W
hen executive chef Kyle Griffith received a random call from a guest at the Omni Hotel Nashville , the day after a banquet , he was expecting the worst .
But when the guest met Griffith , “ the first thing she did was give him a hug ,” recalls Todd Roadarmel , area director of sales and marketing .
The reason ? Griffith had served jackfruit in carnitas , and the guest , Mary McLaughlin , is the founder of Trees that Feed Foundation , which plants jackfruit and breadfruit trees for farmers , and especially farmers who are also single mothers , who live around the equator , and then buys back the fruit . The trees produce vegan options to meat and absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide , which helps to offset emissions .
The meeting was in November , and the Tennessee hotel had been serving jackfruit for just a few months . When Griffith started experimenting with jackfruit , the hotel went through about 25 pounds every two months ; today , it is selling from 150 to 200 pounds every two months , with sales continuing to increase . “ A lot of vegans and vegetarians struggle with options at restaurants , and many hotels offer them the same sort of tofu , cauliflower steak and produce , but at our hotel , if one group is getting pork carnitas , the vegetarian ( within that group ) can also enjoy jackfruit carnitas ,” Griffith says .
The chef uses it in a Cuban sandwich , in chili and tossed with fennel as a sausage substitute for pizzas . “ This is just blossoming ,” he says . “ Customers care more about the sustainability of the products we use . And it ’ s an easy sell for our staff .”
It ’ s also financially good . “ Jackfruit ranges in price from US $ 2 to US $ 3 per pound , and if you look at a prime cut of meat , which goes for US $ 8.50 per pound or pork shoulder and chicken at US $ 1.80 a pound ,” he says .
When the hotel started purchasing jackfruit , its local supplier didn ’ t always have it in stock . “ There has been a small challenge , where we had to go two , almost three weeks out , if we had 500 people that wanted jackfruit on their menu , and we had to give them time to get that product in ,” Griffith says . “ Now , they ’ re keeping it in stock for us , and they ’ re pushing it to other hotels and restaurants in the area , and that ’ s probably all due to what we ’ ve done to get that product in .”
It could also be a boon to McLaughlin : Every year the hotel considers supporting different foundations , and for 2019 , Trees That Feed is “ at the top of our list ,” Roadamel says . “ We also are looking to find a vendor that will ship her ( jackfruit ) to Nashville , and that is one of the initiatives we want to start out with ,” he says .
Internorga Hamburg Europe ’ s leading trade show for foodservice and hospitality 15 – 19 March 2019
Heat lamp solid and aluminium
Made of solid brass , solid copper , black or chromium plated ( aluminium also silver and white ). Continuously adjustable from 850 – 1700 mm , complete with 250 W-infrared radiator .
Buffet heat lamp
Buffet-heat lamp with 250 W infrared lamp in 4 different colours : white , black , gold and chrome . Lamps with two individual on-off-switches .
Carving station
SCHOLL Apparatebau GmbH & Co . KG Zinhainer Weg 4 · D-56470 Bad Marienberg Phone : + 49 ( 0 ) 2661 / 98 68-0 www . scholl-gastro . de · info @ scholl-gastro . de
Carving station made of chrome nickel steel , digital adjustable from 30 – 100 ° C Carving surface with retaining lip . Incl . heat resistant carving board made of glass . Available with cough protection on guest side upon request .
Hall A3 Stand A3.409