Sheraton Standardizes F&B

NEW YORK Starwood Hotels and Resorts today launched a new food and beverage initiative for its Sheraton brand in North America. Targeted at business travelers particularly road warriors going from property to property “Cuisine Essentials” is built around a core of comfort foods. It represents more than a $300,000 investment to raise the f&b standard for the brand. “We started to review all aspects of the Sheraton Hotel experience when we redefined [the brand s]position a year ago primarily operational excellence. When we got to food and beverage, we realized we had quite a lot of good food, but really all over the map,” said Jane Mackie, vp-marketing for the brand. “While all of our chefs were focused on quality, there was no focus on consistency. If you re a road warrior in three different [Sheratons] in a week, why should the turkey club sandwich be different?” Developed by Sheraton s corporate chef Richard Faeh, 30 of the most popular menu items, such as hamburgers, soups, salads and sandwiches are being revamped to conform to standard presentations and recipes. Each individual chef can add regional favorites to the core menu. The program is rolling out first in some 100 Starwood owned and managed Sheratons in the U.S. and Canada. (12/7/00) Stefani C. O Connor