Hotel food is getting healthier
It’s becoming almost impossible to get a junk-food fix at many major hotels, as they steadily give their restaurant menus Whole Foods-style makeovers.
Recently, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts unveiled possibly the broadest healthy food policy yet among major chains, saying customers want it.
Once rolled out, customers at fullservice Hyatt hotels will see more upscale-looking menus that describe organic vegetables, seafood, meat and dairy produced without chemicals. Portions will be smaller, trimming calorie counts, says Susan Santiago, Hyatt’s vice-president of food and beverage.
Favourite dishes, such as a hamburger, will still be on the menu but will look different.
The Meyer Natural Angus Burger will replace the existing, unbranded burger. It will be made with seven ounces of beef instead of eight, and have 817 calories vs. 1,176, before condiments.
“We’re not putting our customers on a diet,” says Susan Terry, Hyatt’s culinary vice-president.
“We’re not saying that every single item on the menu is going to be focused on health and wellness. They are still eating hamburgers, so what we’re focused on is how we can make that hamburger the best it could be.”
Later this year, producers will begin supplying Hyatt hotels with shrimp free of tripolyphosphates, an additive used to artificially plump up shrimp, she says.
Hyatt’s announcement comes amid growing concerns about obesity.
Frequent traveller Hickson Chen looks for healthy food when on the road.
“I ate breakfast at the Westin Casaurina (in Las Vegas) today and I avoided many things at the buffet,” he said.
Marriott’s 56-location JW Marriott brand has moved in this direction. But putting the Marriott chain, with more than 500 locations around the world, on a healthier course is more difficult because of its size and remote locations, says Brad Nelson, Marriott’s corporate chef. Between Marriott’s programs and, now, Hyatt’s, they’ll be better able to pressure food suppliers to change objectionable practices, he says.
“From a scale perspective, we’re really exerting influence and pressure on our (large) suppliers,” Nelson says.
“For example, we’ve been working with one of the major pork producers to supply natural and pure bacon.”
Among actions by other chains: Starwood: Westin hotels recently expanded its “Superfoods” menu to offer such items as green-tea-infused salmon. Sheraton hotels recently rolled out a new approach to nutrition that focuses on key nutrients from colourful fruit and vegetables. Hilton: Hilton last year launched breakfast menus at Hilton and Doubletree hotels that provide healthy options. The company is working on several restaurant concepts that focus on healthy, local and fresh, says Beth Scott, Hilton food and beverage vice-president for fullservice hotels. Fairmont: The 63-location luxury chain rolled out its Lifestyle Cuisine program in 2008 that called for hotels to use sustainable, locally sourced and organically grown products whenever possible for all food service operations. Earlier this year, Fairmont expanded the program to its kids’ menus.