Pan Pacific Hotels Group: food & beverage, redefined
Pan Pacific Hotels Group redefines Asia’s food and beverage sector WRITTEN BY
DALE BENTON PRODUCED BY
ALISTAIR WEST
Pan Pacific Yangon, Myanmar w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m
Through the advent of a leading food hygiene and safety management programme and a design guideline tailored to the future of food and beverage, Pan Pacific Hotels Group redefines the guest experience
T
he hotel industry is undergo-
A particular challenge, one that is
ing a transformation. With
representative of a changing indus-
technology continuously
try, is food and hygiene. For Golden
redefining the day to day lives of the
Whitehead, Vice President, Food &
guest, so too is the guest experience.
Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels
The modern-day guest expects the
Group, one of his first tasks upon
same level of connectivity and acces-
joining the company was to work
sibility in their hotel experience as they
on and implement a global food
would in any other stretch of their lives.
safety programme across all of the
So how does a hotel group respond?
company’s operations.
As one of the most established
“Singapore, where we are based,
hotel and property companies in
has always been very focused on
Asia-Pacific with 40 properties oper-
food hygiene with high standards
ated under its Pan Pacific and
in place. There will be significant
PARKROYAL brands, Pan Pacific
changes to its current system in
Hotels Group recognises this ever
the next couple of years and we
evolving, ever challenging space as it
have to be prepared for that,” he
continues to expand its footprint.
says. “Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group
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has always done very well on adhering to the highest standards and we are now ready to take sustainability to the next level. The traceability of the produce we buy and the amount of waste that’s generated from our hotels are two areas which I am particularly passionate about tackling for a start.” Whitehead brings a wealth of experience across the global food and beverage sector, having worked for companies such as the Shangri-La, Hilton Group in the UK, Hyatt in Australia and even opened up a number of restaurants in the Middle East with the Jumeirah Group. This international experience, gleaned from
“ It’s all about keeping the guest in house and staying with us,” says Whitehead. “Guest experience is crucial and outsourcing is key to enabling greater guest experience” — Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group
working in kitchens across the world for hotel groups, has provided Whitehead with the skills and capabilities required to establish a new system across a global operations. “Hygiene and sustainability has become much more of a focus in recent years, and hotels and suppliers need to work much harder than before to stay at the top of the game. Sustainability efforts require not just commitment but also an investment of resources, and that often needs to be balanced with operating costs,” says Whitehead. “When I came on board, we partnered with a company called Diversey and together launched a global programme on food safety
Marketplace, Pan Pacific Yangon, Myanmar
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07
management which was rolled out
head says. “You’re asking chefs
in the first half of 2018.”
who’ve been cooking a certain
Fast forward to today and White-
way their entire lives to com-
head can point to a complete
pletely re-think the way they
implementation of the food safety
have been doing things for
management system across all of
years and learn a new system,
the company’s Pan Pacific and
so training and retraining is
PARKROYAL hotels, which incorpo-
absolutely critical.
rates regular audits and gap
“This extends to the suppliers
assessments for continuous
and purchasers we work with, and
improvement.
some degree of education is nec-
But of course, implementing
essary with suppliers who may not
a system across an entire global
be familiar with the new demands
operation that spans 40 hotels,
of the system. As part of our new
resorts and serviced suites
process, we now audit our suppli-
across Asia, Oceania, North
ers to ensure they recognise the
America and Europe was not
specific products and are able to
without its challenges.
meet the new requirements.”
Whitehead acknowledges
Pan Pacific has seven proper-
that there is a need for a more
ties across Singapore, which is
standardised approach to food
the main hub of its Asia-Pacific
safety and hygiene in Europe
footprint. Having multiple proper-
and Australia. In Asia, he notes,
ties across the city enables a far
there are often more complex
more collaborative approach
food preparation processes.
across its supplier base, not only
“There’s the whole training
in the training of these suppliers
element to consider,” White-
but also on the auditing side.
“ We work with the suppliers to help them to improve their operations. This is where we train them and when they improve we sign longer term agreements with them moving forward” — Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group
PARKROYAL on Pickering, Singapore
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“There will always be demand for F&B. A good hotel, or a good restaurant, will rebuild their concept for today’s market with an eye on tomorrow’s. Then they innovate and redefine it again” — Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group
Pan Pacific Melbourne, Australia
ness and packaging of products. “We work with the suppliers to help them to enhance their operations,” says Whitehead. “This is where we train them and when they improve we sign longer term agreements with them.” These inspections also provide an opportunity to streamline the supply base and generate cost efficiencies where possible. Through the auditing process, Pan Pacific looks at what other prod-
Lime, PARKROYAL on Pickering, Singapore
ucts certain suppliers sell and as opposed to purchasing from 10 different suppliers, there will be
Pan Pacific looks at its leading
one or two key suppliers that both
suppliers and issues a guideline
sell the required products but also
that it measures the supplier per-
comply with the food safety man-
formance against.
agement standards.
“You really need to know the
The second task that Whitehead
whole chain,” says Whitehead.
was tasked with was the develop-
“Where everything comes from,
ment of a design guideline for all
how we receive it and then how
the hotel F&B operations across
we store, clean, cook and serve
the brands. One of the major driv-
the product.”
ing forces of this guideline has
The company also works with
been the question of in house pro-
hygienists to look further at the
duction versus outsourcing, which
supplier performance, analysing
again is testament to the modern
storage facilities, fridges, cleanli-
guest expectation. w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m
“It’s all about keeping the guest in house and staying with us,” says White-
through third party delivery services. “All our new hotels still have breakfast,
head. “Guest experience is crucial and
lunch and dinner services, but we offer
outsourcing is key to enabling greater
smaller order dining,” he says. “The
guest experience.”
hotels don’t have numerous F&B outlets
With that in mind, Whitehead set out
as compared to older hotels, instead,
a guideline to redesign a far more efficient
they come with an all-day dining room
and freestanding kitchen concept. This
and maybe one bar or lounge.
wouldn’t remove the kitchen services, but
“With so much choice in the wider
tailor to the technology enabled guest
market, we’ve had to think differently.”
who would prefer to order into the hotel
Thinking differently in this instance
is exemplified by a separate postcode
tives, the Group is investing in its people
onsite, one that guests can order deliv-
and customers by developing pro-
ery services to the hotel, therefore
grammes which are built on its DNA of
keeping the guest within the hotel but
being “Sincerely Yours” – which makes
catering to the modern day experience
sure that whatever the Group does
they expect.
comes from the heart. In always putting
All these changes are in line with Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s brand refresh, which strategy is about making impact-
their interests and needs first, the Group keeps the trust of its customers. As with any transformation, or imple-
ful changes with eyes on the future.
mentation of change, the journey never
Besides unveiling bold marketing initia-
really ends. As the industry continues to
Summit Lounge, Pan Pacific Hanoi, Vietnam
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Pan Pacific Beijing, China evolve, so too must the industry players
improvement right across the board.
and Whitehead is aware of this and recog- They are scoring better with our food nises the company must continuously
health and safety management sys-
strive for improvement.
tems and delivering a consistently
“These guidelines are working docu-
high-quality product across both our
ments. We must constantly improve the
Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL brands.”
product going forward,” he says.
Over the next five years, Pan Pacific
“Right now, I’m temperature checking Hotels Group will look to add more hotel all of our properties to see where we
properties across Asia-Pacific and
are along this journey and I’m happy
Europe and widening its global opera-
to say that there are sure signs of
tions. Interestingly, as the footprint gets
Cinnamon Show Kitchen, PARKROYAL Penang Resort, Malaysia
bigger, Whitehead believes the food and
A good hotel, or a good restaurant, will
beverage offering will get smaller.
rebuild their concept for today’s market
The reason for this, he feels, is the rise of third-party food delivery companies.
with an eye on tomorrow’s. Then they will innovate and redefine it again.”
“You can now eat whatever you want, whenever you want it,” he says. “Hotels in the future will design smaller F&B offerings, which are super-focused on what the consumer wants from their dining – and
Sincerely Yours
not necessarily hotel – experience.” “There will always be demand for F&B. w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m
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