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F & B : KITCHEN DESIGN
Plates , the resort ’ s all-day dining facility .
At both , large island-style grills in the center of the show kitchen optimize the experience for up to eight participants , allowing them to easily interact with the instructor and get hands-on experience , Susan explains . Counter-height refrigeration and storage units surrounding the island are topped with marble and stainless steel to create two types of expansive work surfaces . The layout also keeps “ everything we need close at hand and easy to find . Our philosophy is to make everything accessible so the class can move quickly and keep the guests involved ,” Susan says .
Anantara builds kitchens with cooking classes in mind . t
Tops in tech
Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago needed to optimize every bit of space in its 4,650-sq-ft ( 432-sq-m ) kitchen .
PROPERTY :
Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago
LOCATION : Chicago
TYPE OF KITCHENS :
Banquet and satellite
PROJECT DESIGNER : Carlson Hotels
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES :
High-tech equipment t
Today , when the show kitchen reigns supreme , “ the banquet kitchen has been sorely neglected ,” says Christer Larsson , vice president of food and beverage for Minnetonka , Minnesota-based Carlson Hotels . “ Yet we serve high-caliber restaurant food , not banquet food , and do things as well as they ’ re done in fine establishments .” Doing so for hundreds of guests at a time , however , requires resourceful facility planning and execution .
At the Radisson Blu opened last November in Chicago ’ s Aqua , a residential high-rise designed by architect Jeanne Gang , the 12,000-sq-ft ( 1,115- sq-m ) ground floor ballroom presented substantial challenges . It has floor-to-ceiling windows wrapping around two sides , so to preserve the design “ we had to compromise on kitchen size ,” Larsson says .
The solution was to maximize every bit of space in the 4,650-sq-ft ( 432-sq-m ) kitchen ; increase efficiency with state-of-the-art equipment ; and
eke out space for a 900-sq-ft ( 84-sq-m ) satellite kitchen at the far end of the ballroom for full houses . “ The ballroom can be divided in three , but when we have a full house we serve 600 from the main kitchen and 400 from the satellite ,” Larsson explains .
A cleverly concealed service corridor was installed along the length of the ballroom ’ s interior wall , surreptitiously cutting though the room ’ s entry — a compromise to spatial limitations — and ending in the long , narrow , galley-style satellite kitchen . But the ballroom ’ s high ceilings afforded the opportunity to build a 900-sq-ft ( 84- sq-m ) mezzanine for storage in the main kitchen , accessed by a service elevator . “ You need a lot of space to store all the different service pieces , china and glassware for 1,000 , and this holds everything ,” Larsson notes .
The main kitchen is divided into two chambers — one for cooking and the other cooled to about 60 degrees F ( 16 degrees C ) for making anything requiring chilling . In the former , two tall convection combi-ovens cook plated food on carts ( each holds 87 ), which are then transferred to hotboxes . Some get rolled down to the satellite kitchen for serving . The system eliminates the use of bulky plate covers , Larsson notes . Blast chillers the same size can also immediately cool the racked carts if a dish requires it for holding until serving time . “ None of this is common equipment ,” Larsson says , “ and it ’ s all arranged so you can go from station to station when you prepare and dish up food .”
The hotel opened with a packed schedule of functions for the remarkable ballroom . And so far , so good : “ The design is working perfectly ,” Larsson says .
54 HOTELS April 2012 www . hotelsmag . com