F & B
“ IT ’ S NOT LIKE IN THE OLD DAYS WHEN ( CHILDREN ) WERE TOLD WHAT TO EAT . THEY SPEAK OUT . THEY ARE VERY EDUCATED ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS , SUSTAINABILITY , ETHICAL SOURCING .”
REMON ALPHENAAR , SONEVA FUSHI , MALDIVES
At the Kimpton Hotel Palomar in Washington , D . C ., Urbana Executive Chef Ethan McKee offers a pasta-making course ; here , kids from a local school make a pasta filling .
Israel . That ’ s not to say that all families want healthy options or that those who opt to eat healthy don ’ t also want to indulge on vacation .
“ They ’ re asking for more vegetables — colorful vegetables of green , purple , white and orange ,” Spiegel says . “ They ’ re also eating much more vegetarian foods than meats , and when they do eat meat , they enjoy better kinds of meat and meats that are prepared healthier like shawarma , which is roasted on a spit .”
“ Kids are more sensitive to their health than ever before ,” says Sandro Gamba , executive chef at the Rosewood Hotel , Hong Kong . “ This can manifest as being very conscious of what certain foods can bring to them and how they will affect not just their own well-being but also how they affect the well-being of those around them .”
Gamba points out that kids have access to more information than ever . “ Today ’ s kids are incredibly conscious and responsible for the way they eat ,” he says . “ This will come true not just now , but
WHAT MAKES A
GREAT KID ’ S MENU ?
Made-from-scratch ingredients : “ Our kid ’ s menu reflects the way I cook dinner for my kids at home ,” says Ethan McKee , executive chef at Urbana restaurant at Kimpton Hotel Palomar , Washington , D . C . A variety of approaches : According to Didier Schneiter , executive chef for the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne , Switzerland , those are : healthy meals , classic cuisine , dishes that kids can compose themselves and “ more elaborate dishes to satisfy the most developed palates and those in search of novelties .”
Inventive desserts : “ So often , you go to this incredible hotel , and then they serve your kid three boring scoops of ice cream ,” says Guy Rigby , founder and president of Octopus consulting firm . “ If you bring out this enormous bowl with stuff sticking out of it and half the people in the room say , ‘ oh , I gotta have this thing ,’ then you ’ ve got a winner .” Beverage options : Smoothies , flavored waters served in elaborate carafes with fruit , fizzy waters , interesting lemonades and wild mocktails are all things kids enjoy — instead of sticking to water , Rigby says , because “ the hotel or restaurant hasn ’ t thought out what kids could have .” Forget the paper menu and crayons : Use technology instead , Rigby advises . “ If not , add the kid ’ s menu right to the adult ’ s menu . If you get the kids right , you get the parents right .” But remember room service : “ Often , our youngest guests are the most tuned in to room service menus , and the well-traveled ones know what they like ,” says Sandro Gamba , executive chef of Rosewood Hotel , Hong Kong .
46 hotelsmag . com November / December 2019