small wine bars they can be great, but I’m starting to see them less and less,” he said.

While they might be quirky, Sexton says stemless glasses aren’t the best choice for showing off top-notch wines.

“If you’re talking about white wine and stemless glasses, in terms of temperature control I don’t think they’re really appropriate. You handle the glassware and warm it up. And then at the same time you’re trying to look at wine, and if you’re handling the bowl of the glass and you’re eating at the same time you’re getting greasy finger prints on them, and I think the overall look just isn’t that great,” said Sexton.

Matching glass with grape
What does, however, help to show off a wine’s characteristics, Sexton says, are glasses designed specifically for different varietals.

Because Oscillate Wildly’s standard offering is a degustation dinner, Sexton often has to select one glass that best compliments each of the wines matched to the meal’s eight courses, but wherever possible, he likes to match not only food with wine, but wine with glassware too.

With the main dining room seating up to 30 people, space is an issue at the restaurant, so Sexton is unable to have as extensive a range of glassware as he might like, but there’s still quite an impressive collection, including a standard white and a standard red glass, a burgundy glass for Pinots and Nebiolos, a couple of different Champagne flutes, dessert tulips and a Montrachet for fuller-bodied Chardonnays.

“The idea is that you get the best out of the wines aromatically by giving more delicate grape varietals greater surface area, so they show off more fruit aromatics and vice versa – really aromatic wines channelling in the fruit aromatics to make them more subtle. The results of this style of glassware are actually quite profound,” he said.

“Once you start using burgundy glasses for Pinot especially, it’s hard to go back. It really brings the best out of the wine.”

And it’s not just wines that are enjoying their own special glassware styles. Sandy Donnison from Phillip Lazarus says the same theory applies to different types of beer.

“You’ve got to have a different style of glass to suit different types of beer,” she said. “That’s huge at the moment. So many different types of microbreweries have sprung up, so we’ve got to cover a million different types of glasses and have glasses to suit all these different beers, like wheat beer, the pale beer and all these different brews being done now.

“Libbey [a Phillip Lazarus glassware range] has come out with nearly a dozen different stems of pilsners or tumblers to be appropriate for the different types of brews,” she said.

The company’s also developed a glass which resembles a beer can, and according to Donnison is best served with craft beers, ciders or other canned alcoholic beverages, allowing the consumer to pour the canned drink into the glass while still holding onto the look and feel of the can.

Breaking bad
While it might not be a new trend, venue operators and glassware suppliers are still on the hunt for glassware that is both cost effective and resilient.

Glass breakages in foodservice venues are unavoidable and need to be accounted for, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t sturdy (and stylish) glassware lines available.

“There’s certainly more call from venues for toughened glass, because people recognise products with this advantage can positively impact their replacement costs, OH&S and patron damage issues,” Tim Russell from Crown Commercial told Hospitality.

Part of Crown Commercial’s Crown Glassware collection, the Atlas stemware is four to six times stronger than regular glass as well as being shock- and heat-resistant, while its Luigi Bormioli range has a number of glassware-toughening formulations aimed at boosting the strength and durability of the glasses while still keeping them elegant and lightweight:

• The SON.hyx technology is an ultra-clear, lead-free crystal with a 30 percent higher resistance to breakages and a shelf life of more than 4,000 commercial dishwashing cycles.
• The Sparkx formulation has a 30 percent increased resistance to mechanical shocks, contains no lead or other heavy metals and produces particularly transparent glassware that can withstand more than 2,000 rounds in a commercial dishwasher.
• Titanium Reinforcement technology uses invisible molecules of Titanium to reinforce the stems. When combined with SON.hyx it provides a 140 percent increase in resistance to stem breakage and reduces abrasions, chips and stem twist damage.

The real need of a sommelier in a Fine Dining restaurant

A business investment or an expense you can’t afford? Our Industry Observer looks at the value of having a good sommelier in your front of house team.

Their influence is everywhere in the hotel and restaurant trade, but how well do we know our sommeliers? In a high end restaurant they can be seen, elegantly cruising between tables, confidently sharing their knowledge. I was recently wondering if they are appreciated as they should be…patrons who are knowledgeable about wine might be happy to peruse the list and make their own choices and those who need the most help can be too intimidated to ask for assistance and just choose the second cheapest bottle of their favourite colour. This leave the folks in between for the somm to weave his or her magic.

The tricky thing is, a decent sommelier is almost noticed more by their absence than their presence, for a look at the very pedestrian wine list in the hotel currently hosting my good self says that it could have used some assistance.

However, it is the source of the assistance that is in question as any number of laminated wine cards sit in place in so many dining and drinking houses, brand heavy with the wines of the distributor who ‘buys’ the space. How do you find yourself a decent somm and at what point?

The wrestle for so many establishments is a cost versus benefit one, as with so many other things in this industry. The best starting point is probably the Sommeliers Association, which is a fabulous promoter of the wine industry and a fountain of knowledge. It runs education seminars and events and has a membership of like-minded souls with a fascination for all things wine – and you have to love them for that.

Now the folks who run bars and restaurants at the upper end of town will of course know this and should be tapping into this talent pool already, however I’ve met plenty of restaurateurs who thought they had a great palate and knowledge and were confident in their choices on the wine list.  The only issue is whether your dining and drinking public agree with you. Building and maintaining a formidable cellar is a costly business, so it’s a good idea not to get it wrong.

Neil Perry has a great concept at Spice Temple – a list of 100 wines, each made to earn their place. Now that sounds a lot to a small bistro, but compared to some of the encyclopedic tomes I have been handed at some places, it’s almost barren. My advice to smaller premises is to balance the list between what you want and what you can afford, and then match the wine to the food – that’s where the somm comes in to play.

There is little point filling the list of a Thai focused menu with heavy reds when Riesling and Gewurztraminer are a much more appropriate fit. Allowing someone else to lead this aspect of your business is often a challenge and takes trust, but this trust can provide great benefit. A list that enhances your food improves the wine, the meal and the overall dining experience.

In the olden days we had the ‘wine waiter’ who often just used to drink more than the rest of us and was therefore too unsteady to carry plates. Thankfully we have taken great leaps forward in our sophistication and the value of knowledge in general has improved, but spend any time with a Frenchman and our passion for wine still lags behind; it’s no wonder that ‘sommelier’ is a French term.

If we consider the cost of engaging a professional to help us with our wine choices and assist our customers, how do we get the customers to take advantage of the service and not feel intimidated or belittled? One of my favourite somm interactions was at a restaurant where I had ordered both food and wine, only to find out that my main was unavailable. Without any fuss, the somm arrived at my table with the list and suggested a wine that would suit my newly chosen main a little better – I agreed and the glasses were replaced with Pinot bowls and away we went. It was seamlessly done and a perfect example of service.

So here’s the wrap, and as usual it favours valuing the skill of another and paying it due respect. I applaud the raising of the bar in local restaurants and the growth and breadth of our wine options and by and large think that the distributors do a pretty good job of helping restaurants. I think most of the somms are great, easy to get on with and knowledgeable beyond belief. Some of them could pull their heads in a touch and not treat the wine traders like peasants; it’s all about balance, service and respect. We also need to acknowledge that wine is like art, we may not know much, but we know what we like. Serve it with a smile.

Working as a chef: the reality

When looking for a job in the hospitality industry, it’s important to know what to expect.

With the rising popularity of cooking shows, young chefs can enter the industry with the wrong impression, and quickly become disillusioned.

“We seem to be living in a world where, if you put on chefs whites you have the right to call yourself a chef. It is more than just the uniform, it’s a lifestyle!” says Neil Abrahams, president of the Australian Culinary Federation.

“Everyday chefs work in an environment where deadlines can never be moved and must be met. You can never say to your guest: ‘We are not quite ready please come back tomorrow’ or ‘Cut! I don’t like that camera angle, let’s do it again’.

“We train for years, never perfecting our craft. We work ridiculous hours under the most volatile conditions with stress levels that would give most a heart attack.”

Working as a chef – the facts

One of the biggest shocks for young chefs can be the pay. A junior in their first year of a cooking apprenticeship can earn as little as $10.80 an hour, or 55 per cent of a commis chef’s wage.

When an apprentice progresses to their second year, they can expect to receive 65 per cent of a commis chef’s wage, and then 80 per cent in their third year.

After completing an apprenticeship, the rate of pay can vary depending on where the restaurant is.

Of the 726,000 people employed in the accommodation and food services industry as of February 2014, over 75 per cent live in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

According to the Frontline Hospitality Salary Guide, commis chefs working at a restaurant in Brisbane have the highest rate of pay, with a salary range of $48K-$50K a year. Next is Melbourne, with a range of $45K-48K, then Sydney with $42K-$48K. Canberra and Perth come in last, with a range of $40K-$45K.

After a commis chef has gained enough experience, they can be promoted to a chef de partie and then a sous chef. By progressing to a sous chef, a chef working in a Sydney restaurant can increase their salary range to $60-75K. This increases further if a chef attains a head chef role, which has a salary range of $70-95K a year.

Then what?

Along with a realistic expectation of the industry, it’s important to know where you stand, and when to make the next step in your career.

Frontline Hospitality can provide realistic advice on your skills, salary expectations and opportunities. With an unparalleled network in the hospitality industry, Frontline can tell you exactly what roles are out there – even the ones that haven’t been advertised.

The team provides support for applicants from start to finish, and can help with negotiations and aid in the transition between roles.