Special RepoRt : Leadership
Bistrot B Lounge and Wine Room at Rosewood Beijing pragmatist and dreamer . “ I discovered how much I wanted the passion of cooking , of working together with different types of people and different nationalities – and of better career prospects than being a waiter in the air .”
Even with both feet now firmly planted on the ground , first during a 16-year stint with Hyatt International , rising through the ranks to become director of F & B projects for Asia Pacific , and now as Rosewood ’ s F & B leader in Hong Kong , Suardi is still a big believer in blue-sky thinking and high-flying creativity . “ Often I wake up at night because I ’ m looking for some inspiration on something . Actually , most of the time it arrives when I ’ m asleep .”
It helps that he counts among his mentors maverick restaurateurs who have mastered the art of taking a lightbulb moment and translating it into profitable reality . “ When I was working with ( long-time Hyatt F & B executive ) Andreas Stalder , we were looking for a name for a restaurant that would be unique . One day he was apparently putting on his shirt to go to work and he saw the label , ‘ Made in China .’ It just fit and it became the name of an immensely popular restaurant in Beijing ,” Suardi says .
Editing that big-picture vision down into the structure of hotel restaurants still sometimes makes Suardi chafe . “ I feel that , because of the hotel environment and because of the locations we may be in , we need to be more practical and less creative . It ’ s a shame ,” he says . “ We still try to be creative but maybe with just a bit less craziness . You need to be smart and figure out different ways to express your creativity . But the perfect scenario would be to be crazy all the time .”
So , while he won ’ t share his next big idea , he does pinpoint a few trends he sees as doable , such as Mexican cuisine , Peruvian cooking , product-driven concepts , and small , sexy bars . And even if something doesn ’ t seem accessible , he ’ s the first one to speak up for what he believes in . “ In our business it ’ s like we are in a courtroom – sometimes you have to be on the defensive and sometimes on the attack .” he says .
52 HOTELS April 2015 www . hotelsmag . com