Salute to Excellence?

Perhaps some of you have been to the Salute to Excellence in the past where the best of the best in our industry are celebrated on Saturday of the NRA show. This year had some interesting twists and would like to share them in this post.

The day began at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, which was different because the event is usually held all day at the Chicago Hilon and Towers. It opened with a very nice breakfast where students worked with mentors from the Women's Foodservice Forum to develop their "elevator speech" to be able to communicate something about themselves and their aspirations in foodservice while at their tables. They were given about 20 minutes to do so and then some volunteered to share their speeches and were quite impressive.

We then were treated to two hours of breakout sessions geared for faculty and students. The sessions for faculty started with a conversation about milennials and what that means for those who educate or employ them, which is a challenge as many of you may well know. The second session was a researcher from the NRAEF who gave a brilliant statistical analysis about the performance of the industry over the past 30 years and made projections into the future as to where the industry is heading. As you know, we are in the worst recession for the foodservice industry on record but things are expected to pick up by year's end. We also learned once again that those who have the lowest price points are doing better than those who are not, which is why we are seeing casual dining and higher offer value priced meals.

We then re-convened for a very nice plated lunch (chicken, of course) and then adjourned to the show which was easy for faculty and students to do as the Hyatt is connected to McCormick Place.

The most unusual twist to the show was the dinner at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. Typically the event starts with light hors d'oeuvres and an open bar and this year was no exception. The real twist was at dinner service. Typically there is a 3 course meal that is executed well by the staff at the Chicago Hilton and Towers and once dinner is over the group adjourns to the adjacent ballroom for a closing dessert reception. Not so this year.

Once the opening reception ended, we seated ourselves to our assigned tables. In front of us all we found a plexi-glass, three-tiered (like stair steps) platter (about 12" x 16") at our places. On the lower first tier was a slice of crusty bread, some olives, and two variations of hummus (perhaps a teaspoon each). On the second tier was about 2 oz of lamb, potatoes, and assorted vegetables. The third tier had some couscous and tabouli (each about a teaspoon each). And all the food was COLD. When some started to pick at their platters a member of our table said to stop as THAT WAS OUR THREE COURSE DINNER! It was not an unusual starter.

On the plus side, it made dinner service a breeze as the platters were pre-set and the staff only had to take them away when guests had finished their meal. On the other hand, those who had been to dinner before, especially given the pricetag to attend, were not amused at all due to the meager portion size. I myself LOVE lamb, but not when it is fatty and cut into cubes and cold. As we were dealing with dinner the honorees were trotted out one across the stage and honored in non-stop fashion to cut down on the time for the dinner.

Of concern to me at dinner was that the staff poured wine for everyone at the event. The problem being the majority of students present at dinner were not of age and whether they were or not they should have had to produce their identification to prove they were 21 or older before being served. Such was not the case.

Even more unusual, a charger was placed in front of us and then a martini glass containing a very tasty chocolate dessert was sent on top of it. Then racks of cupcakes and small desserts (built into tall slender 2 oz. shot glasses) were placed at different parts of the table similar to family style dinner service. We all looked at each other in amazement as dessert has never been served during the Salute to Excellence.

In place of the closing dessert reception was a two-hour open bar with a live band and large dance floor. The food for the reception was "sliders" and all the fixins. Many of those who attended the dinner were happy about this closing party while many were not amused at all and went home early.

There was alot to be learned from this event and much to be shared with you in this blog and my students when they return in the fall. I guess the moral being that change is good, especially when one could start and finish War and Peace during dinners past because they seemed to go on forever so the idea of streamlining service was a good one. On the other hand, the change may have been too radical and wound up creating guests that were deeply mystified and displeased given the pricetag of this historical event.

If you were there and I did not see you please add your commentary to this post.