f Metairie, Louisiana-based Expotel Hospitality Services had a middle name, it might be innovation. Seven years ago, in their ongoing efforts to set themselves apart from the crowded world of hospitality management and hotel ownership companies, Expotel partnered with famed New Orleans Chef John Folse and created the Lafitte’s Real New Orleans Food and All That Jazz food and beverage concept.

According to Nick Agostinelli, corporate director of F&B for Expotel, Lafitte’s Real New Orleans Food and All That Jazz is considered to be one of the most unique and progressive restaurant concepts in the hospitality industry.

“The goal is to offer an authentic dining experience far exceeding that of the average hotel restaurant,” explains Agostinelli, who oversees this concept, procurement, and also serves as the liaison with hotel chefs. “New Orleans cuisine—Cajun, Bayou, and Creole—was selected in part because Expotel is New Orleans-based. It also has broad appeal, considered by many to be comfort food.”

One of the real keys to the success of the Lafitte’s restaurant concept is the relationship with Chef Folse. Together, they turned Folse’s highly successful Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant into a turn-key concept, with no detail overlooked, including the Mardi Gras beads presented to guests upon check-in at the hostess stand, which also decorate the tables; restaurant design, decor, and signage; china (all plates are white, 12 inches in diameter, and include the Lafitte logo); and the recipes, menus, and food products. All of these are researched, developed, and produced in a 32,000-square-foot facility in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and then shipped on refrigerated trucks by common carrier to each Lafitte restaurant, regardless of distance. Currently, Expotel manages 12 properties in 7 states: Embassy Suites in Schaumburg, Illinois, and Phoenix; Crowne Plaza, Charlotte, North Carolina; Holiday Inn, Brentwood, Tennessee; the Hilton at Rialto Place, Melbourne, Florida; Doubletree, Denver; and the following hotels in the New Orleans metropolitan area: Pontchartrain Hotel, St. Christopher Hotel, Best Western Inn at the Airport, Doubletree, Hampton Inn, and St. Charles Hotel.

Agostinelli believes this restaurant concept has numerous benefits for guests, chefs, and hotel proprietors. From the guest standpoint, quality and portions are consistent from location to location because products are manufactured at the plant or offsite kitchen. Core menu items are the same at every restaurant, although pricing can vary. Each restaurant has a proprietary menu page in order to offer local favorites, such as fried chicken or catfish, he adds.

“All Lafitte’s restaurants follow the same stringent attention to detail in the production and presentation of our food, ensuring consistency and quality from location to location. Lafitte’s offers the freshest and finest ingredients in a variety of affordable dishes,” Agostinelli says.

Another guest benefit is speed of service. “Orders go from kitchen to table in 15 minutes or less,” Agostinelli says. “The sauce accompanying the plate is what sets it off. The sauces that come to us are so tasty.”

In fact, because of the flawlessness of the concept, Agostinelli says one of his most memorable successes was their ability to serve 175 covers in 90 minutes the very day they rolled out the Lafitte’s concept in Phoenix.

REEL DEAL
The true test of success is that guests who know “real Louisiana food” concur that Lafitte’s authentic dishes such as Jambalaya, Crawfish Etouffee, Seafood Gumbo, and fresh fish are indeed the “reel deal.”

The signature dessert is the Pontchartrain Mile High Pie, originally served at the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans. Agostinelli says this pie stands 12 inches tall and includes Neapolitan and peppermint ice cream and a meringue coating that is browned, then topped with cherries and fresh chocolate shavings. Pirates Punch is their signature drink, made with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum.

Chef reaction to the Lafitte’s restaurant concept also is extremely positive, Agostinelli says.

“A question I’m often asked is, ‘How do chefs feel about the concept?’” Agostinelli says. “Chefs love the concept. Because the products have a stable shelf life, it’s easier to keep on top of things every day. It’s chef-friendly.”

Mark Kucera, executive VP of operations for Expotel, echoes the sentiment that Lafitte’s frees up chefs to be more creative in other areas.

“Our Lafitte’s restaurant concept provides a labor cost-effective hotel restaurant solution that ensures consistency in product delivered to the table in our restaurants, thus allowing our chefs to concentrate their creative skills on developing and delivering customized menus for our banquet and catering guests,” Kucera explains.

Agostinelli notes that the Lafitte’s concept is used for room service and banquets and catering, in addition to the restaurant. It also lends itself to successful Mardi Gras-theme dinners because it gives guests a true taste of New Orleans, he adds.

The Lafitte’s concept also is a benefit for hotel operators. According to Agostinelli, it reduces staffing requirements and payroll and increases operating efficiencies through food selection, inventory, and portion control, making financial cents and sense.

MEGA MANUFACTURING FACILITY
According to Expotel information, the manufacturing plant or offsite kitchen was designed to USDA specifications, housing an office for a fulltime USDA employee to oversee operations. The plant operates 7 days a week, 364 days a year, with approximately 100 culinologists (a discipline that combines culinary arts and food technology), microbiologists, and skilled laborers.

Every product made for distribution begins with research and development in the Culinary Center, where a recipe that would serve 6 is reproduced in a 5,000-pound batch. Producing such large quantities of food is made possible with 4 kettles that produce 10 tons of product every hour; each batch is periodically tested to assure quality and consistency.

Security and safety also are heightened. The plant is under constant video surveillance, and employees undergo fingerprint scans before gaining access to the plant floor.

With the exception of dry storage, the entire plant floor is refrigerated and equipped with a blast freezer. With coolers and freezers operating at capacity, 350,000 tons of product can be maintained onsite.

The plant produces more than 100 products, including soups, sauces, vegetables, entrées, desserts, and dry mixes, both fresh and frozen.

Agostinelli says the Lafitte’s restaurant concept is available to other ownership or management companies for a “minimal fee.”

“The Lafitte’s restaurant concept is a full concept, ready to go in order to make money. It’s not just an amenity,” Agostinelli says.

He says Expotel hopes to add three to four restaurants annually.

Expotel is also in the development stages of a “Lafitte’s Express” concept, Agostinelli adds.

Susan Bard Hall is a frequent contributor to HOTEL F&B