F & B : KITCHEN DESIGN
The kitchen at Far Niente at St . Regis Bora Bora includes a traditional red brick pizza oven that cooks the pies in about five minutes .
A Grillworks Infierno wood-burning grill in the exhibition kitchen at Tom Colicchio ’ s Heritage Steak at The Mirage allows proteins to be cooked quickly before they are finished and plated in the restaurant ’ s main kitchen .
The Asian kitchen at Locavore at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort features a portioned boiler so chefs can prepare items ranging from noodles to dumplings a la minute .
EQUIPPED FOR SUCCESS
Tom Colicchio ’ s Heritage Steak , which opened at The Mirage in Las Vegas last summer , was designed to showcase Colicchio ’ s passion for cooking with fire . To that end , the restaurant ’ s 400-sq-ft ( 37-sq-m ) exhibition kitchen — which supplements a 2,150-sq-ft ( 200-sq-m ) main kitchen — includes a Wood Stone pizza oven , a Japanese robata grill and a Grillworks Infierno wood-burning grill .
“ It creates delicious aromas throughout the main dining room , and the visual warmth created by the grill ’ s flames is a focal point ,” says Julian Griffiths , The Mirage ’ s vice president of F & B .
Far Niente , the Italian restaurant that opened at St . Regis Bora Bora last
September , also includes specialized equipment in the kitchen to support its cuisine , such as a red brick pizza oven . “ It cooks the pizza in approximately five minutes and helps us get a crispy crust ,” says F & B Manager Vincent Durier .
Locavore , the all-day-dining restaurant at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort in Thailand , which opened last spring , includes Western , Asian and pastry kitchens to produce a number of specialized dishes . In the Asian kitchen , for example , a portioned boiler contains separate sections for preparing soup stock , boiling noodles , blanching vegetables and steaming dumplings so chefs can make a variety of items a la minute .
Chefs certainly want the latest and greatest when it comes to kitchen equipment , but Scott Rosenberg , senior vice
president / principal at JN + A / HVS Design in Rockville , Maryland , cautions that making the most out of every piece of equipment is key . “ The main return on investment comes with equipment that can create more menu items and knowing when ingredients prepared using that equipment can be used in several menu items ,” Rosenberg says .
As for the future , Stéphane Bellon , vice president of corporate F & B for Kempinski Hotels , Geneva , Switzerland , predicts the “ local ” mantra evident on restaurant menus will impact the kitchen too . “ I see more ‘ local ’ equipment being designed to fit into our kitchens , especially in Asia — ice-shaving machines or Taiwanese ice cream machines , for example , which can be used front of house for show ,” Bellon says .
38 HOTELS May 2014 www . hotelsmag . com