Steven Cummings
Sudha Sologar
Tony Breeze
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Steven Cummings
Executive Assistant Manager, Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, Arizona
“Loews Hotels developed a healthy kids’ initiative
in 2005 to encourage working Moms and Dads to
bring their kids along on their business travel. The
program includes activities to keep the kids occupied
while their parents are busy,
as well as healthy but fun
kid cuisine. So, in addition
to kid-pleasing fare like
pizza and macaroni and
cheese, we developed our
‘Quenchers Menu,’ which
encourages kids to drink
beverages other than sodas.
We even have a ‘Quench
Meister,’ who is an expert in
concocting healthy drinks,
like a sommelier in a fine
dining restaurant. Our meister greets parents in the dining room and promotes the
drinks. We offer the ‘Pink Cow,’ which is a milk and strawberry smoothie; the
‘Monkey Business,’ which is a banana, coconut, and chocolate soymilk shake;
‘Tropical Ardor,’ which is pineapple, coconut, and seasonal berry; the ‘Berry, Berry
Good,’ which is blueberries, raspberries, and nonfat yogurt; and the ‘Purple Nurple,’
which is a blend of grains, pomegranates, and seltzer water. In addition to these new
healthy drinks, we improved on our previous kids’ menu by now baking our
chicken wings instead of frying them, grinding our own turkey meat to make turkey
burgers, and offering vegetable quesadillas. Even before kids order their dinner, we
automatically bring out healthy appetizers, such as celery and carrot sticks, jicama,
and fresh tomatoes, all served with yogurt or ranch dressing.”
Sudha Sologar
Executive Chef, Embassy Suites Hotel, Bellevue, Washington
“I’d say about 50 percent or more of the kids
who come here tend to order either chicken or
shrimp, 20 percent order macaroni and cheese,
and 10 percent order peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches—and most still want a plate of
French fries. We do have fresh fruit and vegetable
plates on the menu but
they just don’t get
ordered as much by kids.
Certainly the parents try
to steer their kids to
these healthier choices,
but most of the time
they are met with
resistance. What is funny
about kids is they will
absolutely load up their plates at our complimentary breakfast bars. They will fill their cereal bowls
until they are overflowing, and when they come to the omelet station they
select so many ingredients that it’s impossible to fit them all into an omelet!
And, oh boy, once they see the pastries, they have no qualms about grabbing
one of each! And you’d have to see our pastries to appreciate why it’s a
classic case of the eyes being bigger than the stomach because our pastries
are so big that one would satisfy an adult’s appetite!”
Tony Breeze
Executive Chef, Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa, and Marina,
Cambridge, Maryland
About nine months ago we developed a new
thematic kids’ menu, offered at all the Hyatt Hotels
in our three-meal
restaurants. It’s called
Johnny Venture World
Discovery, and it was
created by a team of Hyatt
senior chefs and F&B
directors following
extensive research, which
included feedback from the
kids themselves on what
they like to eat. The
breakfast portion is called
‘Sunrise Safari,’ and consists
of scrambled eggs, bacon,
hash browns, pancakes,
cold cereals, waffles, and
fresh fruit. The lunch and
dinner menu is called the
‘Main Tour,’ and features
entrées such as chicken
nuggets with corn on the
cob; hot dogs; pasta and
meatballs; chicken
quesadillas; grilled cheese sandwiches; and miniburgers. Although we offer carrot
and celery sticks as healthy substitutes, frankly I have to say the kids still prefer
chips or fries to the more healthy alternatives. We also have a freestanding
restaurant at the Marina called the Blue Point Provision Company, which offers a
kid’s menu. This restaurant specializes in innovative preparations of really fresh
seafood. In addition, grilled chicken breasts are a popular option for the kids.
Weddings are a significant part of our summer business, inclusive of children and
their special meals on the menu. When we first opened just over four years ago,
we received a number of complaints directly from the kids telling us they didn’t
want the different foods on their plates to touch each other. We now place as
much emphasis on the presentation of kids’ meals as we do a high-end gourmet
dinner in the restaurant. This includes presenting their Mac n’ Cheese in a fluted
ramekin so the liquid does not run onto the chicken and beans. Chopped parsley
would be considered ‘weird’ so it’s a big ‘no no.’”
Pam Leigh is a frequent contributor to HOTEL F&B. |
