Mr. Batters

Food & Beverage

Creating a Non-traditional Banquet Service for Meetings

By Kevin Batters, Vice President Food & Beverage, Stanford Hotels Corporation

Unique Catering Options

Most, if not all, of the major hotel companies have restaurants in their hotels. This allows for a fantastic opportunity and advantage when creating a unique banquet menu. The attitude my team has taken, is to reflect the theme of the restaurants at each property and allow this style to flow into banquets. Food and beverage directors must take great care and place major emphasis on not offering generic fare and items that seem to be on so many catering menus.

At our Waikiki property we have incorporated many of the popular dishes from the hotel's new 24-hour dining restaurant. The always open, serving anything and everything from the menu at any time of the day or night gives all guests the opportunity to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner at any time they desire. The catering department can now use items served in the restaurant and use them for meetings. The Meat Loaf and the Sumo Saimin are extremely popular dishes that are used for banquet menus. The Chef has also created a vegetarian menu, not just available as a substitute for people who choose not to eat meat or fish, but designed and incorporated into the flexible menu options.

At our Marriott hotel in San Diego, the banquet menus are centered around the offerings at that property's popular neighborhood restaurant. It features a large open view rotisserie and pizza oven. Many of the items on the banquet menu come directly from this equipment. The San Diego property specializes in corporate meetings from 10 to 100 people, and many of the items offered to these groups come directly from the restaurant. Some of these options include fresh sliced breast of rotisserie chicken on an open faced sandwich, fresh pizza, whole fish carved at each table and grilled hamburgers with assorted garnishes are an attractive option for a lunch meeting instead of the more traditional roll-in cold buffet or deli platter.

In Charlotte, our catering staff has learned to be extremely creative by finding options that are also interactive for the guest. A "Tour de France" lunch option incorporates stations presenting regional French cuisine from the major stops on the original Tour de France route. A South American Kitchen in the hotel's ballroom includes culinary stations with chefs preparing and presenting national and regional dishes from that part of the world. Stations are supported by props and decorated landscapes set up as background staging.

Staff can also find ways to highlight any ho-hum presentation with illuminated skirting on buffets and cake tables, ice sculptures on lighted pedestals and elegant set-ups in cooperation with outside d'ecor vendors.

Does this take more time and planning? Certainly. But the guest is getting fresh food, better options and an elevated level of service. How many guests would say they thoroughly enjoyed that pre-made and/or pre-plated roast beef and cheddar roll-up?

Unusual experiences through service

The food isn't always the only highlight of a meeting or banquet. The catering staff is an integral piece to the puzzle, and can stand out by the level of service they provide. Guests have been impressed with how banquet staff actually serve the meals. For instance, silent or "military" service is sometimes used as a new and different approach. Many groups enjoy a wine Sommelier who can select pairings for special dinner events. Sometimes these wine pairings are done as a special event before the main lunch/dinner.

Some other enjoyable ways that leave an impression on groups are banquet staff members who give that extra special attention to detail. Human "arrows" directing guests to their special event have been a fun way to implement that special touch. We have also had representatives from our Charlotte property gather staff from all departments to line up and say, "Good bye, thank you and y'all come back and see us again."

Menus with flexibility

It is extremely important that the food & beverage director develops a menu that is flexible and offers the best ingredients possible. Most restaurant chefs are now working with local farms that offer regional items, so menus must be continually designed and updated to reflect changes to dishes that require seasonal ingredients.

It's also imperative that one member of the catering sales staff works closely with the meeting planner so all visions and goals are met. Having a designated contact from the beginning to the end of the process makes it a better experience for the planner.

Theme menus can be created for clients hosting special events. To celebrate a recent charity event for the Charlotte Philharmonics, dessert became the "Final Curtain of Fire." Crepes Suzettes were served on the dance floor where six chefs flamb'eed at the same time creating a "wall or curtain" of fire all at once, using lowered lighting and powerful spots to create the finale.

Good options for large groups

Rotisserie chicken, specialty pizzas and gourmet burgers are great options for meetings, but when the group winds up being 50 people or more, delivering those types of items can prove operationally challenging. With large groups, new measures need to be taken to provide customized menus and service that will make a great impression.

At a recent event at the Charlotte hotel, a group of 2,000 attendees came for a local event. We provided 18 bars, 12 buffet stations, service on two levels using the main plaza and the outside clock tower plaza at the adjacent Wachovia headquarters.

Properties can also tie in themes of surrounding attractions to showcase the region. A large group in Charlotte was introduced to a fun take on a NASCAR themed dinner. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is currently under construction, next to the Hilton Charlotte Center City and the Charlotte Convention Center. The banquet staff organized a special option event with racecars on display and food and beverage stations set up on mini racetracks to reflect racetrack dining.

As we move towards more new concepts within food and beverage, we must continue to look for innovative ways to make the banquet food and beverage experience more attractive for out guests.

As VP of food and beverage for Stanford Hotels, Kevin Batters wprks with staff at 13 properties to find new ideas and unique ways to offer food and beverage. He develops and improves catering and banquet functions, increases consistency and quality, and to promotes excellent service. Mr. Batters is a graduate of the Hotel School at Westminster College, London. His career began with the Hilton International trainee/management program, working at the Hilton Park Lane, Hilton Orly and the Paris Hilton. He moved on to Trust House Forte in Bermuda in various positions in July 2006. Mr. Batters can be contacted at 415-398-3333 or kbatters@stanfordhotels.com Extended Bio...

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