Appetisers

Experience-focused strategy and design collective Streetsense has acquired Pure Grey, Marriott International’s in-house F&B concept and operations consultancy.

The consultancy works across all hospitality segments, including licensing its own restaurant brands internationally. Highprofile venues it has acquired include Revel & Rye at the New York Marriott Marquis, Laurel Brasserie & Bar at The Grand America Hotel, Spice Market at Live Aqua San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, and Market Kitchen at the vibrant new W Algarve in Portugal.

“Streetsense’s well-established eat and drink studio combined with Pure Grey’s operations and concept development capabilities will provide our clients the opportunity to imagine, create, build and operate leading hospitality and hospitalityled food and beverage brands and places worldwide,” says Streetsense CEO Brian Taff.

“Streetsense is a long-term collaborator with deep knowledge of Marriott’s 30 hotel brands, our food and beverage operations and our mission to deliver exceptionally well-executed experiences that resonate with guests and our hotel owners,” adds Matthew Von Ertfelda, Senior Vice President, Global Operations, Marriott International. “We are thrilled for Streetsense to expand on Pure Grey’s expertise and continue to provide innovative food and beverage concepts and experiences to guests worldwide.”

The collective has also appointed Ed Viita, Pure Grey’s Senior Director, as its new Managing Director of Hospitality. Under Viita’s leadership, Pure Grey has become a leading hospitality, culinary and food and beverage consulting firm managing entire creative and operations teams. Viita has also developed independent restaurants, bars and hotels, including the world-renowned Artesian at The Langham, and was behind the relaunch of The Savoy.

© Courtesy of Can Bordoy

Tucked away in the historic quarter of Palma de Mallorca, Can Bordoy Grand House & Garden is known for its artfully eclectic visual compilation of contemporary design pieces and intriguing European antiques, set against the backdrop of a 500-year-old manor house. So when owner Mikael Hall and architecture studio OHLAB came to selecting a minibar for the hotel’s 24 luxurious suites, it was clear that the average refrigerator tucked away in the corner just wouldn’t suffice.

Enter the Can Bordoy Bar (CB-Bar). A playful and interactive celebration of both form and function, the bespoke piece of furniture is able to transform seamlessly from minibar, fridge and snack storage space to extendable desk or cocktail bar. It features integrated lighting and an inbuilt Audio Pro sound system with a custom-designed aged brass button station that complements the hotel’s penchant for retro-tinged nostalgia with modern capabilities.

Though undeniably hardworking, the CB-Bar exudes an easy nonchalance thanks to a palette of plush materials such as velvet fabrics, solid walnut and brass finishes, which contrast with the walls of the rooms that are left deliberately unfinished. Inspired by the Bordoy family’s return to Mallorca after emigrating to the USA in the 1920s and again in the 50s, the minibar channels the sleek hairpin legs and grooved wooden panelling of the Mid-Century Modern period, coexisting with its surroundings. Naturally, the bar comes equipped with all the necessary tools for guests to fix up a cocktail at whim; shakers, filters, stirring sticks and leather ice buckets are all housed neatly within. Premium wines and spirits such as Gramona Reserva Brut, Corpinnat, Monkey 47 Schwarzwald dry gin and Nikka Whisky from the barrel also come as standard, as do a variety of soft drinks and mixers. Chin chin.

East London Liquor Company (ELLC) is putting the pedal to the metal in its mission to become more sustainable. Following the recent launch of its Project Refill closed-loop sustainability initiative, the spirits brand has partnered with e-courier logistics company Pedal Me to double down on carbon savings.

To mark the collaboration, in October Pedal Me took the liquor brand’s Booze & Beats Bike Bar on a 420km round trip to Amsterdam’s International Cargo Bike Festival, ferrying 165kg of ELLC booze out, and returning each empty bottle to its Bow Wharf distillery to be refilled and given away.

The feat, which resulted in a total carbon saving of 200kg, coincides with ELLC’s expansion of Project Refill via the launch of sales of its gin, vodka and rum in 10-litre jerry cans. Trade accounts can order spirits in the kerbside recyclable format so that existing bottles can be refilled for the back bar and speed rail, while off-trade sites can invite customers to provide their own empty bottles for refill on the shop floor.

“We didn’t start Project Refill just to pat ourselves on the back,” says ELLC Founder Alex Wolpert. “It’s to share and grow to make it become as big a beast as we can. With every new account that signs up to the scheme, the more people are able to buy into the idea and the more powerful it can become.”

© Kevin Dutton

Traditionally the most compelling and elusive of culinary figures, the celebrity chef is habitually viewed from a safe distance – often via a TV screen or the glossy pages of a cookbook. But times are changing, and when it comes to the high-profile people responsible for their food, discerning diners are increasingly hungry for a slice of the action.

Enter: the rise of culinary tourism. Immersive F&B journeys with big-name chefs are now par for the course across the global hospitality industry – but particularly within the hotel sector, where the notion of the one-off, the pop-up and the temporary residency seems to lend an element of intimacy to eating out that food-focused travellers crave. From BBQ lunches

to master classes, chefs are engaging with hotel guests more than ever before.

Recently, hotel behemoth Hilton’s 2023 Trends Report found that 84% of its customers hope to travel just as much, if not more, in this coming year than the last – and crucially, while travelling, they expect to gravitate towards “engaging and diverse experiences and events”. It’s a trend that the group is already catering to – particularly in the arena of F&B, where unique culinary packages have proven to be a hit over the past 12 months. These include celebrity chef weekends in resort destinations such as Mexico, where the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal recently hosted events with big names including Kim Alter, Nancy Silverton and barbecue legend Ronnie Killen, and the Conrad Algarve in Portugal, which saw seven of the region’s Michelin-starred chefs convene onsite in October to celebrate International Chef Day, led by Heinz Beck.

Hilton expects to build on the success of these initiatives in 2023, doubling down on destination-focused packages across its global portfolio. “Looking foward, we anticipate that destination-focused culinary travel packages will continue to increase in popularity – whether it be celebrity chef culinary weekends like those at Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, which sold out within days, or experiences that reflect and complement the surrounding destination,” says Adam Crocini, Senior Vice President of Global Food & Beverage brands, Hilton. In addition to big-name chef activations, the group is leveraging its guest loyalty programme to encourage members to engage with local culinary culture – be that making fresh dim sum at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island or baking a Royal Praline cake at Hilton Kuala Lumpur.

And the group isn’t alone in seeking to harness the power of immersive F&B events. Dorchester Collection’s Hotel Bel-Air runs a Visiting Chef series that regularly attracts top talent in the industry: for 2022, the initiative kicked off with an alfresco barbeque helmed by Wolfgang Puck, Francis Mallmann and Nancy Silverton, among others. Ace Hotel Kyoto is kickstarting 2023 with a residency by Noma chef René Redzepi, while Maldivian resort Soneva Fushi has garnered attention for the rotating line-up of culinary stars it welcomes to its fine dining zip-line restaurant, Flying Sauces.

The trend plays to the strengths of large hotel groups, whose diverse locations and vast networks facilitate tailoring bespoke, locationsensitive experiences for guests at an individual property level – and it’s a positive cycle. As Crocini confirms: “This increased demand has given our food and beverage team members the opportunity to flex their creative muscles and develop high-quality programmes.”