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Mr. Clarke

Troy Clarke

Food & Beverage Director, Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston

Troy Clarke is passionate about food and beverage. He recently joined the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston as Director of Food & Beverage. In this role, he oversees all food and beverage operations at the hotel, including the hotel's extensive banquet operation for conferences, weddings and social events; ArtBar Restaurant & Patio; the culinary team, the pastry shop, the beverage team, mini-bar, and in-room dining for the property. The Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston features 22,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and 400 luxurious guest rooms at its location on the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge. On a day to day basis, Mr. Clarke manages budgets, forecasting, menu development, payroll, creative direction and operational opportunities for an $8.4 million operation for Sonesta. This gives him plenty of opportunity to use his strong leadership, innovation and quality control skills. His strategic thinking has made him a leader in hospitality food and beverage, always seeking new trends to share with his team to aide in their growth and development, as well as showing how important knowing who and what you are is to the continued success of your establishment. Mr. Clarke has over 17 years experience in food and beverage with prior management roles at Loews Miami Beach, the Pfister Hotel, Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, Ritz-Carlton Boston and the Westin Copley Place Boston. Through the years he has worked in all aspects of food and beverage, from washing dishes, waiting tables through banquet manager and outlets manager. In each position he found the opportunity to continue with his education as a sommelier - a personal passion through the years. Mr. Clarke is active in several professional organizations, including membership in the Society of Wine Educators, the United States Bartenders Guild, Guild of Sommeliers, American Sommelier, and is also a Hotel F&B Council Member. He is a candidate for Best Sommelier in America 2011.

Mr. Clarke can be contacted at 617-806-4301 or tclarke@sonesta-boston.com

Coming up in August 2020...

Food & Beverage: New Technological Innovations

In the past few years, hotel food and beverage departments have experienced significant growth. Managers are realizing just how much revenue potential this sector holds, both in terms of additional revenue and as a means to enhance the guest experience. As a result, substantial investments are being made in F&B operations as a way to satisfy hotel guests but also to keep pace with the competition. Though it has been a trend for many years, the Farm-to-Table movement shows no signs of abating. Hotel chains are abandoning corporate restaurants and are instead partnering with local chefs to create locally-influenced dining options. Local, farm-sourced ingredients paired with specialty beverages or local wine also satisfies the increasing demand from Millennial travelers who are eager to travel sustainably and contribute to a positive impact. A farm-to-table F&B program also helps to support the local economy, which builds community goodwill. Also popular are "Self-Serv" and "Grab & Go" options. These concepts stem from an awareness that a guest's time is limited and if a hotel can supply them with fast, fresh, food and beverage choices, then so much the better for them. Plus, by placing these specialty kiosks in areas that might be traditionally under-utilized (the lobby, for instance), they can become popular destination locations. Of course, there are new technological innovations as well. In-room, on-screen menus allow guests to order from any restaurant on the property, and some hotels are partnering with delivery companies that make it possible for guests to order food from any restaurant in the area. Also, many hotels are implementing in-room, voice-activated devices, so ordering food via an AI-powered assistant will soon become mainstream as well. The August issue of the Hotel Business Review will report on these developments and document what some leading hotels are doing to expand this area of their business.


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