Corporate retreats—being one part vacation, one part nose to the grindstone—offer a refreshing challenge when it comes to food and beverage. What’s required, not surprisingly, is a different sort of mindset.

“I would say that it is a very different animal,” says Michelle Caporicci, senior director of meetings and special events for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Chevy Chase, Maryland. “People are definitely, definitely, looking for the unique experiences. You want something that is going to be an experience someone may not have had, ever, or would have to travel far for. They don't want just a cookie-cutter experience or event.”

“Attendees,” Caporicci continues, “want an adventure. They're willing to take more risks: food stations, signature drinks, and unique fresh cocktails. In some cases, they're willing to really go out there and try unique ethnic cuisine.”

“It’s very individualized,” says Thad Hoyt, food and beverage director at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay.

The foodservice strategy must be “based on the needs of the client and type of event. Is it a teambuilding event? An incentive for sales managers? It varies, but it's highly specialized,” Hoyt says.

Ellen Burke Van Slyke, food and beverage director at Loews Coronado Bay Resort & Spa in Coronado, California, says she sees “pretty much the same challenges or opportunities you have with any group. Do they have a limited budget? Do they want to do some food and beverage activities as part of the team building?”

“We’ve always tried to go over the top with these groups,” says Marty Faurer, director of food and beverage at the Don CeSar Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. “Whether it's a different buffet design, different upscale food products, or different plate presentations, we're showcasing ourselves to folks who may not normally come here.”

Beth Poslusny, director of catering and conference services at the Inn on Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina, works to incorporate her foodservice seamlessly into the corporate event. If the group chooses an activity like skeet shooting, for example, the food and beverage staff prepares a high-end box lunch to take along. “We're always looking at where else we can sell them food and beverage. There's always a meal, there's always a snack time. We don't just say, ‘Let's send them off to do this activity.’ It's, ‘What can we send with them from a food and beverage standpoint that they can enjoy?’”

From rafting trips to horseback riding, carriage rides, and more, Biltmore provides lots of outdoor activities for retreat attendees. Providing foodservice at these outdoor locations “might mean bringing out a grill or other items with which to prepare the meal,” Poslusny says. “We may not even have electricity at that spot, so if you’re looking at a challenge, that's it.”

Though the mission is out of the ordinary, Van Slyke says food and beverage executives can be creative and stay within budget. “Say the client wants something contemporary in terms of hors d'oeuvres but has a limited budget. You're not serving foie gras and caviar, but what you can do is something like a Mediterranean crostini station with fresh vegetables, purées, hummus, and things like that. You can make it really fresh and vibrant and still keep the cost at a reasonable place.”

Coronado Bay recently hosted a Women in Leadership group for an event called the Art of Expression. At lunch, attendees found a canvas and paints waiting for them. The menu included wine, chicken salad, and melon gazpacho, “all cold foods that could be easily managed while they were painting,” says Van Slyke.

For another retreat, Van Slyke and her staff “marched” attendees out of their meeting rooms to the resort’s 3,800-square-foot herb garden, where the chef and banquet staff were waiting. The program included a cooking demonstration using fresh herbs, samples of lemon verbena iced tea, mint pesto fresh from the garden, and goat cheese crostinis with a mint pesto dipping sauce. “We had sort of a picnic. The garden also overlooks the bay, and the break went on for 40 minutes instead of the standard 10 or 15, just to give people a chance to experience the property and do something that was very different.”

Special equipment is brought in as needed, including popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cone machines, powered by mobile generators, says Van Slyke. “We're right next to the Pacific Ocean, and we cater on the beach a lot, so we have to rent equipment.”

Ritz-Carlton personnel “try to stay away from your traditional chafing dish and coffee urn,” says Caporicci. “We’re using things someone may have at home, like cast iron skillets and cappuccino machines. People are very savvy with entertaining and cuisine and want to see things that they can use in their own homes.”

Still more opportunity comes from meeting attendees who bring their families along, adds Caporicci. “We will take care of their families on site as we would any other guests. They have different needs. We may have separate activities or provide information on local attractions while the attendees are in session.”

Offsite banqueting operations have to be “very flexible,” suggests Hoyt, who has catered dinners on a skipjack, a wooden wind-powered vessel used to drudge for oysters. “There are nine in existence. We've done a team-building exercise where we got two of them together to see which team can collect the biggest and best oysters. Then we prepared a dinner with those oysters right on the boat in the middle of the bay.” Other locales have included large colonial estates. “In this part of the country, we are surrounded by a lot of agricultural open space with a lot of history.”

Equipment changes “dramatically” from venue to venue, Hoyt confirms. “Almost everything we do requires a specialized piece of equipment. Sometimes we need to have them fabricated; sometimes we can just pick it up off the shelf. It's certainly not a one-size-fits-all catering program that we do. We go and find those vendors who can supply us with those particular pieces.”

A corporate group of 20 recently wanted a “completely different and very local experience,” recalls Hoyt. He contacted a farmer, asked him to bring his equipment—John Deere tractors and Massey combines—and staged a farmers’ market where attendees selected and then cooked their own ingredients. “We really dressed up the area as if we were at a farm instead of waterside at a four-star hotel.”

Advice From The Pros
What has experience shown these veterans?

The initial interview with the client to learn about the company and the mission of the retreat is “an absolute necessity,” Hoyt insists. “You can't function in this market without doing that.”

“First and foremost, don't assume,” says Hoyt. “Invest all the time you can in listening to your client. Try to pick apart what they're telling you, what it is they're looking for. Don't try to package something. Tailor everything to their needs.

That's probably the biggest ‘don't’ that a lot of people fall victim to. In the end, they are the ones who are going to tell you whether or not you did a good job.”

“Don't let them stay in old, boring habits,” Van Slyke advises. “Make them do something fresh because, in the long run, they appreciate your guidance and creative voice. They want their people to be invigorated at these meetings and to see something new.”

Food and beverage personnel should, too.